Celtics' Malcolm Brogdon named NBA's Sixth Man of the Year

Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, the key offseason addition for the defending Eastern Conference champions, was named the winner of the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award on Thursday night.

Brogdon edged out New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley for the award, garnering 60 out of 100 first-place votes.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis was the third finalist for the honor.

«This is such an honor. It's definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston,» Brogdon said in an interview on TNT's «Inside The NBA» as part of the awards announcement. «But I'm with a great organization, I have great teammates, a great coaching staff. Joe [Mazzulla] has taken over and done a great job, so I want to thank those guys.»

Quickley, who averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season for New York, was part of a second unit that was a constant part of the Knicks' success this season under coach Tom Thibodeau — especially after the arrival of swingman Josh Hart prior to February's trade deadline.

That second unit helped power New York to the fifth seed in Eastern Conference, putting the Knicks back in the playoffs for the second time in three years — and just the second time overall in the past decade.

Boston acquired Brogdon last summer to give the Celtics another downhill offensive attacker and creator after the Celtics saw their offense bog down at times in last year's playoffs, and particularly in their NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors.

After starting every game he played the past four years with the Indiana Pacers and Bucks, Brogdon came off the bench for all 67 games he played this season for Boston.

«I had the pleasure of playing with Giannis, one of the best players in the