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Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson first Asian-American to win NBA Sixth Man of the Year award

  • ‘Once Gilas, always Gilas,’ Philippines basketball president says of star who played for country at 2018 Asian Games
  • First Utah Jazz player to win the award is first Asian-American to win any of the NBA’s six annual awards

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Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (No 00) blocks the shot of Memphis Grizzlies guard De'Anthony Melton in Game 1 of the NBA 2021 Play-offs. Filipino-American Clarkson has been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Photo: AP

Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson has made history as the first Asian-American player to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award and the first to win any of the NBA’s six annual awards.

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The Utah Jazz player was given the award on Monday after a career best season, beating teammate Joe Ingles and Derrick Rose of the New York Knicks.

Clarkson becomes the first Jazz player to win the prestigious award, which is eligible to players who have made more appearances from the bench than they started games.

He averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game over 68 appearances this regular season, only one of which was a start.

The 28-year-old represented the Philippines at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where he helped the Gilas Pilipinas to a fifth-place finish.

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He was congratulated by the Philippines Basketball Association (SBP) on Tuesday.

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