Santamaria names Noi's Sixth Man contenders

Sydney forward and NBL23 champion Kouat Noi believes he has the NBL’s Best Sixth Man award for this season “in his pocket” after the opening six rounds of the season, and while NBL analyst Liam Santamaria did support Noi’s status as a serious contender for the trophy, he says there are plenty of contenders at this early stage of the season.

Noi played a crucial role backing up reigning league MVP Xavier Cooks last season after crossing from the Taipans, but has upped his output under new head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah this season.

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He’s currently averaging a career-high 11.4 points and 1.4 assists, while committing a career-low 0.9 turnovers per game.

He opened the season with a 23-point Foot Locker Player of the Game performance against Illawarra, and has even been utilised as an undersized center on occasion.

“How can you not love Kouat Noi?” Santamaria said on NBL Now. “He’s very, very good and what he said was quotable and the way he put it was nice.

RELATED: Sixth Man Award "in my pocket": Noi

“I love the confidence from Kouat Noi, he’s been super impactful, and Mahmoud Abdulfattah has got him in a really nice role and headspace to come out and have an impact.

“Is he one of the major contenders? Absolutely, he is. I’ll tell you what there are some very good players that are coming off the bench either regularly or semi-regularly at the moment.

“I look at a guy like Ian Clark – he’s injured right now – but he’s been super impactful off the bench. Finn Delany ... Jordan Usher is trending in that direction. Pat Miller has started all his games for the Taipans to this point, but I expect that will flip around when he comes back with Taran Armstrong in the lineup.

“Then you’ve got the Next Stars in Bobi Klintman and Alex Sarr who have been doing that as well. It’s going to be a fun award to watch, and I hope Kouat Noi keeps champagning and campaigning.”

Host Joel Peterson also threw Brisbane star Aron Baynes into the mix, as the Olympic bronze medalist has been playing behind emerging star Tyrell Harrison since returning from suspension.

Round 7 action gets underway tonight at 9:30pm AEDT when Perth takes on New Zealand live on ESPN via Kayo.