Toronto Raptors guard Lou Williams, who averaged a career-high 15.5 points this season, is the winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award.
The league made the announcement Monday to honor the best player in a reserve role this season.
Williams is the first Raptors player to win the award. He had 78 first-place votes and 502 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada.
Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas finished second in the voting with 324 points (33 first-place votes), and two-time winner, guard Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers, was third (eight first-place votes, 131 points). Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (100 points) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (33 points) rounded out the top five in the voting
Williams, in his 10th NBA season and first with the Raptors, came off the bench in all 80 of his appearances and averaged 25.2 minutes. He led or tied for the team lead in scoring 18 times, second most in the league for a reserve, and the Raptors went 14-4 in those games. The 28-year-old also led the Raptors in free-throw percentage (86.1) and made a career-high 152 3-pointers.
The 2014-15 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award is part of a series of on-court honors. The awards also include Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Rookie of the Year.