By John McCarthy–
Former University of Louisville men’s basketball forward Montrezl Harrell has won the 2019-2020 NBA Hustle Award. Harrell is awarded the Hustle Award only a month after winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year last month.
The NBA Hustle Award is given to the player who displays the most effort and energy to help their team win throughout the season.
Harrell was moved to the Clippers via the Chris Paul trade that sent Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harrell played in 63 of Los Angeles’ games before the NBA was shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During those 63 games, Harrell put up record-setting numbers on the offensive end of the floor. He averaged 18.6 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, and a block and assist per game. Harrell collected these averages while only playing a slender 27 minutes per game over that timeframe.
The former Cardinal led the way in hustle stats for the NBA during the 2019-2020 season. Defensive box-outs, charges taken, and box-outs leading to a rebound are all plays Harrell would execute night in and night out.
Harrell has made the most of his NBA career so far and continues to excel. Harrell played three seasons for U of L. He helped lead Louisville to a national title during his collegiate career as a freshman and was awarded the Karl Malone Award in 2015 for his performance as a power forward.
File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal
