The Grizzlies' leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer has continued his elevation into a core player for the team. Santi Aldama has made the Grizzlies' need to consider making a trade a hard decision if it needs to include him.
Also, his pending restricted free agency status after this season looms for a productive player who is showing his value. After his double-double performance in the Grizzlies' 51-point beat down of the Golden State Warriors, Santi's odds to win an end-of-season award increased.
FanDuel has Santi third in Sixth Man of the Year odds
As recent as December 10th, Santi Aldama ranked sixth in the FanDuel odds to win the Sixth Man of the Year award at +4000. He has since risen above Houston Rockets guards Tari Eason and Amen Thompson and Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield to +2000 odds.
He only trails Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (+430) and Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (-280) as the betting favorites to win the award. Those odds make it appear to be a two-man race with Santi as a distant third, but with the season not even at the halfway point, the opportunity is there for him to make up ground.
caught it high and let it fly 🔥
— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) December 22, 2024
that high release a thing of beauty from @santialdama
📺 @FDSN_Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/xlMpuKeQM0
He continues to have a career year shooting the basketball across all shooting stats and the stat sheet in nearly all categories. He led the team in scoring (21 points), rebounding (14), tied for second in steals (two), and tied for third in assists (four) while shooting 50% in the Grizzlies dominating victory over the Warriors last Thursday night.
For comparison against the player with the fifth-best odds to win Sixth Man of the Year, Golden State's Buddy Hield only produced nine points and four rebounds in a game the Grizzlies bench outscored the Warriors 82-65.
That type of performance in a head-to-head is what Santi will need to stand out and win the award. The Grizzlies defeated the Atlanta Hawks 128-112 Saturday night but Santi Aldama was outplayed by current second-placed odds winner De'Andre Hunter.
The Hawks' six-year forward is averaging career-highs across the board as well and outpaced Aldama with 26 points. The Sixth Man of the Year award isn't based on team achievement so Santi has some work to do to play catch up.
However, there is a lot of season remaining and Santi has been one of the most consistent players on the team. His recent improvement on the Sixth Man of the Year odds shows that ground can be made up rather quickly.