Kobe Bryant (top) of Los Angeles Lakers vies with Jamal Crawford of Atlanta Hawks during their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, the United States, Nov. 1, 2009. [Xinhua/Qi Heng]

Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford was named the Sixth Man of the Year by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday.

Thirty-year-old Crawford came off the bench in all 79 games in which he appeared this season. He is second leading scorer at 18 points in 31 minutes played per game, and led the league in that category among players who didn't start a game and paced the team in scoring 27 times. He shot 44.9 percent from the field to help the Hawks win 53 games and earn the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"Without him, a lot of games, we probably wouldn't have won," guard Joe Johnson said. "I am very thankful for him."

Crawford won the award with 580 points, earning 110 out of 122 first-place votes from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, who won the award last season, finished second with 220 points and Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers was third with 126.

In order to be eligible, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

The Hawks are the fourth NBA team in nine NBA years for Crawford.