Los Angeles Clippers forward-center Montrezl Harrell has won the 2019-20 NBA Hustle Award, which honors the player that makes the energy and effort plays to help his team win throughout the season.

What were often referred to as intangibles – diving on the floor for loose balls, sacrificing your body by taking charges, boxing out, setting great screens, deflecting passes and contesting shots – are now measurable stats. While these actions may not appear in the traditional box score, they are imperative to team success on a nightly basis. 

Harrell’s work has brought him from a seldom used reserve player, that requested to be sent down to the G League in order to get some playing time and work on his game, to an integral piece on a team with championship aspirations in the 2020 postseason.

This season, Harrell averaged career highs in points (18.6 PPG), rebounds (7.1 RPG) and minutes played (27.8 MPG). But it is the numbers that don’t appear in the traditional box score that earned him the fourth-annual NBA Hustle Award. 

Source: NBA.com's Brian Martin

ANALYSIS: It's a shame that Harrell's short stay in the NBA bubble wasn't as dominant as expected. During the season, he and Lou Williams gave opponents nightmares in pick-and-roll situations, and Harrell in general just out-fights his opponents every step of the way. Surely, next year, that won't change.