NEW YORK -- The Detroit Pistons are raking in the awards after winning their first Central Division title since 1990.

	Williamson

Veteran forward Corliss Williamson was named the winner of the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award on Tuesday, receiving 56 of a possible 125 votes. Guard Bobby Jackson of the Sacramento Kings was second with 30 votes.

"It's just a great award," Williamson said. "I don't think it's an individual award. I believe it's an award that reflects the hard work we have done as a team and the great guys that we have coming off the bench."

Saturday, Pistons center-forward Ben Wallace was honored as NBA Defensive Player of the Year and celebrated with a 19-point, 20-rebound performance in Detroit's playoff-opening victory over Toronto on Sunday night.

The 6-foot-7 Williamson averaged 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds while coming off the bench in 71 of the 78 games he played. He shot 51 percent from the field to rank ninth in the NBA. Williamson contributed 14 points and six rebounds in Detroit's rout of Toronto on Sunday.

	Big Nasty, Big Numbers
	Corliss Williamson did a lot of things to earn the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, but the most impressive may have been his 13.6 points-per-game scoring average off the bench this season. That was slightly better than the 13.3 points per game put up by Quentin Richardson, who finished third in the voting.
		PPG
	C. Williamson DET	13.6
	Q. Richardson LAC	13.3
	M. Fizer CHI	12.0
	T. Hudson ORL	11.5
	R. Rogers BOS	11.5

Acquired in February 2001 in a six-player deal that sent forward Jerome Williams to Toronto, Williamson immediately found his niche with the Pistons, averaging 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 27 games, including 18 off the bench, last season.

"He proved himself in that role (off the bench) last year," said Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. "He came in and produced the last two months of the season (2000-01), he played well for us and I saw what he could bring. It was very obvious in my mind that this was somebody who was going to be part of the core here."

Williamson continued to be effective in his role as the top man off the bench in rookie coach Rick Carlisle's rotation.

"Coach put me in a position where I was able to utilize my strengths, take care of business out there," Williamson said. "I was just happy that he gained confidence in me and gave me an opportunity to perform."

Carlisle could be the next Piston to receive an award as Coach of the Year after transforming a team that finished 32-50 last year into division champions.

The 28-year-old Williamson was a first-round choice of the Sacramento Kings in 1995. After struggling in his first two years, Williamson was the runnerup for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award in 1997-98, averaging career-highs of 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. But Williamson was unhappy to be relegated to backup when the Kings acquired forward Chris Webber in May 1998 and was traded to Toronto in November 2000.

Quentin Richardson of the Los Angeles Clippers finished third in the Sixth Man voting with 20 points.

The Rookie of the Year will be announced Wednesday.