The Top 10 NBA Sixth Men of All Time

March 13, 2024

Eleazar Gonzales gives his list of the NBA's top-10 sixth men of all time.

There's a reason why every basketball team needs a starting five and a consistent supporting cast. You can't expect the starting five to play 45 minutes. The basic function of the supporting cast is to come in and do the job whenever the starters are on the bench or struggling to get anything going.

In most cases, a great supporting cast is led by a player people commonly call the team's sixth man. By definition, the sixth man is the team's main guy off the bench, who makes a significant impact even with the limited minutes. 

In this piece, we'll run down the top-10 sixth men we've seen in the NBA.

Jamal Crawford 

You can't do a list of the top-10 sixth men in the NBA without Jamal Crawford. 

While he started 433 games in his NBA career, Crawford carved his name as one of the elite sixth men to ever play in the NBA. Aside from his ankle-breaking moves, which may actually have broken a good number of ankles, Crawford did more than just score. He averaged 14.6 points, 4.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 41% field-goal shooting. 

And he's a three-time Sixth Man of the Year awardee -- all while playing for nine NBA teams. He also won the NBA Teammate of the Year in 2018.

THIS JUST IN: Clippers G Jamal Crawford wins the NBA Sixth Man Award, becoming 1st player to win the honor 3 times. pic.twitter.com/4CqBNtfG26

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 19, 2016

Lou Williams

Like Crawford, Lou Williams is regarded as one of the game's best and most efficient sixth men. And like Crawford, Williams is a three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year Award. He also has the second-highest scoring average by a Sixth Man of the Year awardee at 22.6 points per game during the 2018-2019 season.

For his career, Lou Williams averaged 13.9 points, 3.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 41.9% field-goal shooting. He also shot 35.1% from the three-point line and played for six NBA franchises.

Lou Williams is your Sixth Man of the Year! pic.twitter.com/lO1aCy4OmQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 26, 2018

Kevin McHale

Kevin McHale is a vital part of the Boston Celtics squad that had Larry Bird and Robert Parish. In 490 games coming off the bench, McHale, a two-time Sixth Man of the Year awardee, averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 54.2% field-goal shooting. McHale is also recognized as one of the greatest power forwards in the NBA.

Happy 60th Birthday, Kevin McHale: McHale won the @NBA Sixth Man Award again in 1984-85, becoming the first repeat winner in the award's history. For the season, he shot .570 from the floor and averaged 19.8 ppg and 9.0 rpg pic.twitter.com/5h3XDmYwTb

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 19, 2017

Manu Ginobili

There's one reason why the San Antonio Spurs became a dynasty in the 2000s: Manu Ginobili from Argentina.

In 1,057 career games, Ginobili came off the bench in 708 of those games. He won four NBA championships alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and head coach Gregg Popovich. In 2008, he won the Sixth Man of the Year plum. Not bad for the 57th draft pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. Without him, the NBA wouldn't have the Euro step move.

17 years ago today, the Spurs signed Manu Ginobili after taking him with the 57th pick in the 1999 NBA draft.

◾️4 NBA titles
◾️2x All-Star
◾️2008 Sixth Man of the Year
◾️No. 20 retired by Spurs

What a story. pic.twitter.com/hL5UprIGu9

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 19, 2019

Robert Horry

In his Hall of Fame career, Robert Horry came off the bench in 627 games. While he only averaged five points, four rebounds, and 1.5 assists in those games, he delivered when it mattered the most -- hitting big shots during his stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.

While he didn't win the Sixth Man of the Year Award, he is an NBA champion with three of the four teams he played for. All in all, he has seven NBA rings -- including a three-peat with the Lakers. 

Never forget the ultimate sixth man and his seven rings: Robert Horry. pic.twitter.com/0srsTLTyai

— A.C. Miller (@ACMillerAuthor) June 20, 2016

Andre Iguodala

There is a reason why the Golden State Warriors of the present times won four NBA championships: Andre Iguodala accepted the role of leading the team's bench mob after being a starter during the early goings of his career right after being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004.

Iguodala played the first 806 games of his career as a starter. Then, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to change things by moving Iguodala to the bench -- a gamble that paid off in 2015 when Golden State beat LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

His defense on LeBron James in that particular series worked wonders for the Warriors as LeBron only shot 35.1% from the field when Iguodala was the primary defender. Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and four assists in that series en route to winning the Finals MVP award. 

Andre Iguodala runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year https://t.co/eTwpufP328 #Warriors #Clippers #NBA pic.twitter.com/4InvWhCxB7

— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) April 19, 2016

James Harden

Before becoming a one-time league MVP and one of the best shooting guards of the modern age, James Harden started his career as a sixth man for the Oklahoma City Thunder -- coming off the bench 214 times. 

In 2012, he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Unfortunately, the trio of Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook didn't win a championship against the Miami Heat and LeBron James that year, despite Harden being almost an instant bucket off the bench.

NBA: James Harden Wins Sixth Man Of The Year Award For James Harden, the notion… https://t.co/iDSvyuaMHy pic.twitter.com/SZPnPmRneP

— NBA 2017-18 (@NBA2017_18) December 27, 2017

Vinnie Johnson

The Detroit Pistons have Vinnie Johnson's jersey hanging in the rafters for a reason: he was an instant offense during the team's back-to-back championship runs from 1989 to 1990. 

While Johnson didn't break the 20-point average in his career, Detroit fans adored him and nicknamed him The Microwave because he could heat up offensively in a snap.

Best Sixth Man
Round of 32
RT: Vinnie Johnson
FAV: Michael Cooper pic.twitter.com/Y1jTyaGpUL

— NBA Battles (@SportsBattles94) September 2, 2015

Michael Cooper

Having someone who can do great defense off the bench is a luxury to have for any coach. That's exactly how Michael Cooper ends up on this list. 

In 873 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Lakers, Cooper started 94 times. In 1987, Cooper won the Defensive Player of the Year Award while only starting TWO games. He's also a five-time NBA champion on top of being a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team. 

Toni Kukoc 

Toni Kukoc is a member of the Chicago Bulls team that won its second three-peat from 1996 to 1998 with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading. In 1996, Kukoc averaged 13.1 points, four rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 81 regular-season games en route to taking home the Sixth Man of the Year plum along with his first NBA championship. 

Many people thought of Kukoc as a versatile player with tremendous passing skills and was ahead of his time. It's safe to say MJ and company wouldn't complete a second three-peat without Kukoc. 

On this day in 1996, Toni Kukoc dropped his career-high 34 points against the Miami Heat. This was also the season Kukoc won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Presented by @BudweiserUSA #ThisBudsForYou #LegendaryMoments pic.twitter.com/ANpB0JtZUo

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 4, 2020

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