1. John Havlicek
John Havlicek was one hell of an athlete. Drafted to both the NBA and the NFL in 1962, the 6’5 Ohio State alumnus ended up playing pro ball for the Boston Celtics. Havlicek spent almost half of his playing years coming off the bench but still managed to average more than 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and almost 5 assists per game. Havlicek is 16th on the NBA all-time scoring list which is a pretty awesome feat for a guy who spent his first seven seasons outside the starting 5.
2. Lou Williams
Lou Williams was a starter in only 10% of the games he’s played. His career started off slow, averaging less than 5 points per game in his first two seasons in the league. But since then, Williams has built a reputation as being one of the best bench players to ever play the game. He has won the Sixth Man of the Year award twice and recently dropped 36 points to lead the Clippers to a historic 31-point comeback against the Warriors in Game 2 of their first round matchup.
3. Toni Kukoc
Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman are generally regarded as the big three for the Chicago Bulls team that was so dominant during the 90s. But the third best player on that team was undoubtedly the Croatian sensation, Toni Kukoc. It was probably a bit unfair for a FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket MVP to be coming off the bench but that’s exactly what happened. Kukoc only started in less than half of the games during Chicago’s ’96-’98 three-peat and was named Sixth Man of the Year in 1996.
4. Manu Ginobili
When Manu Ginobili entered the league, he was unlike anyone we’ve seen before. His eurostep and step-back dagger threes are now the stuff of legend. The Argentinian great started a lot games in his early years with San Antonio but, in 2007, was made to come off the bench in a perplexing move by head coach Gregg Popovich. They won a championship that year. The following year, Ginobili posted career highs in points and rebounds that netted him the Sixth Man plum.
5. Jamal Crawford
When you need scoring from your bench, there’s no other player who can do the job better than Jamal Crawford. His career scoring average of 14.6 points is a bit misleading because when Crawford is hot, he is going to be the best offensive player on the court. Crawford has one of the meanest crossover dribbles we’ve ever seen and just this year, the 39 year old added another 50-point game to his resume, a feat he has done for four different teams. He has won the Sixth Man award three times, which still stands as the record since the NBA started giving out the accolade in ’83.