Sixth Man Advantage

Photo by Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Being the sixth man is more important than what most fans think. Having a good bench is just as important as having a star player. This wasn’t how it was a couple of years ago.

Having a franchise player is something every team wants, but that star can’t deliver without a strong lineup behind them. Often, it’s the sixth man who saves the day.

Tyler Herro, Jamal Crawford, Nick Foles, Chris Long, and many more. All these players proved they do more than warm the bench.

The sixth man is usually the first player off the bench. They have to be able to adapt to any situation. They’re expected to change the pace of the game and be a positive force on the floor/field. They also help when the starters lose their spark. They're the "hungry" player, always chasing the win.

Jamal Crawford turned the sixth-man role into an art form. Coming off the bench, Crawford averaged 12.6 points and 2.8 apg. These aren’t superstar numbers; if they were, this wouldn’t be a piece about sixth men. It’d be about starters. Later in Crawford’s career, he would win three sixth-man awards: 2010, 2014, and 2016. In 2019, he would make history on April 9^th, becoming the player who scored the most points off the bench, scoring 51 points against the Dallas Mavericks.

Why does this matter? Because this isn’t really about Jamal Crawford, it’s about what he represents. The game, especially the NBA, is changing. It’s no longer about one superstar, it’ll be a long time before the league sees another LeBron or Brady. Scoring can’t stop when the starters sit. The best teams don’t just survive without their starters, they thrive. Case in point, the Pacers bench averaged 39.5 ppg, scoring a total of 858 points in the playoffs, being the second most bench points. (Spurs still holding the number one spot in 2014, with 946 points.) In game 3 of the NBA finals, the Pacers bench outscored OKC’s bench by 31 points, a massive reason they won that game.

The point being, with bench players getting more minutes, it’s less about superstars, the game is returning to its roots. Now, when you turn on the TV, you can watch a game — one where defense matters and plays develop, not just endless threes. The starters might get the headlines, but the sixth man writes the story.

And today, this one’s for Mom — Happy Birthday!