The NBA’s 6 Most: Oustanding 6th Men

The NBA’s 6 Most: 6th Men

The NBA is by far the most talented and gifted basketball league in the world. When it comes to building a successful team, there is one strategy that all teams in all leagues use to win games. That strategy is having a sixth man, or the first player off the bench, that has the ability to impact the game just as a starter would, but with the bench unit. This player must be versatile enough to give the opposing bench unit problems and run with the starters in sync. Here are the NBA’s top six sixth men.

George Hill

George Hill is the most underrated sixth man both on this list and in the NBA today. Standing at 6’3” in his 12th season, Hill might not score as much as other sixth men do, but when the Bucks ask him to, he can get the job done. Out of all the players in this list, George Hill is the most efficient shooter. In 52 games played this season, he’s shooting 53% from the field and a jaw-dropping 58% from three in 21.2 minutes per game.

Playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and company helps with this, but no matter how you slice it, Hill’s numbers don’t have asterisks by them. He’s very productive and efficient with the shots that he takes. And playing around so much talent and sharpshooting only makes his shooting better.

Goran Dragic

Heat fans were surprised when they found out they had a diamond in the rough in PG Kendrick Nunn. With Nunn’s ascension to the starting point guard role, Goran Dragic had to take the back seat. The team felt that it was Dragic’s time to take that veteran bench role. Dragic felt otherwise. His performance off the bench has been exceptional, and he’s given teams problems this season.

As the Heat’s sixth man for this season, Dragic is averaging 16.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 43% from the field and 37.7% from three. Goran Dragic isn’t an elite talent, but at his best, he will give starter-esque production night in and night out. People forget that at one point, Dragic was an All-Star. He isn’t quite what he used to be, but he is still a solid point guard that will give Miami buckets when they call on him too.

Seth Curry

Seth Curry has built a name for himself as a sharpshooting mercenary. He’s moved away from his father Dell Curry and his brother Stephen Curry’s shadow and has begun to cast his own. The man averages 12.6 points per game and shoots 50% from the field. He’s currently shooting 45% from three-point land! He’s second in the league in three-point field goal percentage! And he’s doing all this work off the bench.

The Dallas Mavericks are on pace to be one of the highest-rated offenses in NBA history. With an offensive rating of 116.7, the Mavs have a higher rating than the 2018-19 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors and the Michael Jordan led 1991-1992 Chicago Bulls! Furthermore, the Mavs are 19th in pace, so for the most part, their points come from halfcourt offensive sets. With Seth being the sixth man playing 24.5 minutes per game, attributing the pace at which the Mavericks play, his role in this offense is undeniably vital to this team.

Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon is what keeps this Houston Rockets team going. When James Harden and Westbrook aren’t in the game or aren’t having a good night, EG always steps up big. Splash Gordon, as they call him in Houston, averages 14.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game. EG provides the scoring punch off the bench from anywhere on the court, whether slashing for two or splashing for three. He’s also a former Sixth Man of the Year (2016-2017), and he beat out Uncle Drew himself Kyrie Irving in the NBA 3-Point Contest in 2017.

When the Rockets need Gordon to show up and show out, he always delivers, and every season he proves to be a hassle for teams to deal with.

Marcus Smart

Marcus Smart has developed his game so uniquely, that he’s separated himself from the rest of the league’s bench players. Marcus Smart isn’t your typical sixth man; he’s the NBA’s premier ruthless hyena. The case could be made that Marcus Smart is a top-five perimeter defender in the entire league. His grittiness and tenacity on both sides of the ball rival few in today’s NBA, and he’s led the Celtics bench unit to contention status.

Season by season, Smart’s mentality rubbed off on his game, and he’s reaped the benefits of it as he develops. He averages 13.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per game, and 1.6 steals per game off the bench. Having to deal with any combination of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart will be challenging to do for any team, especially in a best of seven series.

Lou Williams

Lou Will is the best sixth man in the league today and arguably the best sixth man of all time. Currently, in his 15th season, he’s averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 assists, and shooting 36% from three. This level of production isn’t new for him, as he’s a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year, winning it for the 2014-2015 season and back to back in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. If he keeps up his greatness off the bench, don’t be surprised if he three-peats and wins the Sixth Man of the Year award again. The Clippers have a loaded roster, and with the best sixth man in the league on their squad, they will be a massive problem for any team that crosses their path.

Honorable Mention: Jamal Crawford

Even though he just signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets to play in the season restart, Jamal Crawford deserves to be on this list. The reason why Lou Williams is arguably the best sixth man of all time is because of one of the players in the conversation with him is Jamal Crawford. Crawford is a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year, tied with Lou Williams for the most in NBA history. Although he is a very seasoned vet, he can still play.

In his last game before signing with the Nets, he dropped 51 points on the Dallas Mavericks, the same Dallas Mavericks that are a contending playoff team this season. On top of that, Jamal Crawford is one of the most knowledgeable players in the league today when it comes to the history and strategy of the game.

Crawford has been, is, and will always be one of the best sixth men that will ever play the game of basketball.

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Mike Dancy II- Franchise Sports Media

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