Ranking NBA Sixth Man Award Winners

They did more than just provide a boost off the bench.

Ranking NBA Sixth Man Award Winners

It's not how you start in the NBA. It's how you finish. And some NBA role players do more than just provide a boost off the bench. They show what it means to be selfless and put the team before themselves.

In no sport are reserve players more important than basketball, where they can make or break a season. In 1983, the NBA began handing out the Sixth Man of the Year Award to honor the best player who primarily came off the bench in any given year.

These are the Best NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winners of all time.

Honorable Mention: Eric Gordon

Born: Dec. 25, 1988 (Indianapolis, Indiana)

College: Indiana

Position: Guard

NBA career: 15 seasons (2008-present)

Teams: Los Angeles Clippers (2008-11, 2023-present), New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2011-16), Houston Rockets (2016-23)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2017), NBA 3-Point Contest champion (2017), NBA All-Rookie Team (2009)

Bottom line: Teams tried to force Eric Gordon into the role of a featured player for about a decade before they realized it wasn't a good fit. But coming off the bench has been.

Gordon was in his ninth season when a team finally figured out how to use him right, and he won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2017 with the Houston Rockets, averaging 16.2 points per game and setting the NBA record for bench players with 180 3-pointers.

He has scored over 3,300 points since then.

30. Rodney Rogers

Born: June 20, 1971 (Durham, North Carolina)

College: Wake Forest

Position: Forward

NBA career: 12 seasons (1993-2005)

Teams: Denver Nuggets (1993-95), Los Angeles Clippers (1995-99), Phoenix Suns (1996-2002), Boston Celtics (2002), New Jersey Nets (2002-04), New Orleans Hornets (2004-05), Philadelphia 76ers (2005)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2000)

Bottom line: Rodney Rogers struggled to find his footing in the NBA until his time with the Phoenix Suns. That's where he spent the largest stretch of his NBA career from 1996 until 2002.

The highlight of that time came in 2000, when he averaged 13.8 points coming off the bench for a playoff team and earned NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors.

Rogers moved home to Durham following his career and was paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident in 2008.

29. Ben Gordon

Born: April 4, 1983 (London, England)

College: Connecticut

Position: Guard

NBA career: 11 seasons (2004-15)

Teams: Chicago Bulls (2004-09), Detroit Pistons (2009-12), Charlotte Bobcats (2012-14), Orlando Magic (2014-15)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2005), NBA All-Rookie Team (2005)

Bottom line: Ben Gordon became the first rookie in NBA history to win NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2005. He averaged 15.1 points and played in all 82 regular-season games with just three starts for the Chicago Bulls.

It ended up being the only individual honors Gordon would achieve during his 11-year career, which was mostly spent playing on lackluster teams.

Gordon played in the postseason four times, and all of those appearances were in his first five seasons.

28. Leandro Barbosa

Born: Nov. 28, 1982 (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

College: None

Position: Guard

NBA career: 13 seasons (2003-16)

Teams: Phoenix Suns (2003-10, 2014, 2016-17), Toronto Raptors (2010-12), Indiana Pacers (2012), Boston Celtics (2012-13), Golden State Warriors (2014-16)

Career highlights: NBA champion (2015), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2007)

Bottom line: Leandro Barbosa started playing professional basketball in his native Brazil when he was just 17 years old. Four years later, he was a first-round pick in the NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

Barbosa won NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors with the Suns in 2007, when he lit up the stat sheet for 18.2 points and 4.0 assists in 32 minutes per game.

In 2015, Barbosa won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors.

27. Toni Kukoc

Born: Sept. 18, 1968 (Split, Croatia)

College: None

Position: Forward

NBA career: 13 seasons (1993-2006)

Teams: Chicago Bulls (1993-2000), Philadelphia 76ers (2000-01), Atlanta Hawks (2001-02), Milwaukee Bucks (2002-06)

Career highlights: Three-time NBA champion (1996-98), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1996)

Bottom line: Toni Kukoc was a key part of three consecutive NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1998. The Croatian was as steady as could be off the bench, averaging around 13 points and 5 rebounds per game during those three seasons.

Part of us wants to praise Kukoc for fitting in so well on a great team — he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1996 — but part of us feels like that success was more indicative of the team he was on and not his own talent.

It would have been interesting to see what Kukoc's career might have been like if he'd come over to play in the NBA at a younger age. He actually played the first eight seasons of his career overseas.

26. Danny Manning

Born: May 17, 1966 (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)

College: Kansas

Position: Forward

NBA career: 15 seasons (1988-2003)

Teams: Los Angeles Clippers (1988-1994), Atlanta Hawks (1994), Phoenix Suns (1994-1999), Milwaukee Bucks (1999-2000), Utah Jazz (2000-2001), Dallas Mavericks (2001-2002), Detroit Pistons (2003)

Career highlights: Two-time NBA All-Star (1993, 1994), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1998)

Bottom line: Injuries decimated Danny Manning's NBA career, and he became the first player in league history to come back from reconstructive surgeries on both knees to play. In total, he had three ACL repair surgeries in his first decade as a pro.

Manning was still effective for a long time playing limited minutes. He was even named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1998, when he averaged 13.5 points in just around 26 minutes per game.

25. Darrell Armstrong

Born: June 22, 1968 (Gastonia, North Carolina)

College: Fayetteville State

Position: Guard

NBA career: 13 seasons (1995-2008)

Teams: Orlando Magic (1995-2003), New Orleans Hornets (2003-04), Dallas Mavericks (2004-06), Indiana Pacers (2006-07), New Jersey Nets (2007-08)

Career highlights: NBA Most Improved Player (1999), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1999)

Bottom line: Darrell Armstrong crafted a 13-year NBA career after going undrafted out of tiny Fayetteville State in 1991.

What's more impressive about Armstrong is it took him four years to get to the NBA, playing that time in lower-level leagues in the United States and in high-level leagues overseas. Armstrong got his big break with the Orlando Magic in 1995 and stayed there for eight seasons.

In 1999, he had his biggest year and was named NBA Most Improved Player and NBA Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 13.8 points, 6.7 assists and a whopping 2.2 steals.

24. J.R. Smith

Born: Sept. 9, 1985 (Freehold Borough, New Jersey)

College: None

Position: Forward

NBA career: 15 seasons (2004-11, 2012-20)

Teams: New Orleans Hornets (2004-06), Denver Nuggets (2006-11), New York Knicks (2012-15), Cleveland Cavaliers (2015-19), Los Angeles Lakers (2020)

Career highlights: Two-time NBA champion (2016, 2020), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2013)

Bottom line: J.R. Smith's career boils down to being one of the more enigmatic players in NBA history. He was a high-flying, bad-decision-making guard with two NBA championships to his name.

Smith spent the first half of his career playing on teams that didn't perform so well, including winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2013 with the New York Knicks, when he averaged career highs of 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds but didn't start a single game.

For all the shade that's been thrown on Smith, we have to give the former high school to NBA prodigy props for what he did after his career. He went back to college to get his education, taking classes at North Carolina A&T and walking on to the men's golf team as a 35-year-old freshman.

23. Roy Tarpley

Born: Nov. 28, 1964 (New York City, New York)

Died: Jan. 9, 2015 (age 50, Arlington, Texas)

College: Michigan

Position: Center

NBA career: 6 seasons (1986-91, 1994-95)

Teams: Dallas Mavericks

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1988), NBA All-Rookie Team (1987)

Bottom line: Dallas Mavericks forward Roy Tarpley was one of the most dominant big men in the NBA for his first four seasons, and also one of its most troubled.

Tarpley was arrested twice and violated the league's substance abuse policy three times in a three-year stretch to earn his first lifetime ban in 1991. This was just three seasons after he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Tarpley was reinstated in 1994, played one season and was banned for life in 1995 when he once again tested positive for cocaine. Tarpley sued the NBA over the ban and won. He died in 2015, at 50 years old, reportedly due to liver failure.

22. Eddie Johnson

Born: May 1, 1959 (Chicago, Illinois)

College: Illinois

Position: Forward

NBA career: 17 seasons (1981-99)

Teams: Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1981-87), Phoenix Suns (1987-90), Seattle SuperSonics (1990-93), Charlotte Hornets (1993-94), Indiana Pacers (1995-97), Houston Rockets (1997-99)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1989)

Bottom line: Few players in NBA history have gone through the tumult that Eddie Johnson experienced after his playing career was over, including winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors in 1989 with the Phoenix Suns.

No story about Johnson is complete without pointing out what happened to him in 2006. That's when another NBA player with the same name — "Fast" Eddie Johnson — was convicted to life in prison for sex crimes with a minor.

Our Eddie Johnson's picture and career biography were wrongly attributed by a myriad of media outlets.

21. Montrezl Harrell

Born: Jan. 28, 1994 (Tarboro, North Carolina)

College: Louisville

Position: Forward

NBA career: Years

Teams: Houston Rockets (2015-17), Los Angeles Clippers (2017-20), Los Angeles Lakers (2020-21), Washington Wizards (2021-present)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2020), NBA Hustle Award (2020)

Bottom line: Montrezl Harrell was one of the stars of the NBA bubble in 2020, earning fans all over the world because of his toughness and defense. He also averaged a career-high 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Harrell was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2020 and parlayed his success into a lucrative two-year, $18.9 million contract with the Lakers.

Then, he was traded to the Washington Wizards in the Russell Westbrook deal after one season.

20. Mike Miller

Born: Feb. 19, 1980 (Mitchell, South Dakota)

College: Florida

Position: Forward

NBA career: Years

Teams: Orlando Magic (2000-03), Memphis Grizzlies (2003-08, 2013-14)), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Washington Wizards (2009-10), Miami Heat (2010-13), Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-15), Denver Nuggets (2015-17)

Career highlights: Two-time NBA champion (2012, 2013), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2006), NBA Rookie of the Year (2001), NBA All-Rookie Team (2001)

Bottom line: Mike Miller was one of the most dangerous players coming off the bench in NBA history.

He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006 and was a reserve player on back-to-back Miami Heat teams that won NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.

What made Miller so dangerous was his combination of size (6-foot-8) and shooting ability. Miller, the 2001 NBA Rookie of the Year, shot over 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc for his career.

19. Dell Curry

Born: June 25, 1964 (Harrisonburg, Virginia)

College: Virginia Tech

Position: Guard

NBA career: 16 seasons (1986-2002)

Teams: Utah Jazz (1986-87), Cleveland Cavaliers (1987-88), Charlotte Hornets (1988-98), Milwaukee Bucks (1999), Toronto Raptors (1999-2002)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1994)

Bottom line: No one benefited from the Charlotte Hornets becoming an NBA franchise in 1988 more than Dell Curry, who spent the first two seasons of his career riding the bench for the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Curry found his stride with the Hornets and spent a decade with the team, making his name as a 3-point shooter, hitting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc over 10 seasons.

Curry won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1994, and after his career, he saw more NBA success than he could have ever imagined with his two sons — longtime NBA guard Seth Curry and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, widely regarded as the greatest shooter in NBA history.

18. Aaron McKie

Born: Oct. 2, 1972 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

College: Temple

Position: Guard

NBA career: 13 seasons (1994-2007)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (1994-97), Detroit Pistons (1997), Philadelphia 76ers (1997-2005), Los Angeles Lakers (2005-07)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2001)

Bottom line: Aaron McKie was one part of the Philadelphia 76ers' magical 2000-01 season, helping lead the team to an Eastern Conference championship with NBA MVP Allen Iverson.

Even cooler for McKie was he did it in the town he'd always called home. McKie played high school basketball at Simon Gratz High in Philadelphia, then played college basketball at Temple.

McKie's 11.6 points and career-high 5.5 assists earned him NBA Sixth man of the Year honors in 2001.

17. Lamar Odom

Born: Nov. 6, 1971 (Queens, New York)

College: Rhode Island

Position: Forward

NBA career: 13 seasons (1999-2012)

Teams: Los Angeles Clippers (1999-2003), Miami Heat (2003-04), Los Angeles Lakers (2004-11), Dallas Mavericks (2011-12)

Career highlights: Two-time NBA champion (2009, 2010), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2011), NBA All-Rookie Team (2000)

Bottom line: Lamar Odom was a key player on two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and followed that up with being named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.

Odom's subsequent descent into drug addiction and his almost deadly overdose in 2015 have sullied his legacy somewhat, but almost everyone he played with in his career has labeled him one of the best teammates they ever had.

16. Jordan Clarkson

Born: June 7, 1992 (Tampa, Florida)

College: Missouri

Position: Forward

NBA career: 9 seasons (2014-present)

Teams: Los Angeles Lakers (2014-18), Cleveland Cavaliers (2018-19), Utah Jazz (2019-present)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2021), NBA All-Rookie Team (2015)

Bottom line: There will never be a funnier viral clip regarding an NBA player in the wild than when local TV reporter Hayley Crombleholme interviewed Clarkson during a "man on the street segment" about the upcoming Utah Jazz season. But she didn't realize Clarkson was the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

After stints with the Lakers and the Cavaliers where Clarkson's game was constantly overanalyzed — partly because of his talent — Clarkson had the best season of his career with the Jazz in 2020-21.

He averaged career highs in points (18.1), rebounds (4.0) and free-throw percentage (89.6 percent) in just over 26 minutes per game.

15. John Starks

Born: Aug. 10, 1965 (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

College: Oklahoma State

Position: Guard

NBA career: 14 seasons (1988-2002)

Teams: Golden State Warriors (1988-1989, 1999-2000), New York Knicks (1990-1998), Chicago Bulls (2000), Utah Jazz (2000-2002)

Career highlights: NBA All-Star (1994), NBA All-Defensive Team (1993), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1997)

Bottom line: NBA fans loved to hate John Starks throughout the 1990s on some great teams for the New York Knicks. Starks was a thorn in the side of Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan and didn't care if he started or came off the bench because he was bringing it no matter what.

Starks was as tough as players come in the NBA in any era and loved to mix it up with other team's star players. He famously headbutted Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller during the 1993 NBA playoffs and was ejected.

How beloved was Starks in New York? He's name-checked on classic rap albums by the Beastie Boys ("Ill Communication) and A Tribe Called Quest ("Midnight Marauders").

14. Bill Walton

Born: Nov. 5, 1952 (La Mesa, California)

College: UCLA

Position: Center

NBA career: 13 seasons (1974-1987)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (1974-79), San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers (1979-85), Boston Celtics (1985-87)

Career highlights: Two-time NBA champion (1977, 1986), NBA Finals MVP (1977), NBA MVP (1978), two-time NBA All-Star (1977, 1978), two-time All-NBA Team (1977, 1978), two-time NBA All-Defensive Team (1977, 1978), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1986), NBA 50th Anniversary Team

Bottom line: Persistent injuries changed the trajectory of Bill Walton's career after he led the Portland Trail Blazers to one of the most improbable championships in NBA history in 1977 and won NBA Most Valuable Player honors in 1978.

By the mid-1980s, it seemed like Walton's career was over. But he bounced back with two seasons to cap off a run with the Boston Celtics.

As a backup center for Robert Parish with the Celtics, Walton won an NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award and NBA championship in 1986 before hanging up his sneakers for good.

13. Ricky Pierce

Born: Aug. 19, 1959 (Dallas, Texas)

College: Rice

Position: Guard

NBA career: 16 seasons (1982-98)

Teams: Detroit Pistons (1982-83), San Diego Clippers (1983-84), Milwaukee Bucks (1984-91, 1997-98), Seattle SuperSonics (1991-94), Golden State Warriors (1994-95), Indiana Pacers (1995-96), Denver Nuggets (1996-97), Charlotte Hornets (1997)

Career highlights: NBA All-Star (1991), two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1987, 1990)

Bottom line: Ricky Pierce was a valuable player in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his ability to play three positions — both guards and small forward. But he didn't find his groove until he was on his third team.

Pierce played on two different teams in his first two different seasons with the Detroit Pistons and the San Diego Clippers. Then, he spent the next seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year twice and was an NBA All-Star in 1991.

12. Manu Ginobili

Born: July 28, 1977 (Bahia Blanca, Argentina)

Youth club: Estudiantes de Bahia Blanca (Bahia Blanca, Argentina)

Position: Guard

NBA career: 16 seasons (2002-18)

Team: San Antonio Spurs

Career highlights: Four-time NBA champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2011), two-time All-NBA (2008, 2011), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2008), NBA All-Rookie Team (2003)

Bottom line: Manu Ginobili's career numbers would be much higher, but he spent seven seasons playing professional basketball overseas before coming to the NBA.

Ginobili was a sensation once he joined the NBA in 2002, at 25 years old, winning three NBA titles in his first five seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and adding another title in 2014 with a shocking upset of the Miami Heat.

Ginobili spent his entire 16-year career with the Spurs and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 — the same year he made his first All-NBA team.

11. Detlef Schrempf

Born: Jan. 21, 1963 (Leverkusen, West Germany)

College: Washington

Position: Forward

NBA career: 16 seasons (1985-2001)

Teams: Dallas Mavericks (1985-89), Indiana Pacers (1989-93), Seattle SuperSonics (1993-99), Portland Trail Blazers (1999-2001)

Career highlights: Three-time NBA All-Star (1993, 1995, 1997), All-NBA Team (1995), two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1991, 1992)

Bottom line: Detlef Schrempf was one of the first great NBA players to come out of Europe. He grew up in Germany but spent his senior year of high school at Centralia High School in Washington and then starred for the University of Washington.

Schrempf is probably best remembered for his time on the great Seattle SuperSonics teams of the mid-1990s alongside Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

Schrempf made three All-Star teams, but he won back-to-back NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards with the Indiana Pacers in 1991 and 1992.

10. Bobby Jackson

Born: March 13, 1973 (East Spencer, North Carolina)

College: Minnesota

Position: Guard

NBA career: 11 seasons (1997-2008)

Teams: Denver Nuggets (1997-98), Minnesota Timberwolves (1998-2000), Sacramento Kings (2000-05, 2008-09), Memphis Grizzlies (2005-06), New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2006-08), Houston Rockets (2008)

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2003), NBA All-Rookie Team (1998)

Bottom line: Bobby Jackson was at his most efficient when he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors with the Sacramento Kings in 2003. That year, he averaged 15.2 points in approximately 28 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 46.4 percent from the field.

Jackson's best years of his career were with the Kings, where he was part of their exciting run in the early 2000s alongside teammates like Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Jason Williams.

9. Jason Terry

Born: Sept. 15, 1977 (Seattle, Washington)

College: Arizona

Position: Guard

NBA career: 19 seasons (1999-2018)

Teams: Atlanta Hawks (1999-2004), Dallas Mavericks (2004-12), Boston Celtics (2012-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-14), Houston Rockets (2014-16), Milwaukee Bucks (2016-18)

Career highlights: NBA champion (2011), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2009), NBA All-Rookie Team (2000)

Bottom line: Jason Terry's greatest years were with the Dallas Mavericks, culminating in one of the greatest NBA Finals upsets of all time in 2011 over the Miami Heat and LeBron James.

Terry was a winner on every level. Before his NBA days, he grabbed back-to-back state titles at Seattle's Franklin High and won an NCAA title at Arizona in 1997

Terry was also one of the most durable players in NBA history. His 42,034 career minutes put him in the top 25 in NBA history.

8. Anthony Mason

Born: Dec. 14, 1966 (Miami, Florida)

Died: Feb. 28, 2015 (age 48, New York City, New York)

College: Tennessee State

Position: Forward/center

NBA career: 14 seasons (1989-2003)

Teams: New Jersey Nets (1989-90), Denver Nuggets (1990-91), New York Knicks (1991-96), Charlotte Hornets (1996-2000), Miami Heat (2000-01), Milwaukee Bucks (2001-03)

Career highlights: NBA All-Star (2001), All-NBA Team (1997), NBA All-Defensive Team (1997), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1995)

Bottom line: Anthony Mason brought absolute misery to guys who were six inches taller than him.

Sure, Mason was only 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds, but he guarded taller players for the entirety of his 14-year career with a high rate of success and was one of the toughest players in NBA history.

There's no doubt he's also one of the most feared. When he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1995, it was during his time with some really good/almost great New York Knicks teams in the early 1990s.

7. Lou Williams

Born: Oct. 27, 1986 (Memphis, Tennessee)

College: None

Position: Guard

NBA career: Years

Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (2005-12), Atlanta Hawks (2012-14, 2021-present), Toronto Raptors (2014-15), Los Angeles Lakers (2015-17), Houston Rockets (2017), Los Angeles Clippers (2017-21)

Career highlights: Three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019)

Bottom line: What will be Lou Williams' enduring legacy in the NBA? Will it be as one of the greatest bench players of all time?

Or will it be as the muse for Drake's 2015 song "6 Man" about Wiliams' prowess on the court and that he was famously in a relationship with two women at the same time during his first season winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award?

If we could pick a movie to be made about any player's life in the NBA right now, it might be Williams. One scene that would have to be in there would be when an attempted carjacking ended after the gunman recognized Williams from his NBA fame, and Williams took the man to McDonald's.

6. Tyler Herro

Born: Jan. 20, 2000 (Greenfield, Wisconsin)

College: Kentucky

Position: Shooting Guard

NBA career: 4 seasons (2019-present)

Teams: Miami Heat

Career highlights: NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2022), NBA All-Rookie Team (2020), All-SEC (2019), SEC Newcomer of the Year (2019), SEC All-Freshman Team (2019)

Bottom line: We have yet to find the realm in which 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner Tyler Herro couldn't light up a scoreboard — first at Whitnall (Wisc.), then in one year at Kentucky and now in the NBA for the Miami Heat.

Herro was arguably the second-best player for the Heat in their 2020 run to the NBA Finals as a rookie and has seen his scoring average go over 20 points in each of the last two seasons. In Herro's Sixth Man Award-winning season of 2021-22 he averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

5. Bobby Jones

Born: Dec. 18, 1951 (Charlotte, North Carolina)

College: North Carolina

Position: Forward

NBA career: 12 seasons (1974-86)

Teams: Denver Nuggets (1974-78), Philadelphia 76ers (1978-86)

Career highlights: NBA champion (1983), four-time NBA All-Star (1977, 1978, 1981, 1982), nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team (1977-85), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1983)

Bottom line: Bobby Jones was one of the toughest players in NBA history and the first winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1983.

The No. 5 overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft out of North Carolina, Jones made nine NBA All-Defensive Teams in his career, and teams he played on made the playoffs every year of his career, including winning an NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.

4. Clifford Robinson

Born: Dec. 16, 1966 (Buffalo, New York)

Died: Aug. 29, 2020 (age 53, Portland, Oregon)

College: Connecticut

Position: Forward

NBA career: 18 seasons (1989-2007)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (1989-97), Phoenix Suns (1997-2001), Detroit Pistons (2001-03), Golden State Warriors (2003-05), New Jersey Nets (2005-07)

Career highlights: NBA All-Star (1994), two-time NBA All-Defensive Team (2000, 2002), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1993)

Bottom line: Cliff Robinson might have been an even bigger star in the NBA if he was playing in today's era. He was the tallest player in NBA history to hit 1,000 3-pointers until Dirk Nowitzki and Rashard Lewis broke that record.

With the Trail Blazers, Robinson helped lead the team to the NBA Finals twice, in 1990 and 1992, and was NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1993 when he averaged 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

Robinson died of cancer in August 2020, at 53 years old.

3. James Harden

Born: Aug. 26, 1989 (Los Angeles, California)

College: Arizona State

Position: Guard

NBA career: 14 seasons (2009-present)

Teams: Oklahoma City Thunder (2009-12), Houston Rockets (2012-20), Brooklyn Nets (2020-23), Philadelphia 76ers (2023-present)

Career highlights: NBA MVP (2018), 10-time NBA All-Star (2013-23), seven-time All-NBA Team (2013-15, 2017-20), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2012), NBA All-Rookie Team (2010), NBA 75th Anniversary Team

Bottom line: James Harden has been a starter for most of his career, but in his first three NBA seasons, he came off the bench. Now one of the greatest pure scorers in NBA history, Harden's unique style of play has defied critics and skeptics alike for the majority of his 12 years in the league.

Harden's time with the Houston Rockets has kept the franchise at the forefront of the league's marquee teams since 2012. He brought home the NBA MVP award in 2018 when he averaged 30.4 points and 8.8 rebounds — the first of three consecutive years he led the NBA in scoring.

What's eluded Harden throughout his career is postseason success. His failures in the playoffs are as epic as any player in NBA history. The exception was 2012, the year he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he came off the bench to help lead the team to their (and his) only NBA Finals appearance.

2. Kevin McHale

Born: Dec. 19, 1957 (Hibbing, Minnesota)

College: Minnesota

Position: Forward

NBA career: 13 seasons (1980-93)

Team: Boston Celtics

Career highlights: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986), seven-time NBA All-Star (1984, 1986-91), All-NBA (1987), six-time All-NBA Defensive Team (1983, 1986-90), two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1984, 1985), NBA All-Rookie Team (1981), NBA 50th Anniversary Team

Bottom line: Kevin McHale's moves in the post were so hard to stop that opponents called guarding him "The Torture Chamber," and he was a key piece on three NBA championship teams for the Boston Celtics in the 1980s.

McHale was also one of the NBA's greatest defensive players during his era, making the All-NBA Defensive Team six times. In 1984, one of the two years he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, the Celtics also won the NBA championship.

1. Jamal Crawford

Born: March 20, 1980 (Seattle, Washington)

College: Michigan

Position: Guard

NBA career: 20 seasons (2000-20)

Teams: Chicago Bulls (2000-04), New York Knicks (2004-08), Golden State Warriors (2008-09), Atlanta Hawks (2009-11), Portland Trail Blazers (2011-12), Los Angeles Clippers (2012-17), Minnesota Timberwolves (2017-18), Phoenix Suns (2018-19), Brooklyn Nets (2019-20)

Career highlights: Three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2010, 2015, 2016), NBA Teammate of the Year (2018)

Bottom line: Jamal Crawford played 20 years in the NBA and is regarded as one of the great teammates in NBA history — even if he's never won an NBA championship.

Crawford is a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year and was named NBA Teammate of the Year in 2018, with two of those three Sixth Man of the Year awards coming while he was with the Clippers. Only Lou Williams has as many Sixth Man wins.

In his prime, Crawford could fill it up with the best players in the NBA, and while he definitely had better statistical seasons than when he was with the Clippers, those were the best teams he was on and where his talents on the court and in the locker room were best utilized.