The greatest NBA sixth men of all time

With five players starting for a team on a basketball court, the sixth man always has an important role in the outcome of a game.

Whether it's providing a shooting touch or coming on for defensive stability, over the years, some sixth men have thrived in their roles for franchises.

In basketball, the starters get all of the attention, and in a lot of cases, that's justified. However, a sixth man can be as good as the top two or three players on a roster.

In NBA teams of the past, the 90s Chicago Bulls, 80s Boston Celtics, or the 60s Boston Celtics all have had great sixth men, complementing the team's superstars.

The sixth man is just another starter, and from the list below, you will see why with their contributions on both sides of the ball.

Here are the greatest sixth men in NBA history!

Selected in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft, Lou Williams was an instrumental sixth man in his 17-year NBA career, playing for seven NBA franchises.

Williams was awarded the Sixth Man of the Year award on three occasions, averaging 13.9 points per game, with 41.9% shooting from the field.

Jamal Crawford revolutionized basketball in his long NBA career, bringing an aspect of street basketball to the biggest stage with his famous crossover and instant buckets.

Crawford was also awarded the Sixth Man of the Year award on three occasions, with his best season being in 2013-2014, averaging 18.6 points for the year.

After struggling to settle into the NBA, moving from Europe, Toni Kukoc became a valuable sixth man to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls team.

Kukoc won three NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls (1996-1998) and the 1996 Sixth Man of the Year award after The Bulls won 72 regular season games. He averaged 33.5% from three in his career.

The San Antonio Spurs dominated the early part of the 21^st century, with Manu Ginobili being a catalyst in the second unit for their four NBA Championships post-2000 (2003,2005,2007, and 2014.)

Ginobili had a career average of 44.7% shooting and 36.9% from three-point range. He also won the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year award.

John Havlicek was the first great sixth man in the NBA, playing with the formidable 1960s Boston Celtic team, winning eight NBA Championships.

Havlicek set the standards on how to be a good sixth man on an NBA roster, and in the 2022-2023 season, the award is called the 'John Havlicek Sixth Man of the Year' award.