A ‘sixth-man’ is the most important player on a team’s bench. He makes sure to bring some energy of the bench and to give the team the extra boost they need.
Here’s our ranking of the top sixth-men from this NBA season, from 5-1.
5. Jordan Clarkson – Utah Jazz
2019-2020 Statistics: 15.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.6 APG
The shooting guard from Utah Jazz is an electrifying player off the bench who manages to give the team what is required at the moment. He shoots the ball pretty well and can even play the point guard position when required. Last year, he had a vital role in coming off the bench and being an impactful player for the team in the 24.7 minutes he played per game.
4. Davis Bertans – Washington Wizards
2019-2020 Statistics: 15.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 APG
Davis Bertans had a great year last season. His game could be better as the Wizards’ newly acquired Westbrook is an exceptionally well ball distributor, no doubt Bertans will get better looks at the rim. In the 29.7 minutes per game he played last year, he definitely made a positive impact on the team. The Wizards were without the likes of their leader, Bradley Beal, because of which the Wizards didn’t make the playoffs.
3. Dennis Schroder – Los Angeles Lakers
2019-2020 Statistics: 18.9 PPG, 4 APG, 3.6 RPG
Schroder had a great year last year coming off the bench for the Thunder. He immediately established his role as a dominant scorer of the bench. Being traded to the Lakers, he will be coming off the bench with the defending Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell. Schroder is an extremely talented ball-handler who makes difficult moments easy for the starters when the team has a scoring drought.
2. Lou Williams – Los Angeles Clippers
2019-2020 Statistics: 18.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.1 RPG
Arguably one of the greatest sixth man of all time, Lou Williams has won the award three times. Over the course of his dominant 15-year career, he has consistently proven to be a lethal threat to the opposition coming off the bench. He ties Jamal Crawford as the only players in NBA history to win the award three times. Despite the Clippers’ struggles last year, Williams sits 2nd on this list because we all know what an impact he can have on any team.
1. Montrezl Harrell – Los Angeles Lakers
2019-2020 Statistics: 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.7 APG
Montrezl Harrell is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Montrezl Harrell will be most likely seeing a ton of minutes for the Laker as Marc Gasol’s backup. He will be seeing more of the ball, playing along with ball distributors like LeBron and Schroder. There is no doubt that he makes the Lakers team stronger and even more deadly than they already are. The Lakers are definitely the favourites to win the championship this year too and Harrell will be a big reason why, if they manage to win back-to-back titles.
Other than these players, JJ Reddick, Serge Ibaka and Danilo Gallinari do deserve a mention on this list.
