Jamal Crawford on how Manu Ginobili made the sixth-man role different: "He was sacrificing"
Being a sixth man has become a lucrative role nowadays in the NBA because teams rely on those players to make a difference. In the past, sixth men didn’t have to be big-time contributors since they provided continuity from the starting lineup to the bench.
The modern-day archetype for the sixth-man role is Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams. They were the premier scorers off the bench, but the former admitted that there’s much more to being the first player off the bench. He cited Manu Ginobili as a an example of a unique sixth man.
“He’s a starter coming off the bench, he’s sacrificing, because it was like he can do all these things, and I was more like a specialty. It was more of me and Lou, being looked at like that,” Jamal said on The Draymond Green Show.
Ginobili was an outlier for the sixth-man role
Manu was a sixth man for most of his career but wasn’t the prototypical bench player like Jamal, Lou, or Ben Gordon. The San Antonio Spurs relied on him to be a multi-dimensional player, as he displayed great playmaking skills alongside his scoring abilities.
It was a massive asset for coach Gregg Popovich because he could deploy Manu anytime—he was there whenever the team needed a shooting guard alongside Tony Parker. Ginobili was also a steady playmaker, as he knew how to run the Spurs’ offense under coach Pop.
The legendary guard redefined the sixth-man role, proving it could be more than just another scorer off the bench. Filling in the team’s gaps is a magnificent skill that a sixth-man extraordinaire would love, as seen with someone lile Andre Iguodala.
That kind of role is equally helpful as an explosive scorer. Well-rounded contributions lead to solid success, which is why someone like Manu or Iggy was valuable. They didn’t take away much from their stars but still dominated other areas of the game.
Players coming off the bench deserve respect
Being the first backup player off the bench can demoralize some guys. They don’t get the same opportunities as their teammates from the starting lineup, which could spark some tension. However, that’s not an issue for the best sixth men in history, who knew how to thrive and embrace the role off the bench.
The NBA is a big league, so people must be ready to seize the opportunity when they get it. That said, sixth men deserve their respect. Historically speaking, they have always been crucial for in teams' championship runs.
