Lou Williams is one of the best 6th men in NBA history. He is right up there with guys like Jamal Crawford, Kevin McHale and Manu Ginóbili. He has won the NBA 6th man of the year award twice, but the question is: Why is he still a 6th man if he’s this talented?
Lou Williams is without a doubt a very talented player. He is in fact better than a lot of starting guards in this league. So, it’s totally understandable to think that he deserves to start. Yet, he doesn’t start, and there’s a good reason why. Lou Williams has perfected his role as a 6th man. He feels comfortable being a 6th man, and that’s something he proves every time he steps on the court, no matter what team he plays for. Williams has been the first guy to come off the bench for all 6 teams he has played for.
Routine
Williams has never complained about his role as a 6th man. Instead he embraced the challenge and the responsibility. See, the 6th man award isn’t a trophy to reward the best player that isn’t quite good enough to start. A lot of times those players are one of the most important players on the team. Williams shows that, as he is the Clippers’ best scorer and playmaker. Translate that to the rest of the NBA’s bench players, and you get the same result. He is first by a healthy margin in both points and assists per game for players coming off the bench.
It would be foolish for the Clippers, or any team that would potentially acquire Williams in the future, to start him all of a sudden. If you have a guy that can get you so many points off the bench and loves that role, you have to keep him there, as not many players would embrace it. Bench scoring is so valuable and sought after in today’s NBA, and Lou Williams happens to be the best one fitting that criteria. There’s no telling what he could potentially do as a starter, as the routine for a starter and a bench player are very different. A lot of former players, who have had to fill both roles, have said that it’s a night and day difference in between the two. Why would you take a risk with Williams?
Game plan
Having Lou Williams, who will always be one of the best scorers on the team, come off the bench causes a lot of headaches for opposing teams’ coaches. This is for several reasons. A coach basically has to adjust the game plan to Lou’s team instead of his team adjusting to them, no matter how good the opposing team is. Coaches can’t plan to defend him with one of their starters, as they would need rest when Williams enters the game. They can’t put a bench player on him either, as he would get easy buckets against anyone that is not an elite defender.
Thus, coaches adjust. They change their rotations to adjust to Williams, causing problems in their routines. Like I said, routines are important for NBA players. Coaches like to stick to their rotations as they know what their players are capable of and which players play best together. When they come up against a prolific scorer off the bench all of those rotations, routines and whatever will come up short against them. This causes coaches to take a gamble. Do you want to stick with what has been working all year long or do you want to shut down Williams?
Records
Lou Williams has some impressive records. He is one of only 5 players to get the NBA 6th man of the year award twice and is the frontrunner to win the award a record-tying 3rd time this year. He also has the most total points for a player coming off the bench in NBA history with 11,375 (regular season only). He also holds the record for most 30-point games off the bench ever. Just recently he put up the second 30-point 10-assist game in the playoffs for a bench player. His 21.9 points per game last year were the second most by a player coming off the bench for a season in NBA history.
It is clear that Lou Williams is one of the greatest 6th men ever, if he isn’t already the best. A player that averages 20 points and 5 assists a game doesn’t need to be coming off the bench, but the fact that he chooses and appreciates this role makes him so great. There’s no doubt that his many achievements will be difficult to match for anyone in the feature. Also, respect to Lou Williams for never complaining and making this role your own.
Courtside 