NBA History: 5 greatest bench players of the last decade (2010-2019)

#2 Andre Iguodala

Andre is known for his incredible defensive stops, including a timely steal and a dunk on the other end

Perhaps one of the greatest stories in NBA Finals History was sixth man Iguodala winning Finals MVP while coming off the bench in three of the six Finals Games.

A 6'6 player from Arizona, Andre Iguodala was selected 9th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004. He eventually went on to get All-Rookie First Team honors and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote.

Andre didn't always play behind star players Curry and Thompson. He was actually voted an as an All-Star reserve in the 2011-12 season, the last season where he would play with the Sixers. He would eventually sign a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets, a signing that labeled the team then as a contender. However, an upset by the Curry-led Warriors ended the Nuggets' championship hopes. Dre averaged an impressive 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2 steals throughout the series.

He eventually signed with the Warriors the following season, foreseeing that the Curry-led team would soon become something special.

In the 2014-15 season, Coach Steve Kerr would eventually elect him to move to the bench, behind SF Harrison Barnes. This proved to be a genius move as the deadly closing lineup of Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Iguodala-Green would go on to win the championship. Andre was LeBron's primary defender, a performance that eventually won him Finals MVP.

Iguodala is more than what his statline shows--he is a versatile player who can play 1 through 4 and be great at it. He may only have two All-Defensive Team selections under his belt, but his elite defense has won his team three NBA Championships. He has since been traded from the team because of cap reasons, but he is still recognized by the organization as one of the key players to Golden State's dynasty. His jersey will no doubt be retired by the organization once he calls it quits with the NBA.

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#1 Manu Ginobili

Ginobili kisses trophy as the Spurs win the 2003 Finals against then-New Jersey Nets

Manu Ginobili may not have won any Finals MVPs, but he might as well have. He had an impressive 20.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG performance against the Pistons in the 2005 Finals, but was edged out by Tim Duncan in voting. Manu went from being an unknown European player whose last name was always mispronounced to a part of the Spurs' Big 3 whose jersey has since been retired.

This may come as a surprise, but Emanuel David Ginóbili was only the 57th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. He is a 4-time NBA Champion, playing a vital role in their 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014 title runs. Manu may not have won Sixth Man of the Year this decade (he won it in 2008), but he was a great bench player as he was selected NBA All-Star in 2011 and All-NBA Third Team in 2011.

Manu was not the bulkiest player, but he was a great defender and hustler. One play that comes to mind was his game-winning block on James Harden to give the Spurs a 3-2 series lead in 2017 at 39 years old.

From 2010 to 2018, Manu Ginobili averaged 12.1 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in just 23.5 minutes played. Just how impressive is that coming from a bench player who was 32 to 40 years old throughout this decade?

The 6'6 guard had career-highs of 48 in points, 15 in rebounds, 15 in assists, 8 in steals, and 4 in blocks. Manu's play style was so ridiculous that it turned Coach Pop from shaking his head at him to eventually letting the Argentinian guard lead the floor with his plays.