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

Andre Iguodala
Andre Iguodala

In a star-studded league such as the NBA, people sometimes forget how important the bench is to a team's success. Time and time again, however, history has shown just how vital contributions are coming from these players. Teams who have found success in the regular season, go deep in the playoffs, and even go on to win the championship, generally have one of the top benches and super-subs.

John Havlicek, Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, Tony Kukoc, Detlef Schrempf,--these are just some of the best super subs that have made a tremendous impact on their team. Most of them have even made it to the Hall of Fame.

But who are the best bench players of thsi decade? Let us find out.


#5 Lou Williams

Lou Williams in a game against the Wizards in the recently-revamped Clipper team
Lou Williams in a game against the Wizards in the recently-revamped Clipper team

Lou Williams has embraced his role as a sixth man and has been phenomenal from the bench. He has won three Sixth Man of the Year Awards, tying Jamal Crawford for most 6MOTY won by an NBA player.

Straight from high school, the 6'1 shooting guard was selected as the 45th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent 7 seasons with the team and was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in the 2011-2012 season before signing with the Atlanta Hawks in 2012. Unfortunately, Lou tore his ACL mid-season and missed the first few games of the following season before tallying 10.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds to end the year with the Hawks.

It is with the Toronto Raptors that Lou Williams finally found his groove back as he won Sixth Man of the Year in 2015, even scoring a career-high 36 points during that season. As the sixth man, Lou Williams averaged 15.5 points, 2.1 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in just 25 minutes of action.

Recently, Lou Williams has continued to tear it up with the Los Angeles Clippers, winning back-to-back 6 MOTY in 2018 and 2019. Some of his greatest performances include a 42-point outing against the Lakers in 2017 and an incredible 50-point performance against the Warriors, who had one of the best defenses in the 2017-2018 season. He ended that season with a career-high 22.6 points, 5.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.

30-, 40-, 50-point games--you name it. Lou Williams has had multiple of them. He and the Clippers even managed to steal two wins from the Warriors last playoffs, where they overcame a 31-point deficit in Game 2. A professional scorer and a great team player, it won't be a surprise if he eventually becomes a champion now that a new era with the Clippers has emerged.

#4 Jason Terry

Jason Terry in Game 3 of the Dallas-OKC series in 2011
Jason Terry in Game 3 of the Dallas-OKC series in 2011

Jason Terry knew that the Dallas Mavericks were gonna win it all in 2011 before everyone else. He even had a Larry O'Brien trophy tattooed on his biceps before the season started as motivation for him and his teammates.

A 6'2" guard, Terry spent four years in college before declaring for the draft where he was selected with the 9th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 1999. It was with the Dallas Mavericks where Jason Terry further flourished. In the 2008-2009 season, Terry averaged 19.6 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds; a statline that eventually won him the Sixth Man of the Year.

Come the start of this decade, Terry averaged 15.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in the 2010-11 season. He took it to the next level as he played a crucial role in the Mavs' championship run--one of the most impressive title runs by an NBA team. LeBron James had a hard time guarding him and Terry was able to slow down LeBron as they beat the Miami Heat 4-2.

Terry's durability is what anyone would want from an ideal bench player. Since his rookie year up to the 2007-08 season, he only missed 12 games (yes,12 games in that 9-year span!). But since we're talking about performances this decade, Looking at JET's stats from 2009-2018, he played a total of 610 games, which is incredibly impressive for someone who was 32 to 40 years old throughout that stretch.

Jason Terry's durability and reliability was absolutely ridiculous. The guard always played all out on both offense and defense. He was a great locker room guy and was always relentless on the floor.


#3 Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom declared for the NBA Draft in 1999 and was selected fourth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. The 6'10 forward put up an incredible 30-point and 10-rebound in his NBA debut, and was eventually named All-Rookie First Team in 2000.

Lamar didn't start his career as a sixth man, but on the 2008-09 season with the Lakers, then-coach Phil Jackson declared that he would be coming off the bench behind Ariza, Gasol, and Bynum. This proved to be genius as Odom was key to was key to the Lakers' back-to-back championship in 2009 and 2010.

In the 2010-2011 season, Lamar Odom averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0.7 blocks. He eventually won Sixth Man of the Year.

Perhaps one of the best players off the bench in NBA History, Odom was one of the first bigs in this decade to move and handle the ball like a guard. At 6'10", he could score from anywhere on the floor and could dish out timely assists. Odom was also great defender. He used his size matched with his agility to slow down the opposing player, no matter how great that player was at scoring.

The numbers he put up can't fully justify just how great he played this decade. Lamar Odom was the perfect complement to a star player in a championship team. He truly embraced his role off the bench and was great at it.

#2 Andre Iguodala

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


#1 Manu Ginobili

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

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee