From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sixth man
Sixth man
The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a Suns, and Jerry Stackhouse or Jason Terry with the Dallas
starter but comes off the bench much more often than Mavericks.
other reserves, often being the first player to be substi- Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach is often
tuted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or credited throughout basketball with creating the sixth
exceeding some of the starters and posts similar statis- man. He first used the role for guard Frank Ramsey, who
tics. He is often a player who can play multiple positions, played behind the Hall-of-Fame duo of Bob Cousy and
hence his utility in substituting often. For example, Kevin Bill Sharman during the early part of the Celtics’ dynasty
McHale, a famous sixth man who played for the Boston years. Though Ramsey was one of the Celtics’ best play-
Celtics in the 1980s, variably played center and power ers, he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and
forward. The presence of a good sixth man is often a sign Auerbach wanted his best players fresh and in the lineup
of excellence. It usually means that a team has excellent at the end of close games. The most famous sixth man,
depth, as the sixth man is usually more than talented however, was teammate John Havlicek, who revolution-
enough to start for most teams. ized the role during his 16-year career.
A common strategy is to place a good scorer as a sixth
man when the starting lineup already has enough scor-
ers. The sixth man can then enter without the team suf-
See also
fering a drop-off in scoring. This was used during the • 12th Man (football)
Chicago Bulls’ championship runs with forward Toni • NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
Kukoč and more recently with Manu Ginóbili with the • WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award
San Antonio Spurs, Leandro Barbosa with the Phoenix
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Categories:
• Basketball terminology
• Basketball stubs
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