Fansided

The NBA sidekick Hall of Fame

By Bryan Harvey

Lakers' (l to r) Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown during the game. LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on Apr. 12, 2011. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Lakers' (l to r) Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown during the game. LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on Apr. 12, 2011. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) /
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Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams

Jamal Crawford is straight fire burning in perpetuity out in the oblivion of NBA space. He has averaged double-digits in lowly Chicago, moribund New York, inconsequential Golden State, playoff fodder Atlanta, not quite loud enough Portland, wannabe Los Angeles, and miserable Minnesota. Do not let his light go unseen; instead, wonder how bright it might have been in the shadow of anyone other than those he played beside.

His career scoring average is 14.6 points per game. His playoff scoring average is 14.3. He was fearless in his roles off the bench, crisscrossing the map as the nation’s Sixth Man (he won the award three times), but committing arson is difficult when all your teammates are wet blankets.

If a player wins one of the league’s premier awards at least three times, can his talents and efforts really be recognized as underrated or undervalued? The answer is probably not. Lou Williams is a three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner, so he’s probably not underappreciated. The voting members of the NBA world recognize that no other player so impacts the game as Lou does moving from seated position to scoring onslaught in the time it takes to remove a pair of pants.

Jamal Crawford is also a three-time winner of the award, so like Williams, he’s not necessarily underappreciated.

And yet, of the 30 players to win the award, only three currently reside in the Hall of Fame: Bobby Jones, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton. These three players are largely Hall of Fame players because they played for championship teams, not because they won Sixth Man of the Year Awards.

One day, Manu Ginobili and James Harden will also be in the Hall of Fame. They are among those 30 names who have won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Ginobili will make the Hall because of his championship rings and Gold Medal miracle. Harden will make it because for a good while, he was an MVP in a Sixth Man’s wool.

Crawford or Williams likely will not both make the Hall of Fame, and the possibility exists neither will qualify. But the possibility also exists that one of them will be brought in from the cold. The house money should be on Williams to do so; after all, he’s now a teammate of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. A ring does a great deal for being remembered, but does it mean Lou Williams is any better than Jamal Crawford? And what about Montrezl Harrell (or is that question premature until the Clippers actually do what they’ve set out to do)?

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