The NBA sidekick Hall of Fame

Bruce Bowen and Stephen Jackson

Bruce Bowen didn’t find his way to San Antonio until he was 30, and in his eight years wearing black and white, he never averaged double digits. In fact, Bowen’s overall game was rather limited — so limited, in fact, that what he did best was limit the efforts of others.

He crowded shooters. He threw forearms and elbows. He was a corporate pest. He was, as his broadcasting career demonstrates, loyal to a fault. But he turned loyalty into a skill. He was glue without ever having been a horse in the first place.

Stephen Jackson is not Bruce Bowen. Jackson had two stints in San Antonio. The first lasted just over 100 games. The second lasted little more than 20. He helped the Spurs win a title in his first stint because he was a fearless individual. He was sent home early in his second season because he was fearless. He was also somehow loyal to a fault. His crude stint in Indiana stands as evidence of both his loyalty and his fearlessness. He could score 20 points a game or burn down the house. He could topple a No. 1 seed if you gave him free rein.

Sidekicks can come in all skill-sets and temperaments. At the end of the 2003 season, the two San Antonio Spurs ranked behind Tim Duncan’s 7.6 VORP rating and ahead of David Robinson’s 1.7 were Bruce Bowen and Stephen Jackson. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were on the roster, making nice contributions, but the Big 3 wasn’t quite what it would become.