The Sixth Man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in, and he or she may even play more minutes than the starters. Everything else being equal, NBA teams that have a strong Sixth Man win 10-15% more games than their rivals. A Sixth Man can be so foundation to a team’s success that the NBA Finals MVP in 2015, Andre Iguodala, was the Sixth Man for the Golden State Warriors.
Early in this year’s NBA season which started in October, Golden State lost their big-time star Steph Curry for three games and you might have expected them to lose all three and get off to a rough start to their season. On the other hand, they won all three and have been sitting atop the Western Conference for most of this season, partly due to the value of a new, little-known player, Buddy Hield, who is their Sixth Man.
Here’s a trivia question for you. In the past five NBA seasons (2019-2024), which player has scored the most three-pointers? I bet you’re guessing Steph Curry, one of the most dominant shooters in NBA history, right? Nope, he’s second with 1,296 three-pointers. In first place is Buddy Hield who has scored 1,330 three-pointers even though you may have never heard of him because he’s played for a variety of teams. He’s shooting nearly 50% from the challenging three-point line this year, far above Curry’s historical 42%.
I have such admiration for coach Steve Kerr who has had to makeover the Warriors multiple times over the last few years after being the dominant NBA team for many seasons. He was able to see that as Steph is getting older, he needed to find a bargain player (salary-wise) to help make the buckets and Buddy Hield came to the Warriors in a six-team trade in anticipation of this season.
Who on your team is your Sixth Man? The adaptable, low-ego leader who can substitute in and score a few points when the team is weary and needing a spark plug.
-Chip
P.S. What are you doing before Christmas or after New Year’s? While MEA Baja’s annual Refresh program on our campus over the holidays is full from December 27 till January 2, we have availability before and after that if you’re looking for an all-inclusive vacation where you’ll meet a bunch of like-hearted friends.