Award winners, title-team role players and one former MVP reborn as a backup: the decade's benches ran deeper than the box scores suggest.
1Bill WaltonFormer MVP who reinvented himself as Boston's backup center and won Sixth Man of the Year for the 1986 champions.1000pts
2Kevin McHaleCeltics forward who won Sixth Man of the Year in 1984 and 1985 with an unstoppable low-post game off the bench.813pts
3Bobby Jones76ers defensive stopper who won the first-ever Sixth Man of the Year award in 1983, the year Philadelphia took the title.423pts
4Detlef SchrempfVersatile German forward who built his bench role with the Mavericks and Pacers in the late 1980s.423pts
5Michael CooperShowtime Lakers swingman off the bench who won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and five championships.423pts
6Bob McAdooFormer scoring champion who became a key bench weapon for the Lakers' 1982 and 1985 title teams.310pts
7Roy TarpleyDallas Mavericks big man who averaged a double-double off the bench to win Sixth Man of the Year in 1988.310pts
8Thurl BaileyUtah Jazz forward who gave the team steady scoring off the bench behind Karl Malone in the late 1980s.310pts
9Dennis RodmanPistons rebounding and defensive force who came off the bench for Detroit's 1989 championship team.310pts
Photo credits
- Kevin McHale — City of Boston Archives from West Roxbury, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Detlef Schrempf — lam_chihang, CC BY 2.0
- Michael Cooper — Neon Tommy, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Roy Tarpley — Davidwbaker, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Dennis Rodman — GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0
