NBA

Former Clippers star Lou Williams: ‘NBA Sixth Man Award should be named after Crawford, Ginobili if not me’

Author photo
By
James Foglio
Author photo
James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

All posts by James Foglio
Sports Editor

Updated20 Aug 2023

Former Los Angeles Clippers star Lou Williams NBA Sixth Man Award should be named after Crawford, Ginobili if not me

Former Los Angeles Clippers star Lou Williams won NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times (2015, 2018, 2019) in his 17-year playing career, and the retired 6-foot-1 guard believes the award should be named after him. If not himself, Williams was thinking Jamal Crawford or NBA Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili.

Of course, Crawford also won Sixth Man of the Year three times (2010, 2014, and 2016), and Ginobili won the award in the 2007-08 season. Williams and Crawford are the only players in NBA history to win the award three times. Neither player won an NBA championship nor was ever selected to an All-Star team.

According to a few NBA betting sites, the Los Angeles Clippers hold eighth-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers.


“That would be an honor. If not me, Jamal [Crawford]. If not Jamal, Manu [Ginobili],” Williams told TMZ Sports. “I think we’re three guys that championed that. We made it a lifestyle. We made it something that younger guys coming into the league, if they’re not going to be superstars, not going to be All-Stars, they still have a position to make their mark on the game.

“That would be a huge honor. So, I’m not fighting. I’m not saying, ‘No, it shouldn’t be named after me,’ I would definitely love that. But if not me, definitely Jamal. If not Jamal, definitely Manu.”

Manu Ginobili is only one of the five current Hall of Famers to have ever won NBA Sixth Man of the Year, joining Bobby Jones, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, and Toni Kukoc. Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden will join the list once he retires and is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Former Clippers star Lou Williams believes the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award should be named after himself or either Jamal Crawford or Manu Ginobili

Moreover, Lou Williams set the NBA record for career points scored off the bench with 13,396 points. During his final season in February 2022, he also set the league record for the most career games (1,001) played off the bench, surpassing Dell Curry’s record (984).

“My favorite vet, it’s probably been Lou Williams. One thing I’ll always take from Lou is that [when all my teammates were around him], he was just always being himself,” Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young said last week on “From the Point” Apple podcast.

“There’s too much fake stuff around this league or whatever going around, and as long as you yourself, you’ll be able to live with it at the end of the day. And I mean he’s been himself for 16, 17, 18 plus years in the league, I don’t know how many years, he’s played a lot of years in the league.

“At his height, his size, doing what he did, I mean, the Sixth Man of the Year, it should be named after Lou, he’s the man. He’s been my favorite vet for sure.”

Should the Sixth Man award be named after Jamal Crawford?

Furthermore, Crawford is the NBA’s all-time leader in career four-point plays, scoring 54 total points. Note that Harden is currently in second place with 36 points. Crawford played 1,327 games across his 20-year career. Fans could easily make a strong case for the award to be named after the Washington native.

In the Phoenix Suns’ 120-109 regular-season finale loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Apr. 9, 2019, the 6-foot-5 guard scored a career-high 51 points on 18-of-30 (60%) shooting from the field and 7-of-13 (53.8%) beyond arc in 39 minutes off the bench.

At 39 years and 20 days old, he became the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game. Also, Crawford became the first player to have 50-point outings with four franchises as well. Not to mention, his 51 points were the most points ever scored by a reserve in league history.


Additionally, Crawford is the second player in NBA history to have scored 10,000 career points off the bench. In NBA history, Crawford is tied at 29th with four 50-point career games logged (tied with nine others, including Carmelo Anthony and Larry Bird) and 10th all-time in career 3-pointers made (2,221).

It seems the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award should be named after Jamal Crawford. If voters had to pick a player for the award name, it would come down to Crawford and Lou Williams. In fact, it should only be between the two three-time, award-winning legends. Though, Manu Ginobili deserves an honorable mention.

NBA Betting Content You May Like