The 25 Greatest Sixth Men Of All Time
25. Ray Allen, Miami Heat
10.3 PPG, 44.6 FGP, 39.7 3P% in 2 seasons as 6th Man
Accolades: 1X NBA Champion (2013)
At face value, there’s not much reason for Ray Allen to be on this list.
He wasn’t particularly stellar as the sixth man for the Big Three era Miami Heat and his two years there pale in comparison to his work as a starter and star guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics and Boston Celtics.
However, there is one reason — and one reason only — that he is on the list: Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
Ray Allen hit one of if not the most clutch shot in NBA history and arguably created his career-defining moment with a game tying three pointer with 5.2 seconds left in the game.
The shot not only extended the game for the Heat to take Game 6 but also swung the momentum away from the San Antonio Spurs (who were seconds away from winning the series) to the Heat, who would go on to win in seven games.
Allen had other great moments as a member of the Heat, including breaking Reggie Miller’s record for most threes made in the playoffs in a first round game against the team that drafted him in the Bucks. However, that iconic shot takes the cake as the greatest moment in Allen’s South Beach tenure, his career, and perhaps in Finals history.
Next: Steady Eddie