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The 25 Greatest Sixth Men Of All Time

By Carter Johnson

Oct 28, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) reacts after a shot against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 101-100. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) reacts after a shot against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 101-100. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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19. John Starks, New York Knicks

13.5 PPG, 1.2 SPG,.424/.348/.778 shooting split in 3 seasons as 6th Man

Accolades: 1X Sixth Man of the Year (1996-97)

Next to Patrick Ewing, there may not have been a more iconic player from the mean, brutish New York Knicks teams of the 1990s than John Starks.

An undersized yet tenacious 2-guard, Starks had failed stints with the Golden State Warriors and several teams in minor basketball leagues before eventually falling in with the Knicks. Starks would become one of the team’s most significant players and a premier two-way player, serving as the Knicks’ primary perimeter scoring threat and their primary perimeter defender.

He became infamous for often going toe-to-toe with the likes of Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller in tense and often heated matchups. While he wasn’t as great as either one of the two, he often held his own with a combination of unique athleticism and pure shooting on offense and physicality and fierce competitiveness on defense.

Though he was a starter for most of his tenure with the Knicks, Starks left enough of a mark as the sixth man to be considered for this list.

Starks had one of his best seasons playing the sixth man role in 1996-97, averaging 13.8 points per game on shooting percentages of .431/.369/.769 on his way to collecting the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Unfortunately for him, Starks was also known for coming up short in clutch moments, most notably in the final games of the 1994 NBA Finals.

With the Knicks up three games to two, Starks had a game-winning three blocked by Hakeem Olajuwon in Game 6 and missed three late three pointers in Game 7, including a potential go-ahead shot with 20 seconds left, to give the Rockets their first championship.

Regardless of his lack of clutch heroics, Starks embodied what was loved about those Knicks and that era of basketball in general with his physicality and raw emotion. Add in a consistent scoring contribution and you have one of the underrated players of the 1990s.

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