The greatest sixth man from each NBA team

Greatest sixth man in Cleveland Cavaliers history: Hot Rod Williams

As a small child, John Williams would scoot backward around his family’s home while making engine noises, and was affectionately nicknamed “Hot Rod” by his family. The name stuck, and Williams was known by Hot Rod throughout his NBA career.

Williams was part of a strong Cleveland Cavaliers rookie class that put three players, including Williams, on an All-Rookie team. A prolific shot blocker, he was a defensive anchor off the bench for the Cavaliers as they tried to make a move in the Eastern Conference. After making the postseason just once in nine years, the Cavaliers made the playoffs nine of the next ten years with Williams as a rotation player.

Hot Rod came off the bench for 125 of 164 games from 1988-90, averaging 16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in 1989-90. He parlayed that stretch into a seven-year, $26.5 million contract in 1990, making him one of the highest-paid players in the entire league — a fact even more surprising given his sixth-man role.

Williams came off the bench primarily until 1994 and played another pair of seasons in Cleveland before bouncing out west for the last few seasons of his career. His shot-blocking continued strong throughout the 90s, and his 1200 blocks with Cleveland led the franchise until Zydrunas Ilgauskas snuck past him in 2009 at the end of his Cavaliers career.