NBA: 30 best careers from players who skipped college

30 best careers from players who skipped college – 11. Lou Williams

In other sports, players fill specific roles on a team and gain an identity for it. Perhaps a football team has a running back who specializes in short-yardage situations; he is often dubbed the “goal-line back.” Hockey might have an enforcer. Baseball of course has closers, pinch hitters and base runners.

Basketball has them too, and none more so than the “Sixth Man” role that has been codified into an actual annual award. A player who comes off the bench but plays starter minutes, often creating “instant offense” while the team’s starters sit. Multiple players have claimed this role as their calling card, excelling in this role. Jamal Crawford, or Vinnie Johnson, were perennial contenders for the Sixth Man of the Year award. The modern heir to that throne is Lou Williams.

Growing up in a suburb of Atlanta, Williams likely did not envision himself a bench player. He was a star with the ball in his hands, making the Georgia All-State team all four years he was in high school, winning a state title his junior year and being named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year his senior season. After committing to play at the nearby University of Georgia, Williams ultimately decided to toss his name into the 2005 NBA Draft.

Williams fell in the draft, ultimately going 45th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Playing on the same team as Allen Iverson meant he had to be a bench player to start his career; starting the two together would have spelled defensive doom. Williams grew into the classic microwave scorer off the bench, and played 455 games for the 76ers across seven seasons, starting just 38 of them (8%).

He then made his way west, playing in Atlanta, Toronto, Los Angeles and Houston over the next five seasons, winning a Sixth Man of the Year award in the process. Despite the constant franchise turnover, his role stayed the same: bench scorer extraordinaire. He started just 52 of 327 games, or about 15.9 percent.

Williams finally landed with the LA Clippers, where he spent nearly four seasons climbing to the top of the Sixth Man throne. He twice won the award, finishing third after the final complete season. He was at times their best offensive player, and often their primary generator of offense, all off the bench. His various faults held him back from being an All-Star type player, but his unique gifts kept him in the league far longer than many would have expected.