The NBA's Underappreciated: Breaking Down the Top Sixth Men

It happens at every level of basketball: the starting five receive their due amount of spotlight, while the role players and sixth men of the teams receive little or no publicity.

The NBA has done a nice job getting these players some well-deserved attention by instituting the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1982, but the league's top backups still don't receive as much attention as they are due.

A good bench player can have just as much of an impact, if not more, than some starters have on a good team.

I decided that it would be a good idea to shed some light on the players who typically aren't put in the limelight as often as they should be, by ranking the league's top backups.

Since I am ranking the top sixth men in the league, I figured it would be appropriate to stray from the conventional "Top Five" or "Top Ten" and instead list the "Top Six" sixth men.

*Note: for those of you who don't recognize the picture, it is Bobby Jones of the Philadelphia 76ers, the first ever recipient of the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award*

And now, I present some of the league's most underappreciated players:

6. Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets

Chris "Birdman" Andersen has made an impressive comeback to the NBA after being kicked out of the league in 2006.

Since re-joining the Nuggets, Andersen has proved that he still has the freakish athletic talent that made him such an intriguing prospect in the first place.

This past year, Andersen helped the Nuggets on their playoff run by being a key defensive stopper, ranking second in the league in blocks-per-game with 2.46, despite playing 10 fewer minutes-per-game than Marcus Camby, who was next on the list with 2.13 blocks-per-game.

Andersen's tough defense, coupled with his incredible athleticism and ability to run the floor on the fast break, earned him a new five-year, $26 million contract with the Nuggets, ensuring that the Birdman will be flying in the Mile-High City for years to come.

5. Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz

Paul Millsap was one of the hottest commodities on the market this past offseason as a restricted free agent, and in all likelihood would have landed a starting role on any other team he signed with besides Utah.

As it stands, though, Millsap is still a member of the Jazz after Utah decided to match the Portland Trailblazers' four-year, $32 million offer to the energetic power forward.

Last season, Millsap proved he is a legitimate force in the league, posting averages of 16.0 points-per-game and 10.2 rebounds-per-game in the 38 games he started while filling in for the injured Carlos Boozer.

If Boozer is traded before the start of the season, then Millsap would have to be taken off this list as he would then be a starter, but right now he stands in position to be one of the league's top backups once again in 2009.

4. Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers

Lamar Odom struggled mightily when he was first handed his new role of sixth man on a team who he started for every season over the past four years. But Odom came through, as he so often does, and filled his role without complaint, coming in when Andrew Bynum went down with injury and playing just like everyone expects Lamar Odom to play.

Odom averaged a double-double in the 32 games he started, posting averages of 14 points-per-game and 11.2 rebounds-per-game in vintage Odom fashion.

Odom proved that he still has plenty left in the tank, and while he may not have posted those numbers coming off the bench in traditional sixth man fashion, it is the role of the sixth man to be able to step in when a starter goes down, and Odom fulfilled that role to perfection last season, capping it all off with a Championship ring.

This year, Odom returns to his sixth man role behind newly-acquired forward Ron Artest. And given Artest’s history of not-so-stellar behavior, Odom may just get the chance to fill in for a starter once again.

3. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs

Manu Ginobili proved himself to be one of the NBA's true class acts in 2006 when he accepted a bench role in the Spurs' rotation of shooting guards without batting an eye after starting for the Spurs team that won an NBA Title in 2004-05—even after he earned an All-Star bid that year.

Following the 2007-08 season, Ginobili won the Sixth Man of the Year Award for the Spurs and since then, has been more than content being the top backup for a team that perennially challenges for a championship.

Ginobili's career-high scoring average actually came during a year when he was coming off the bench, averaging 19.5 points-per-game during the 2007-08 season.

Ginobili has adjusted to his bench role very well, becoming one of the top scoring sixth men in the game today.

2. Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks

The NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year is obviously one of the top talents coming off the bench in the league today.

Used to being a starter for most of his career, Terry happily moved to the bench when the Mavericks acquired Jason Kidd from the New Jersey Nets during the 2007-08 season.

A year later, Terry won the Sixth Man of the Year award by averaging a career-high 19.6 points-per-game coming off the bench, proving that even at age 31, "The Jet" still had the explosive scoring touch that had made him so successful throughout his career.

1. Ben Gordon, Detroit Pistons

So how is it that I have Ben Gordon ranked higher than last year's Sixth Man of the Year? Simple. I believe that if Gordon had not been a starter in Chicago last season, he would have been the winner of that award.

Gordon is one of the best scorers in the league, bar none. He proved that by posting two 30+ point games in the playoffs this year against the defensively stout Celtics.

And yes, they were without Kevin Garnett, but Garnett would not have been guarding Gordon in the first place.

Gordon won the Sixth Man of the Year Award after his rookie season in 2004-05, when he averaged 15.1 points-per-game coming off the bench.

Gordon was worked into the starting lineup in Chicago after his performance, but the Pistons have made it very clear that Gordon will come off the bench behind Rip Hamilton, making Gordon without a doubt the top sixth man in the league.

Gordon's scoring ability is incredible and can be game-changing when he hits a rhythm.

It is hard to believe that Detroit shelled out $55 million for a bench player, but if they stick to their plan, Gordon has a very legitimate shot at becoming the first player since Detlef Schrempf in 1991-92 to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award twice.