The battle of the sixth man. In the third volume of my versus series, I’ll take a look at two of the greatest sixth men of all time. This is a tough one because Lou Williams is still currently in the NBA, and Jamal Crawford just retired within the past week.
Intro
These two players have eerily similar career numbers and awards. This is the toughest versus I have done yet.
Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford had a fantastic career as a bench scorer, he won himself 3 NBA sixth man of the year awards. In terms of accolades in the NBA, that’s all he has.
He averaged 14.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game for his career. Solid numbers, and he did that shooting 41% from the field, and 35% from three.
Lou Williams
Lou Williams has been an incredible bench player in the NBA for a long time, currently he is averaging 6 points and 2 assists, he does not have a huge role with the Hawks.
Williams’ career averages are, 13.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He has career averages of 41.9% from the field, and 35.1% from three point range.
He has 3 sixth man of the year awards, including back to back in 2018 and 2019.
Versus
These two players have super similar career resumes. Both are winners of the sixth man award three times. They have the same averages for rebounds and assists, and are both averaging about 14 points per game.
Even their percentages are similar, 41% and 42% from the field, and both just about 35% from behind the three point line.
So who is better all time?
Jamal Crawford is the answer. Crawford had more longevity in the NBA, and he was a more consistent player. Lou Williams may have the better single scoring season advantage, but Crawford averaged 17ppg or more for 6 straight seasons. Williams did it 5 times in a 6 year span.
Crawford also has about 4K more career points than Williams. Even if Lou Williams continues to play a couple more seasons, his current averages wouldn’t get him very close to passing Crawford.
