All Time Role Player Team?

[midnightpulp]

To qualify for inclusion on this squad, the candidate in question can't be (or never have been):

- An All Star

- A 6th Man of the Year

- A Rookie of the Year

- A 1st team All NBA selection (offensive or defensive)

- A DPOY winner

I'm using Basketball Reference's Box Plus/Minus to aid in my selection process, and think I've come up with a pretty good starting 5 and 6th man.

PG: Derek Fisher

Actually has a career regular season +/- of -0.7, but we know Fish typically slept walk through regular season and woke up in April. In the post-season, his FG% improved from .399 to .423, PER 11.8 to 12.0, and Offensive/Defensive rating difference from 0 to +4, which means he would likely have a strong +/- figure (BBall reference unfortunately doesn't yet have +/- for the post-season).

SG: Brent Barry

Career +2.4 +/- and a capable playoff performer as us Spurs fans know.

SF: Shane Battier

The +/- king of role players (career mark of +2.75, which is a better mark than players like Dwight Howard, Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, and many other All Star caliber players). Also a clutch playoff performer as us Spurs fans know. No doubt Daryl Morey has a shrine of Battier in his office.

PF: Robert Horry

Career +/- of 2.70, which again is a figure that is better than a lot of All Star caliber players. Also one of the most clutch playoff performers of all-time.

C: Vlade Divac

Breaking my own no All Star rule here, but Vlade was only selected once and his raw stats of 12 and 8 on 48% shooting that year (2001) really don't justify his inclusion, not to mention he got in because Shaq was injured for half the year and didn't qualify for the All Star game. That said, Vlade definitely has an All Star +/- figure: An impressive 3.1. Solid post-season performer, too, even if he did stupidly back tap a rebound he should've grabbed.

6th Man: Cedric Maxwell

Career +/- of 2.7. Famously the Finals MVP of the 1980 Celtics.

Who is your all Role Player team?

[ambchang]

Derek harper should replace fisher.

Tough to get a center. Anybody who's remotely good would have made the all star team, especially those from the last 20 years.

[AlexJones]

2011 JKidd/2000 Kobe/2013 KLeonard/2014 Diaw/2014 Duncan

[midnightpulp]

Derek harper should replace fisher.

Tough to get a center. Anybody who's remotely good would have made the all star team, especially those from the last 20 years.

I was thinking of putting Bogut at C, but he's always injured and hasn't done anything in the playoffs.

[Venti Quattro]

Fisher
Jamal Crawford
Battier (or Bowen if I want to injure the opponent)
Odom
PJ Brown

[Cry Havoc]

Bibby/Isaiah Rider (tough call tbh)
Jalen Rose
Kukoc
Horry
Jefferson

[spurraider21]

what about kiwi

[Jenks]

1 Rod Strickland
2 Drazen Petrovic
3 Stephen Jackson
4 Robert Horry
5 Arvydas Sabonis

[Malik Hairston]

Assuming I'm not actually trying to win games with this team(so fit being irrelevant), and excluding super role players like Tyson Chandler:

PG Mavs Kidd/Fisher
SG Danny Green/Tony Allen
SF Bruce Bowen/Trevor Ariza
PF Horry/Spurs Diaw
C Divac/post-kidney transplant Alonzo Mourning

[spurraider21]

Bibby - Green - Leonard - Diaw - Splitter

because why not

[Malik Hairston]

Bibby fits OP's criteria, but he wasn't a role player, at all:lol..he carried those teams for large stretches and ran the offense virtually every time down the stretch..

[Thread]

Bibby - Green - Leonard - Diaw - Splitter

because why not

Easy to be glib when you're on top. You SOB, you.

[spurraider21]

Easy to be glib when you're on top. You SOB, you.
Absolutely.

[spurraider21]

Bibby fits OP's criteria, but he wasn't a role player, at all:lol..he carried those teams for large stretches and ran the offense virtually every time down the stretch..
and Horry carried the Spurs for 17 straight minutes in the finals :lol

that was Duncan's equivalent of LeBron's game 6 choke that got rewarded imo, but probably worse if they lost. he was horrible offensively throughout that game, missed seemingly every free throw down the stretch, and missed the game winning tip-in which would have avoided OT altogether

[blkroadrunners]

Derek Fisher
Danny Green
Bruce Bowen/Pistons Tayshaun Prince
Toni Kukoc/Robert Horry
Brad Miller/Vlade Divac

[Medvedenko]

Everyone is sleeping on James Posey.
Fisher/Shaw
Bowen/lindsey hunter
Horry/ariza/posey
Haslem/splitter

[Cry Havoc]

Bibby fits OP's criteria, but he wasn't a role player, at all:lol..he carried those teams for large stretches and ran the offense virtually every time down the stretch..

:lol He fit the criteria specified, so in he goes. :lol

Definitely not a role-player though, unless you argue that everyone on that Kings team was one, sans perhaps Webber.

FWIW, Fisher has carried plenty of teams, if not physically then mentally, especially the Lakers.

[Thread]

Derek Fisher
Danny Green
Bruce Bowen/Pistons Tayshaun Prince
Toni Kukoc/Robert Horry
Brad Miller/Vlade Divac

I thought perhaps Kukoc would end up in Los Angeles at the end, but, of course it did not happen.

[lefty]

Kukoc is more than a role player tbh

[Thread]

Kukoc is more than a role player tbh

A winnerPERIOD

[Malik Hairston]

and Horry carried the Spurs for 17 straight minutes in the finals :lol

that was Duncan's equivalent of LeBron's game 6 choke that got rewarded imo, but probably worse if they lost. he was horrible offensively throughout that game, missed seemingly every free throw down the stretch, and missed the game winning tip-in which would have avoided OT altogether

Bibby had a 22% usage rate in 41 MPG in the 2002 playoffs:lol..he was a load carrier..

[AchillesHeel]

Came in expecting to see Kirby

disappointed in you, Mid.

[lefty]

Doug Christie was a heck of a role player IMO

[Killakobe81]

Horry and Fish are on that team no doubt about it. Horry was a legit contributor on titles for 3 franchises. His resume:

The 3 versus the Pistons (Spurs PROBABLY lose without it)
The 3 versus Sacto (Lakers DEFINITELY lose without it)
The hip check that leads to Amare suspension (Spurs MAY lose without it ...)

As for Fisher the layup vs.. the Celts in 2010 ...
The 3 versus the Magic in 2009
.4 versus the Spurs ...
The rain of 3's versus the spurs (2001?) all were HUGE
Also Lakers may not be rockets without his "screen" on Scola. Scola was tearing Odom and Pau a new one and Fisher wouldnt stand for it. cheap shot? Yep. Dirty? yes. But the kind of old school foul you want someone to take? ABSOLUTELY changed that series without taking a clutch shot.

[Killakobe81]

Bowen never won a DPOY did he? if not he joins Horry and fish on the GOAT first team role player unit along with ...

PG Fish
SG Sjax
SF Bowen
PF Horry
C Longley? klay's dad? Splitter? Bynum? Tough call ... I like Haslem as Horry's back up and Posey as Bowen's. Posey hit bigger shots but Bowen was more versatile on defense. Can we count Sjax as a SG? if so I say him. SG is tough to find role players who were relevant on title teams. For me, that ALWAYS matters.

[Killakobe81]

Zo as Shaq's backup would be my choice at center if not sticking to original criteria ...

[Thread]

Doug Christie was a heck of a role player IMO

Yes, he understood exactly what was going on twixt he, the Kings and the Lakers.

Malone understood that too back in mid-80's. There was no mistaking their awareness of it and therefore they did not have to hide in fear of loss.

[Killakobe81]

My bad original criteria eliminates Bowen, so I put Posey at Sf SJax at SG didnt Battier make ALL NBA defense 1st or 2nd team in his career? That media suckup and Uncle Tom surely made at least one ...

[Killakobe81]

Yes Battier made all defense twice so he is null and void ...

[Jenks]

Here are your grades



Jamal Crawford
(or Bowen if I want to injure the opponent)
Odom
2x 6th man
5x all defense
6th man



Kukoc

6th man



Bruce Bowen
Toni Kukoc
Brad Miller/Vlade Divac
5x all defense
6th man
2x all star
all star




Doug Christie was a heck of a role player IMO
all defense



SF Bowen
Bynum?
5x all defense
all star

[Killakobe81]

Here are your grades

2x 6th man
5x all defense
6th man


6th man


5x all defense
6th man
2x all star
all star




all defense


5x all defense
all star

I caught the Bowen (see above) and forgot Bynum made an all-star team so that is MY bad ...but OP included Battier so the whole thread is fail tbh ...

[Killakobe81]

And Bynum when healthy was a beast but how often did that Happen? And I listed Longley first followed by Mychel Thompson and Splitter (dont remember if Klay's dad made an all-star I was too young prior to his Laker days to know or care ...

[Thread]

And Bynum when healthy was a beast but how often did that Happen? And I listed Longley first followed by Mychel Thompson and Splitter (dont remember if Klay's dad made an all-star I was too young prior to his Laker days to know or care ...

There was a lot of bitterness when we got Thompson. Boston was absolutely incensed.

[Jenks]

I caught the Bowen (see above) and forgot Bynum made an all-star team so that is MY bad ...but OP included Battier so the whole thread is fail tbh ...
Battier is good, only made 2nd team all D.

[spurraider21]

There was a lot of bitterness when we got Thompson. Boston was absolutely incensed.
wasn't around for his playing days, but man, he's impossible to listen to on the radio. dumb as a doorknob

[Thread]

wasn't around for his playing days, but man, he's impossible to listen to on the radio. dumb as a doorknob

All ham, with a large mouth.

[Cry Havoc]

Here are your grades

2x 6th man
5x all defense
6th man


6th man


5x all defense
6th man
2x all star
all star




all defense


5x all defense
all star

Is a 6th man not the definition of a "role player"? Manu was an exception because he could do it all, which made him noteworthy. Most 6th men are specific role players -- needed for scoring, defense, change of pace, etc.

[djohn2oo8]

Sactown version of Peja and Hedo were fun to watch