On Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LA Clippers guard Lou Williams became the third player in NBA history to score 10,000 bench points.
LA Clippers guard Lou Williams is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, but at this point, some might consider calling him Sixth Man of the Decade.
Last night, the two-time Sixth Man award winner did something that only two other players in league history have done since 1970 — he scored his 10,000th point off the bench. In doing so, he joined Dell Curry (11,147) and Jamal Crawford (10,792) on a very short list.
Williams is one of only five players to win the Sixth Man of the Year award multiple times, trailing only Crawford for the most all-time. Crawford has won three, two of which he earned as a member of the LA Clippers.
Sweet Lou scored his 10,000th career bench point late in Tuesday’s contest from the free throw line. He finished the night with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Williams is certainly viable to win another Sixth Man of the Year award again this season. Despite looking like he’s taken a step backwards from last season, Williams is still scoring 16.7 points per game is recording a solid number of assists. His efficiency has been what’s dropped off the most, but even then, he’s improved that aspect of his game since the season began.
Although his 50-point outburst against the Golden State Warriors came in a start, Williams still had more-than-impressive performances off the bench last season.
Half of Williams’ 40+ point performances came in games in which he was a reserve, and all but one of his double-doubles happened when he came off the bench as well. His best bench performance last season came against the Memphis Grizzlies in January.
There’s also a real chance that Williams could climb even higher on the three-person list this season. He trails Crawford now by just under 800 points, but Lou’s role with the Clippers is a much larger one than Crawford’s with the Suns. And considering Williams accumulated nearly 1,800 points last season, there’s reason to believe he’ll score more than enough to make it happen.
Saying he’ll surpass Curry this season could be more of a stretch, but by the time Williams retires, it’s almost certain that he’ll become the NBA’s all-time leader in bench points scored.
Williams will get his next chance to add to his total on Thursday, when the LA Clippers take on the Philadelphia 76ers on the road.