Lou Williams Sets Bench Scoring Record

In a 140-115 drubbing of the Celtics, the LA Clippers Lou Williams set the record for most points ever scored off of the bench.

11,154 points.

295 players have scored at least 11,154 points in NBA history. But only one man can claim that number of points scored off the bench: the LA Clippers’ own Lou Williams.

Sweet Lou tossed in a layup in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game against the Celtics to surpass Dell Curry for the all time bench points record. Dell set the record in 16 seasons; Lou has claimed the top spot now, in his 14th season. That layup was two points of the 34 points on 14-20 shooting that helped lead the Clippers to a very comfortable victory over the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics.

We wrote earlier in the season about the historic season Lou’s having this year off the bench. This is a fitting honor to earn this year, with Lou being absolute fire on the second unit. He’s currently averaging 20.4 points per game. No player has ever started 0 games and scored 20 points per game. These are big-time arguments for his 6th Man of the Year Candidacy.

It’s a testament to the team friendly attitude of Lou Williams that he’s set this record. 11,154 is 85% of all the points he’s ever scored. He’s really embraced that sixth man role for most of his career and seems to enjoy coming off the bench and providing microwave scoring for the second unit.

With his skillset, Lou could easily raise a fuss and complain about not starting; it’s a rare NBA star that not only accepts this role, but embraces it and makes it his own. That sort of unselfishness can’t help but rub off on the team, as can be easily seen in the postgame locker room, when Doc gave Lou the game ball.

Asked about the team’s reaction to his accomplishment, Lou said “I wouldn’t have wanted to want to do it with another group of guys. They respect what I bring to the table. […] They’re cheering for my wins like I cheer for theirs.”

Indeed, the Clippers success this season has many contributing factors, not least of which have been Lou’s scoring and team chemistry. In his sixth man role, Lou has scored 40 or more twice, 30 or more 8 times and 20 or more 31 times. He’s also averaging a career high in assists per game with 5.4, thanks in part to his fantastic connection with Montrezl Harrell.

20.4/5.4 are great numbers for any bench player. The fact that Lou is averaging the second highest points in his career (behind his 22.4 last season) and a career high in assists is astounding, given that this is his 14th season.

Lou’s NBA career started back in 2005-06, when as a rookie he rode the bench behind Allen Iverson and scored 1.9 points per game in 30 appearnces, tallying 4.8 minutes per game. In his long career since, he’s played for 6 different teams (Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers).

In Los Angeles with the Clippers, Lou has connected with the fans (who love him) and his teammates; he signed a very team friendly 3 year, $24 Million contract through 2020-21. Fans hope that he’ll be our dynamite scorer off the bench for years to come, and that we’ll hear his name at the awards ceremony after this season.

Let’s raise a hearty congratulations to Lou Williams for scoring more points than anybody ever has off the bench!