4 Role Players Who Helped Their Teams Win the NBA Championship
NBA | February 20, 2021
The NBA, unlike perhaps any other professional sport, is a star driven league. One player can make the difference between winning 20 regular season games and 50 games the following year.
But in the case of teams contending for the NBA title, there are usually moments during the season, and especially during the playoffs, where role players step up in big moments to catapult a squad to victory. Let’s reminisce about four role players who were indispensable to their championship winning teams.
Robert Horry
When you consider his contributions to the Rockets, Lakers and Spurs championship teams, Robert Horry might be the greatest role player in league history. With seven titles to his name, “Big Shot Bob” rescued teams from the jaws of defeat on numerous occasions.
One of his biggest moments came in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. The Kings were ready to take a 3-1 series lead, but Vlade Divac tapped a Shaquille O’Neal miss right into Horry’s hands. Horry made the shot, and the Lakers went on to win the series and the NBA Finals as well.
Andre Iguodala
It’s not often that a role player is able to take home a ring and the most prestigious NBA Finals award, but Andre Iguodala was able to do just that in 2015 with the Warriors.
Iguodala won Finals MVP having started Games 4-6 in those Finals, and played admirable defense against LeBron James. Iguodala’s insertion into the starting lineup also changed the tenor of the series for Golden State, as the team relied on its now patented small-ball scheme to generate better offensive flow against the Cavaliers.
Ray Allen
It’s not often that players transition well from being the main focal point of an offense, to becoming a complimentary piece. Ray Allen probably did that as well as anyone, and had a gradual transition into the role he would eventually assume for the Miami Heat.
Allen was the go to guy on some fun Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle Sonics, and shared the limelight with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett with the Celtics. In the final chapter of his career, the sharpshooter joined the Heat in a supporting role, and was responsible for one of the biggest shots in Finals history. In Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Allen drilled a three from the corner to tie the game and keep Miami’s hopes of a title alive. They would eventually win in seven games.
Derek Fisher
Fisher played on some tremendous Lakers teams for the entirety of the 2000’s, and was one of the most steady players in the league during that time.
While his shot with 0.4 seconds remaining against the Spurs was epic, the Lakers actually did not win the title that season. Fisher nailed another big shot against the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Finals. Down 3 with ten seconds to go, the calm veteran sunk a three pointer to force overtime. The Lakers took a 3-1 series lead and secured the NBA title that season.
Tags: NBA | NBA Championship | role players
