Houston Rockets: Creating the all-time, one-year starting five

First off the Bench – Lou Williams

It was so tough to leave Lou Williams off this list that I had to pull an audible and add in one more category. It’s fitting, though, since he’s made a career out of being arguably the best bench player the NBA has ever seen.

Beginning his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Lou Will just kept getting better and better as his career went on. While not much was expected of him as the 45th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, he ended up bumping his scoring average up from 1.9 points per game in his rookie year to 14.9 in his last year with Philly.

Eric Gordon & Lou Williams combine for 43 points off the bench to help the #Rockets protect home court. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/NIO3TD5VqP

— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2017

Williams also earned his first Sixth Man of the Year in his lone season with the Toronto Raptors in 2015 before spending time with the Los Angeles Lakers. After Lou was traded to the Rockets for Corey Brewer and a first-round draft pick, he made an immediate splash by scoring 27 points in his debut.

Lou averaged 14.9 points per game through 23 games with the Rockets but was involved in the huge trade that ultimately brought Chris Paul to the team.

Like Carmelo, Williams has also enjoyed success after leaving the Rockets, earning another pair of Sixth Man of the Year awards in each of the last two seasons.