Kevin McHale spent his first five seasons with the Boston Celtics coming off the bench. It was a role specifically assigned to him by the late Red Auerbach, which he played with pride and joy throughout that stretch.
Unlike other players, McHale never had an issue being a sixth man despite being undeniably qualified to be a starter. According to “Black Hole,” it didn’t really bother him at all. In fact, never once did McHale feel that he was being undermined as a player because Auerbach had always boosted his ego, even if he didn’t need it.
To this day, McHale still has a vivid recollection of how Auerbach would remind him why he was handpicked to be the team’s sixth man. By holding on to it, McHale understood how vital he was to the team.
“Red, an innovative guy, decided he wanted to get one of his top players to come off the bench so that they’d have a huge scoring punch and really an anchor for the second unit,” McHale told Slam in 2011. “He said, ‘We want you to do it. I think you’ll be great at it. This is a role that is really vital to the team.’ And he always let you know how important that was.”
“As a player, I never truly cared about starting. I wanted to play, and as a sixth man, I played a lot of minutes and finished the games. Red would always say, ‘I can tell you who the coach likes, it’s who he starts. I can tell you who he trusts; it’s who he finishes with. And I finish with you!'”
Kevin even refused to start sometimes
Judging by how McHale performed as a sixth man, it appears that he really embraced his role with the Celtics. Every year, McHale constantly improved and contributed more off the bench.
In his fourth season as a sixth man, McHale averaged 18.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He picked up where he left off the following season and logged 19.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, rightfully winning back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards for his stellar play.
Pleased with McHale’s consistent and remarkable performances, Auerbach wanted to reward his sixth man at times and asked if he would have wanted to start. To Auerbach’s surprise, McHale would impress him even more by declining his offer.
“So it was good for the team and it was good for me as a player,” McHale reflected. “And again, Red spent a lot of time reinforcing that role — not only reinforcing, but in his own way, thanking you a lot for sticking with it. If I had a really good couple of weeks he’d say, [mimicking a faux, gruff Auerbach voice] ‘Boy! Do you want to start now?’ I’d go, ‘No.’ He’d go, [in his Auerbach voice] ‘That a boy!'”
The Sixth Man GOAT
From 1985 to 1989, McHale played four seasons with the Celtics as a starter. During that stretch, “Black Hole” was playing tremendously well, coexisting in harmony with the team’s staple starters. However, he went back to being a sixth man in the final four years of his NBA career.
As it stands, McHale is the only multi-time champion among the NBA players with the most Sixth Man of the Year awards. It’s also worth noting that McHale is the only Hall of Famer who has won the award more than once. Truth be told, McHale’s sixth man career deserves GOAT status in its own realm.