The Second Guy: (Almost) Every Contender Needs a Bucket-Getter Next to the Star

There’s a version of the NBA playoffs that lives in highlight reels and mythology: one superstar bending an entire series to their will. It’s real — for stretches. A transcendent player can carry you through rounds, steal games, and tilt matchups. But zoom out across championship history and a pattern shows up pretty quickly:

Almost every title team has a second scorer who can go get a bucket when the defense sells out on the star.

Playoff defense is about removal. By June, everything is scouted, every action is anticipated, and you’re left with late-clock possessions where someone has to create anyway.

What the Playoffs Actually Do to a Star

In the regular season, a superstar can live comfortably. In the playoffs, they live under a microscope. You get:

• Hard doubles on the catch

• Pre-rotations before the play even develops

• Top-locking, denial, physicality

The goal is to make every touch harder than it needs to be. So the real question becomes: What happens when the ball leaves their hands?

The Blueprint: Two Ways to Solve the Problem

There are two common versions of the “second guy”:

1. Another creator (Kyrie, Murray, Parker)

2. An elite shot-maker who punishes attention (Klay, Middleton, etc.)

Either way, the effect is the same:You can’t load up on the star without consequences.

The Modern Examples

• LeBron James & Kyrie Irving — Cleveland needed Kyrie’s isolation scoring when Golden State tilted everything toward LeBron

• Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson — Klay turns defensive chaos into instant offense

• Nikola Jokić & Jamal Murray — Murray punishes doubles with shot creation, not just passing reads

• Giannis Antetokounmpo & Khris Middleton — Middleton closes when the wall forms

Different archetypes, same necessity.

This Isn’t New: The 70s & 80s Had It Too

It’s easy to think of this as a modern spacing-era concept, but it shows up just as clearly in older eras — just expressed differently.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Magic Johnson

The Showtime Lakers are a perfect example of dual pressure points. Kareem gave you the most reliable halfcourt bucket in basketball history. Magic gave you pace, creation, and the ability to bend the defense before Kareem even touched the ball. When teams tried to crowd Kareem, Magic punished them in transition or off penetration. When they sagged back, Kareem went to work. You couldn’t pick one.

Larry Bird & Kevin McHale

Boston’s version of this was more surgical. Bird orchestrated everything, but McHale was a pure bucket in the post — one of the most efficient interior scorers ever. When defenses extended to Bird, McHale ate on the block. When they stayed home, Bird picked them apart. Again: no clean answer.

Julius Erving & Moses Malone (1983 Sixers)

This one flips the dynamic a bit. Moses dominated the interior — offensive rebounds, putbacks, brute force scoring. Dr. J gave them shot creation on the wing, especially when possessions broke down. Different styles, same principle: two players who could independently generate offense.

Even Earlier 70s Teams

Some of the 70s champions didn’t have “superteams,” but they still had multiple scoring threats:

• Walt Frazier & Willis Reed (Knicks)

• John Havlicek anchoring teams that still had multiple secondary scorers around him

The names change, the pace changes, the spacing changes, but the requirement is constant.

The “Wait…Did They Have One?” Teams

Every so often, a team gets labeled as a one-man run. But when you look closer, the second guy is usually there — just not in All-NBA form.

2011 Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki carried the scoring load, but:

• Jason Terry could create off the bounce

• J.J. Barea collapsed defenses

2004 Pistons

The famous “no superstar” team. But they had:

• Chauncey Billups as a closer

• Richard Hamilton generating constant scoring pressure

Are There True Exceptions?

Not really — just variations. Some teams:

• Win with elite defense + multiple decent creators

• Win with two stars sharing the load

• Win with one star + one elite shot-maker

But no one wins four playoff rounds with only one guy capable of generating offense under pressure. At some point, someone else has to go get a bucket.

Why This Matters Every Playoffs

Every year we ask: “Can this guy be the No. 1 on a title team?” But the more useful question is: “Who’s the second guy when everything breaks down?” Because eventually the play gets blown up, the defense is loaded, the clock is dying, and someone else has to create something out of nothing.

The Bottom Line

A superstar can carry you a long way. Sometimes all the way to the Finals. But championships are won in the possessions where the system fails. And in those moments, the difference is almost always that someone else who can get you a bucket anyway.