With the start of the NBA playoffs this week and the anticipation of what lies ahead I thought of those players who have etched their name into the archives through “super” accomplishments in the most demanding of circumstances. Everyone who follows a sport, any sport, knows who the stars are and what they can do in a “pressure” situation. That is how they got to be recognized as the “alpha dog”. In all championship events those in the media that are covering the event will invariably say that for this team or that team to win “the stars MUST be the stars”.  That is true, but often the team that wins are the teams that have someone, other than the stars, rise to such a level of play that they become the “hero”. Who are some of these unsung heroes and how did they perform under the pressure of the situation. Here are my five players and their memorable moments.

Dennis Johnson–105 playoff wins, 6 Finals, 3 Championships, .657 winning %    DJ made the playoffs every year after his rookie season (13 straight with 3 different teams) Played in 6 Finals in his 14-year career. Finals MVP in 1979 with the Sonics. Averaged 14.1 points for his career BUT 17.3 in the playoffs AND 18.6 in the Finals. Made 5 All-Star Teams and 9 All-Defensive Teams. Bird said he was the best teammate he ever had.

Dennis Rodman—116-53 in playoffs, 5 NBA Championships with two different teams. (Pistons & Bulls) 6 Finals in 14-year career. (.698 career winning percentage) 8 All-Defensive Team, 7 Rebounding Titles, 2x DPOY Rodman was always the THIRD or FOURTH best player on HIS own team.

Tony Parker—Parker made my book at #74 of the Top 75 greatest players of all time but I still want to recognize him as a very special “clutch” player. He is #6 all-time in playoff wins with 137. He is #6 in games played in the playoffs (226), #6 in assists, and #11 in points in the playoffs. Parker played in 5 Finals and won 4 NBA Championships. He was Finals MVP in 2006-07 with Spurs and averaged 24.5 points a game. In the regular season he averaged 15.5 points, and in the playoffs 17.9 points.

Tom Heinsohn—Heinsohn has a .726 career winning percentage, #6 all-time. In his ROOKIE season, 1956-57, in game 7 he scored 37 points and had 23 rebounds as the Celtics won the 1^st of 11 NBA Championships. He led the Celtics 4 times in playoff scoring. (That was on teams that had 6 HOF players.) 8xNBA Champion, and his stats went up every year in the playoffs.

Walt Frazier—I know a lot of you reading this will say how can “Clyde” be on a list of “unsung heroes”, when he is one of the best players in the history of the game. (I loved the way Frazier played. He played in college at SIU for a friend of mine, Jack Hartman, and won the NIT. He is #33 in my book.) But despite all the fame and recognition I believe it was Walt Frazier, not Willis Reed, who was the reason the Knicks won 2 NBA Championships. In 1969-70, Reed played 8 minutes and scored 7 points in game 5. He didn’t play in game 6 and hobbled onto and around the court in game 7 where he scored 4 points. The Knicks won 2 of those 3 games with Frazier scoring 36 points, getting 19 assists, and 7 rebounds in game seven. (Reed was voted Finals MVP.) I saw the games; it wasn’t even close as to who the MVP was. In 1971-72 the Knicks made the playoffs with Reed only playing 11 regular season games. Frazier led the Knicks in scoring in the regular season AND the playoffs. In 1972-73 Reed averaged 12.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs and again won the Finals MVP. Frazier averaged 21.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. Jerry West may be known as “Mr. Clutch”, but that name could apply to Walt Frazier as well.

These are the five players that “stick out” in my mind who may not be recognized as “elite” but seemed to elevate their game in the most difficult and challenging of times. There are players like Sam Jones, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Rick Barry, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, LeBron James, Julius Erving, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant and many others that are known for their “clutch” play. That is why one of my 10 criteria for making the Top 75 is the ability to perform at a high level in the most difficult of circumstances. As a former coach, I would be less anxious if any of these “unsung heroes” were on my team if we were playing for a championship.