The NBA History is loaded with superstars and beautiful storylines, but some players maybe didn’t get enough recognition during their time.

Today we are shining light on players who once stood in the shadows of their more popular teammates.

1. Scottie Pippen

If someone were to create a perfect sidekick, Scottie Pippen would come out as an effect.

A tall and lengthy defender with great capabilities on offense too. There was nothing Pippen couldn’t do.

As a Chicago Bull he won 6 Championships but, of course, as a co-star to arguably the greatest player in NBA history, Michael Jordan.

2. Kobe Bryant

Today nobody needs to be convinced that the late great Kobe Bryant was capable of leading a team on his own, but this wasn’t so clear at the beginning of his career.

Kobe was drafted straight out of high school, which meant he needed a lot of seasoning in the NBA.

With the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring arguably the NBA’s best player at the time, Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant had to take a step back in his role.

Together they won 3 NBA Championships in a row and Shaq was the Finals MVP in all of them.

3. Dwyane Wade

With LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining the Miami Heat in 2010, the newly-formed big 3 with the shooting guard Dwyane Wade, went on to lose in the NBA Finals vs. the Dallas Mavericks the first season of playing together.

After that season Wade knew he had to let LeBron lead the team and take on a sidekick role himself.

They went on to win 2 Championships in a row and establish the Heat as one of the powerhouses in the league.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

After the injury in the 1980 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers needed someone to step up immediately.

A young guard named Earvin “Magic” Johnson occurred to everyone at that time and won the title for LA.

He started the famous “Showtime” Lakers from from that point he became the face of the franchise.

That meant that the former all-time leading scorer in NBA history had to become a sidekick, but he was more than okay with it, as they went on to win 5 NBA Championships in total as a duo.

5. Klay Thomspon

Now, after suffering two major injuries, Klay is not who he used to be.

But let’s not forget that he is a 4x NBA Champion, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA team member, an All-Defensive team member, and a vital part of the best regular season team in NBA history.

Klay was a perfect supporter of Steph Curry and Kevin Durant throughout the years as Golden State Warriors. A deadly shooter from 3-point range and a tough defender.

Without him, the Warriors dynasty probably would have never happened.

Final Words

We tend to forget about the players that support the main stars but let’s not forget that without them there would be no success either.

Players like Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen, or Kareem Abudul-Jabbar are some of the greatest players in NBA history, yet at a specific moment in time, they had to take a step back and remember that basketball is the ultimate team sport.