Toronto and its basketball team have developed a special love and obsession for the number six, thanks to Canadian rapper Drake, who came up with the city’s nickname, “The Six,” and was dubbed the organization’s global ambassador in 2013. The Raptors, in fact, just unveiled their new city-themed uniforms inspired by Drake’s record label, OVO, and the town’s moniker. The main feature of the jersey is a six-pointed chevron across the front, and the kit will be worn a total of six times this season.

As you can probably imagine, the Raptors fanbase has developed close attachments with the team’s sixth man in years past. In 2015, Lou Williams won Sixth Man of the Year, prompting Drake to make a song titled “6Man” honoring him, and Toronto native Cory Joseph filled the sixth-man role while wearing the No. 6 on his jersey through 2015-16 and 2016-17.

But Joseph departed Toronto last offseason along with other key bench players Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross, leaving one gaping question behind: Who would take over as the Raptors’ sixth man?

Well, that question requires a two-part answer, as backup point guards Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet have combined to take on the role collectively. The bench partners have proved they can coexist, leading the league’s second-best bench unit. With a net rating of 7.2, the Raptors’ second-stringers rank behind only the Golden State Warriors’ backups (8.4).

The team’s coaching staff and other players have taken notice of the backcourt tandem’s chemistry. After the Raptors downed the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, DeRozan couldn’t stop gushing about the two and exclaimed that the duo needed a nickname.

And with that, I introduce “The Sixth Men.”

For Wright, who is the younger brother of fellow pro-baller Dorell Wright and was drafted by Toronto in 2015, it all starts with his lanky frame. Listed at 6’5″, though he often appears even taller than that, he towers over opposing point guards. He uses said size to his advantage, seeing over defenders and attacking in the pick-and-roll.

According to Synergy, of all players with at least 75 possessions as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, Wright ranks third in efficiency at 1.101 points per possession. Only Stephen Curry and Tobias Harris have been more efficient, with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant rounding out the top five.

Here is Wright patiently operating through the pick-and-roll, using his size to keep away Ricky Rubio and finish around Ekpe Udoh:

Like a snake stalking its prey, the 25-year old backup often looks like he’s gliding along the court, slithering past defenders on the break, where he ranks in the 91st percentile of scoring efficiency at 1.39 points per possession. He also has one of the league’s most lethal eurosteps. Just look at how he uses the move on Manu Ginobili, a forefather of this maneuver, leaving him frozen in a failed attempt to take the charge:

Indeed, Wright is not one of the Raptors’ best outside marksmen, but he boasts a 62.1 percent true shooting percentage—second best on the team, behind only 7-footer Jakob Poeltl.  And as a 38.5 percent shooter from deep, he’s able to achieve his efficient scoring through shot selection that would make Daryl Morey shed tears of joy.  This is not an exaggeration; Wright’s decision-making is truly impeccable. A look at his shot chart reveals he has yet to attempt a single long two this season, and all but four of his takes have come from the paint or behind the three-point line.

VanVleet may not have the same elite efficiency in certain areas, but he has been a Swiss Army Knife on the offensive end, doing a bit of everything well and enabling them to coexist. He has validated himself as a multi-dimensional shooter, not only able to position himself in open space and get easy buckets off the catch, but also to consistently score on jump shots on the bounce. According to Synergy, on half-court sets, he ranks in the 63rd percentile for catch-and-shoot jumpers and is in the 86th percentile on attempts off the dribble.

On this play in San Antonio, OG Anunoby and Wright are able to collapse the defense while VanVleet finds a spot on the perimeter where his counterpart can guide a bullet pass through a crowd of Spurs defenders:

And yet, great as Wright and VanVleet have been on the offensive end, much of the twosome’s value lies on the defensive side. Of all the Raptors lineups that have played more than 50 minutes this season, the two top formations in defensive rating include the secondary backcourt couple, which surrender 88.7 and 92.4 points per 100 possessions. For perspective on just how impressive these numbers are, the next best defensive arrangement for the Raptors is their starting group, which posts a defensive rating of 102.7.

Individually, Wright ranks as the league’s second-best isolation defender, allowing 0.32 points per possession. That trails only Utah Jazz center and former finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award, Rudy Gobert. On the below play, Russell Westbrook attacks him one-on-one and pulls up for a jumper, which Wright easily disrupts with his outstretched wingspan:

In that same quarter, with Wright out of the game and no longer matched up on him, Westbrook looked to take advantage of VanVleet, who stands five inches shorter at 6’0″. Still, the reigning MVP found no luck attacking the basket against a player whose lack of height doesn’t affect his ability to protect the rim:

The undersized point guard actually sits at the top of the league in defending shots around the basket among players who have covered at least 50 such plays (excluding post ups), according to Synergy. Allowing just 0.647 points per possession, he outpaces the much taller Jordan Bell, Ben Simmons, Dragan Bender, Myles Turner, Kristaps Porzingis and Gobert—the next six players behind him.

Year after year, the playoffs have presented the sole Canadian team with massive struggles—especially Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who often look like completely different players than they do during the regular season. Toronto’s revamped offensive approach should help stamp out that annual wrinkle, but don’t underestimate the value of consistent play from their backups.

The Raptors’ starting backcourt (particularly Lowry, who is playing much less) should look much more well rested come playoff time. The star point guard’s time on court has decreased from 37.4 minutes per game last season to 32.9 this year. VanVleet and Wright have been trusted as closers, leading the team in fourth-quarter playing time, with 8.5 and 8.4 minutes per game, respectively. Lowry’s average fourth-quarter run, meanwhile, has plummeted from 10.5 last year to just 7.9.

These “sixth men” have showed they can play alongside the starters as well, granting Toronto’s coaches more lineup flexibility in the playoffs, when backups tend to spend more time watching from the sidelines. The Raptors post a net rating of 5.8 while Lowry and DeRozan are on the floor together—0.5 less than DeRozan’s pairing with Wright. And that’s just scratching the surface. Every other two-man combination between Lowry, DeRozan, Wright and VanVleet have net ratings higher than 8.4.

I think it’s safe to say “The Six” has solved its sixth-man problem in the form of two. And who knows, maybe they will prove to be the missing puzzle pieces who will change Toronto’s fate when it really counts.

Follow Faizan on Twitter @Faizan_Has.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball-Reference or NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on Jan 16.