Some coaches say it's a curse and leads to jealousies and in-fighting while others insist a deep and capable bench is the key to success in the NBL.
Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright falls squarely into the latter category, routinely relying on 10 or more players in every game.
It usually means the Sixers never know who will lead the team in scoring or minutes from one game to the next, but it also keeps opposing coaches and players guessing.
Wright has genuine faith in all his troops and might be the NBL's best when it comes to extracting every ounce of ability out of players.
On Sunday the 36ers chalked up their 15th win of the season with a 112-93 thrashing of the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong, virtually assuring themselves of a top four finish with five games remaining.
"With our group it's always someone different," Wright said.
"Tonight Chill [Josh Childress] stepped up and Creeky [Mitch Creek] stepped up, and everyone at some point had an influence on the game.
"We did a great job of getting down and defending and making them take tough shots."
Adelaide have ridden a seven-game win streak into second spot behind Melbourne United.
"We definitely had some ups and downs to start the season, change of imports, and we're just getting healthy," Wright said.
"We had four players out of the lineup at one point.
"It's fun to coach right now and as long as they keep playing hard I think they'll be ok."
Illawarra have a 9-12 record and have to win at least six of their last seven games to steal a finals berth.
"We have to lick our wounds, but mathematically we're still in this, even though it's really hard to try and sell that," Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.
"It is achievable. It's an extremely difficult challenge and we're not kidding ourselves, but I love this group of players and I believe in them.
"We fell off the bike this weekend and we have to get back on and keep moving forward."
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