Most Under Rated Players In The NBA
some of mine:
aaron brooks. Despite winning most improved last year, he still gets very little meniton on htis site.
martell webster. he defends and hits 3 and is athletic enough to slach and make plays around the basket. But portland just didnt give him the minutes consistently.
kirk hinrich. whether off the bench or starting, playing point os shooting gaurd, you are always gonna get solid play from captain kirk on both ends. He did struggle shooting though last year.
carlos delfino. very solid wing player who plays unselfish and can create a little off the dribble for himself and teammates, yet no one ever mentions him.
brandon bass. no way on earth are you gonna convince me he couldnt have seriously helped that team more last year. Solid offensive player and he bangs and brings toughness. Orlando was outtoughed by boston and they still went with rashard lewis, jj reddick and vince carter to win that series.
knicks82 is right here but I still think a few plyers are flying under the radar.
1. Danilo Gallinari- He was going up head to head with the likes of Melo and Durant last year, and not only taking the challenge, he was showing some talent and going blow for low with them.
2. JJ Hickson- He is an impact player, just very few people take notice.
just to name a couple.
As good as he is I still think Kevin Durant is under-rated but he's also greatest thing going for the future of the NBA since MJ.
The kid isn't the King (thank god) but he acts like a prince.
The kid is cool... he can live in my town any day. He's one player that will leave the earth better than what he found it and for more reasons than just basketball.
llperez i agree with you why did the Magic sign Bass to such a big contract then not play him at all he was a significant contibutor on the Mavericks and Lamar Odom is underrated since he has all star talent but for the betterment of the team he comes off the bench but still ends most games and is the most versatille player in the nba and does all the little things on the court that don`t always show up in the score sheet
Aaron Brooks is the most underrated imo. I think he could put up all-star numbers within the next 2-3 years, but I don't know if he'd win a popularity contests that is all-star voting..
Al Jefferson is underrated, but he won't be anymore since he is playing with the Jazz now due to the exposure he will get.
My list of players who are not legends but can get it done in their own rightful role:
PGs:
Janero Pargo
Kirk Hinrich
Ronnie Price
JJ Barerra
Mike Bibby (prime)
Rafer Alston
Shaun Livingston (flying into the radar after his horrific injury)
SGs:
Flip Murray
Martell Webster
Sasha Vujacic (when healthy)
James Harden
Wes Matthews (Portland filled his pockets)
Joe Johnson (struggled last year)
JJ Redick
SFs:
Luke Walton (when healthy, extremely high basketball IQ)
Jeff Green
Travis Outlaw
Terrence Williams
PFs:
Lamar Odom
Brandon Bass
Paul Milsap
Chuck Hayes
Chris Andersen
Ronny Turiaf
Luis Scola
Zach Randolph
Cs:
Kedrick Perkins
Chris Kaman
Robin Lopez
Honorable Mentions:
Anthony Morrow
Josh Powell
Aaron Brooks
Nene
Kirk Hinrich. light years better than ben gordan. team player. plays outta of position for the good of the team. only white american to be on the all defense team for a twelve year span.
Tim Duncan. the fourth best player of all time IMO. Three finals Mvp. 2 reg MVP, 9 first team nba and 8 first team defense.
Al Jefferson- buried in minnesota was hurt last year
Lamar Odom has had the spotlight since highschool. He is widley considered one of the most versitile players in the game. Plus when your team gets championships, you get attention.
Kendrick Perkins: The same argument, his team won a championship and everyone else watched and said "Hey their center next to KG isn't bad..." Perkins gets a lot of credit and notice for the hard work he does in screens and rebounding
Paul Milsap: He IS the reason people still draft 6'6 PF in the NBA (Chuck Hayes should write a thank you letter)
Jeff Green? He got a USA Basketball invite... how is that underrated
Terrance Williams is going into his 2nd year and was a mid first rounder. Give him at least 3 yrs on a rookie contract before deciding he is under(or over) rated.
Wes Matthews was underrated until the Blazers signed him to that contract. Now the question is if Wes can prove he deserves it.
Joe Johnson: How does making the all star team and getting the biggest off season contract make him underrated?
wow chewy, u beat me to that punch, now i gotta think of something else, damn.
anyways, my underrated list would include:
1. Kirk Hinrich- although everybody is putting which leads me to think...ah who gives a rats ass, I like him. I think the Bulls made a huge mistake trading him cuz he is a perfect glue guy for a playoff team, he does everything u ask, he's fiery and he's tough. I'd take him on my team anyday.
2. Tayshaun Prince- I agree with whoeve mentioned him. He may be alittle past his prime, but he is still a really good defender, he isnt a scoring champ by any stretch, but he is another guy who is the perfect role player/3rd or 4th option for a contender. I'd like to see him get dealt so he can make an impact for somebody in the stretch run.
like somebody above said also, its hard to get a beat on underrated overrated stuff with todays internet and wide range of coverage. Basically anybody in a small market is going to get underrated and most anybody on either coast is going to get a little overrated due to ESPN coverage being so thick in Boston and LA.
Hinrich is good player. He and Rose complemented each other pretty well, he has range, is a great defender and I think a leader. I think people often forget about him because of his numbers.
10ppg and 4.5 apg
That's why alot of people underrate him, because they forget about his defensive work and simply look at his numbers. But still, he isn't really underrated.
That guy gets 10mil a year!!! For 10ppg and 4.5 apg???? Come on!!! I understand that the Bulls wanted to trade him, because he doesn't put up his 15-6 numbers he got his 10mil a year contract for, next to D.Rose.
It's easy, somebody who has a huge contract, is in the national team, in the all-star team or in the all-nba teams cannot be underrated.
The only persons who come to my mind right now is Mbah a Moute, who is a great energy guy and good defender, who gets only like 1mil a year or so?? I think almost every team could need a guy like him.
Another guy would be Aaron Brooks. Am I right that he gets only around 1mil a year? If yes, he is totally underrated from that perspective. But he is the most improved player, so fans and the media know that he is good.
Generally I would say that perimeter defender are underrated because you don't really see their work on the statsheet. But guys like Aaron Afflalo and Sefolosha are getting good salaries, so their teams seem to know that they're worth it.
jarrett jack.. the dude can play. If only they'd get jose out of there, he could show that he's definitely a lead guard in this league. Plus he can D up a hell of a lot better than jose. Also, definitely agree with prince. Earl watson for indiana was pretty stellar last year yet noone heard his name mentioned. Even delonte west if he gets his head on straight and gets some minutes. I could see him averaging over 12 and 5 if he gets 25 mins a game..
Aaron Brooks - Im a Rockets Fan And I Get To See Him Play Everyday
Should Have At Least Made The All Star Team this year but Because of Home Court, Jason Kidd Was Picked
Luis Scola - 16-8 Player. I Cant think Of Anyone In The NBA More Consistent Or Hard Working than him
Comes To Work EVERY Night.
Anthony Morrow - I Really Think He Will be a Star(Not an all-star) maybe 16ppg in his prime
Shaun Livingston - Averaged 9.2ppg 4.5apg 2.2rpg 53.5% FG 87.5% FT For The Wizards Last Year
If He Starts This Season For The Cats, He Might Finally Reach His Potential
I will always catch beef for this but i really believe it...
Manu Ginobili is the most underrated player of the last decade,
Yes everyone thinks he is a top 10 shooting guard "so how can he be underrated?"
Manu requires a closer look to fully understand just how good he is, and i know i am not the first person to make the argument, but heres a try...
Here is an excerpt from a 82games.com article on the most clutch players in the NBA, here is their conclusion...
"All right, a lot of people would balk at the notion of Manu Ginobili as the NBA's most clutch player. The facts though are he is very productive on offense (#6 in the league in points per minute during clutch stages), draws an incredible number of shooting fouls (#8 and the top perimeter player), knocks down the free throws (81%), creates his own shot (only 8% of his clutch FGM are assisted), holds his counterpart to sub-par performance (.342 eFG and only 1.9 Assists to 3.1 Turnovers), and while his +9 plus/minus doesn't seem like much, the Spurs have actually been -21 when he's off the court during crunch time, good for the #12 on/off or Clutch Roland Rating in the league. Did we mention that 60% of his crunch time shots are taken inside? Manu takes it to the hole! "
Last year there was an article on Shane Battier and the statistical reports he gets from an MIT grad to help him guard the leagues best players, heres some commentary on his assignments...From the NY Times.
"People often say that Kobe Bryant has no weaknesses to his game, but that’s not really true. Before the game, Battier was given his special package of information. “He’s the only player we give it to,” Morey says. “We can give him this fire hose of data and let him sift. Most players are like golfers. You don’t want them swinging while they’re thinking.” The data essentially broke down the floor into many discrete zones and calculated the odds of Bryant making shots from different places on the court, under different degrees of defensive pressure, in different relationships to other players — how well he scored off screens, off pick-and-rolls, off catch-and-shoots and so on. Battier learns a lot from studying the data on the superstars he is usually assigned to guard. For instance, the numbers show him that Allen Iverson is one of the most efficient scorers in the N.B.A. when he goes to his right; when he goes to his left he kills his team. The Golden State Warriors forward Stephen Jackson is an even stranger case. “Steve Jackson,” Battier says, “is statistically better going to his right, but he loves to go to his left — and goes to his left almost twice as often.” The San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginóbili is a statistical freak: he has no imbalance whatsoever in his game — there is no one way to play him that is better than another. He is equally efficient both off the dribble and off the pass, going left and right and from any spot on the floor.Bryant isn’t like that."
On any per 48 minute basis Manu is statistically a top 10 player in the league, but never ever considered in that conversation...
So statistically, manu is elite, but that is only half of the discussion.... Manu's intangibles and competitiveness are unmatched, the only others who come close are Kobe, TD, KD, KG, rondo, peirce....The man just win games, Hes amassed 2 Euroleague titles, 3 NBA champtionships, and a gold medal... I am not saying hes better than kobe or more clutch than anyone else, but just the fact that he is in that conversation, just the fact that he has always won, at every stage of his carreer, goes head to head with leagues best and always performs.... in my mind this means he is one of the leagues elite and most prized players, but bc of his stats is never in the discussion, is the very definition of MVP...
Mine Are:
Jeff Green ..
Rudy Gay ..
LR Mbah a Moute