Most Overrated And Underrated Players In The NBA

Paully D

Who do you put in each category and why?

WHIP IT!

Can't think of a underrated player right now, but two players I would put in the overrated category are Chris Bosh and Kendrick Perkins.

Bosh must be the most limited "superstar" I've seen in the League. Granted, he's third choice at the Heat now but, in what little I've seen of him, he was a big fish in a small pond in Toronto and has just become another good player in a Miami team that has two great players.

Perkins' reputation seems to have been enhanced by the fact Boston limped out of the playoffs after he left last year - this kinda thing is always a red flag for me. As John Giles likes to say (not about KP obviously! ) "the less he plays, the better a player he is"... I just think he has an undeserved lofty reputation. Horace Grant without the jump-shot, for me.

phil

If you don't have a bonefide offensive center (Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard etc.) the next best thing is a Kendrick Perkins-like player. A grafter who can play man-to-man defense on the top centers in the league night after night. He's not an offensive threat, but I would liken his role to Bill Cartwright from the 91-93 Bulls - to stop other centers. Name me other guys who can legitimately battle these centers and they'll be paid similarly.

He's a great fit for teams like the Thunder where their scoring is really at the 1-2-3 spots.

I don't think he's over-rated, I think people are well aware of his limitations, but he does a job that not very many other people in the league can do.. go head-to-head against the top centers in the league and normally break even.

That said, I can see the logic that he's overpaid - $7 million. But then the reason for this is obvious - he's being paid to combat the threat of Pau Gasol The thunder's logic is simple - neutralise the offensive threat at 4/5 on teams like the Lakers in the playoffs and they reckon they can beat other teams at the smaller spots.

I think Bosh isn't a strong character on the court, he gets overshadowed by players like LBJ and Wade and only shows up when he starts getting into a groove. At the Raptors he was a big fish in a small pond which suited him, but I would see him closer to a role player in Miami. Technically though, at the 4, he's excellent, just unfortunately that doesn't always shine through on the court. He's got nice foot speed, a nice array of post moves, good length, is a threat from 15-foot and has excellent help d. Bottom line, he needs to be guarded, but I agree that when I hear "big 3", I disagree

For me right now, for all the press and highlights he get it has to be Blake Griffin. He's a beast obviously and he's young so I hesitate to bring his name into this, but from the amount of airtime and publicity he gets, he's not effective as he seems. He goes missing in games, he gets lost in the post (a lot). Definitely the most overrated right now, but with the right amount of coaching I could see him living up to the hype eventually. That said, the 2011-12 season may change things with CP3 on his team.

Borisss

Griffin's not overrated. His rookie season was sensational. This year he will most likely build on that and increase his overall efficiency with CP3 around.

An underrated player that springs to my mind is James Harden, but that probably wont apply once he becomes a starter at OKC.

Overrated? I dunno, guys like Marcus Camby, JeVale McGhee etc I guess.

moneyman

Kyle Lowry is definitely underrated, probably due to him being somewhat of a late bloomer. He's been exceptional so far this year but I wouldn't expect him to continue putting up 13/11.5/6/2.5 for the full 66.

Hibbert is one of the better young big men in the league, never hear much about him.

Kris Humpries is a good role player, he does the dirty work and put up a double-double last year.

Agreed on Harden, excellent player. Also Marcus Thorton. Talented and playing brilliantly since joining the Kings last year.

GoldFour4

Two underrated young guys IMO are Derrick Favors and Tyler Hansbrough.

I think the Pacers are going to have trouble in a few months with two PF who are capable of starting. Tyler has already made it clear that he believes hes good enough to start and its painfully clear that he is. David West is clutch at the end of a game but Tyler is full of hussle.

Favors is criminally underrated. I have no idea why he isn't starting for the Jazz. He had 5 blocks the other day coming off the bench. The guy is a beast.

Overrated I have to be unpopular and say Deron Williams. I think the Nets gave up way way too much for him. Williams just about scraped the Jazz to the playoffs every year but then he had a nest of solid guys like Boozer and AK47. He doing nothing in New Jersey IMO. The numbers are there but the Wins are not.

moneyman

Favors is very raw offensively, they probably want to ease him into the starting position. He might be starting by mid-season. He's definitely talented though, I agree with you there

It's harsh to expect Williams to be getting wins, the Nets have an awful, awful team!

Da GOAT

Blanche is way way overrated when i watched the last 2 boston games vs wizards. John Wall is wasted on that team.

Not sure if Josh Smith is overrated anymore but not a fan.

Underrated maybe is Brandon Bass who has been incredible this year making up for lack of depth celtics have.

Lafortezza

Da GOAT wrote: »

Underrated maybe is Brandon Bass who has been incredible this year making up for lack of depth celtics have.

I always liked him when he played for Orlando, he never really got enough minutes and DHoward is such a good rebounder and lane clogger that Bass couldn't shine. I was amazed Orlando decided it was a good idea to trade him for Big Baby Davis.

Lago

Overrated player? Rajon Rondo springs to mind straight away. How can you be considered a top point guard when defenders can just stand yards away from you on the perimeter because you're so bad? He's just lucky that he's had some of the best shooters around to play with him. If he was on nearly any other team, he wouldn't be nearly as highly rated

Carcharodon

Overrated

Joe Johnson for the size of his contract.

John Wall, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry, all good players but a bit too much hype.

Turkoglu, hasn't performed anywhere near the hype he was producing over his trade not so long ago.

Carmelo Anthony scores a lot but doesn't do enough after that to be rated as being so great.

Stoudemire just doesn't do enough with his talent for me.

Baron Davis and Boozer have not produced any of their previous glory days in a while.

Westbrook for the sheer fact he thinks he is so great himself.

Stephan Jackson, dont know if he is actually rated highly but he is muck.

Blake Griffin is a walking highlight reel but not the finished article yet, should get there though.

Came across this before

Most overpaid
Player #NBArank ....... Expected Salary ......... Actual Salary
Michael Redd, MIL 252 ....... $3,712,735 ....... $18,300,000
Rashard Lewis, WAS 144 ....... $6,961,039 ....... $19,573,711
Gilbert Arenas, ORL 172 ....... $5,914,274 ........ $17,730,694
Eddy Curry, N/A 493 ...... $913,154 ........ $11,596,822
Peja Stojakovic, DAL 248 ....... $3,800,181 ........ $14,034,483
Vince Carter, PHX 121 ....... $7,958,008 ........ $17,522,375
Kobe Bryant, LAL 7 ........ $15,450,923 ........ $24,806,250
Andrei Kirilenko, UTH 90 ......... $9,531,563 ........ $17,823,000
Troy Murphy, GS/BOS 263 ........ $3,484,494 ........ $11,657,324
Kenyon Martin, DEN 102 ........ $8,888,593 ........ $16,545,454

Plenty of players out there that get paid way too much for their contribution.

Some underrated players would be the likes of Lowry, Kevin Martin, Gallinari to name a few.
Deng also is very underrated for the Bulls.

Most underpaid
Player . #NBArank.......... Expected Salary ........ Actual Salary
Kevin Love, MIN 16 ......... $14,662,434 ........ $3,638,280
R Westbrook, OKC 15 ......... $14,748,018 ........ $4,017,720
Joakim Noah, CHI 29 ......... $13,594,003 ........ $3,128,536
Serge Ibaka, OKC 56 ......... $11,617,223 ........ $1,204,200
Marc Gasol, MEM 26 ......... $13,833,438 ......... $3,573,333
Stephen Curry, GS 38 ......... $12,900,276 ........ $2,913,840
Blake Griffin, LAC 10 ......... $15,183,491 ........ $5,357,280
Derrick Rose, CHI 8 ......... $15,361,259 ........ $5,546,160
Eric Gordon, LAC 39 ......... $12,825,415 ........ $3,016,680
Brook Lopez, NJN 51 ......... $11,960,251 ........ $2,413,320

Paully D

Carcharodon wrote: »

[
Deng also is very underrated for the Bulls.

The most underrated player in the league without question for me.

Myerz

I could be here all day, off the top of my head I have a questionable list of 3 each...

Overrated

Amar'e Stoudemire. Great scorer in his position, but defensively? he's average at best. he's also not selected in TEAM USA's preliminary squad for London 2012.

Joe Johnson. His contract is absolutely nothing less than astonishing, no way in hell is he that good, but I actually don't know if people rate him, so overrated? maybe.

Carlos Boozer. He's going through the motions if you ask me, not his old self like he was in Utah and not good enough if Bulls want to win a Championship.


Underrated

Gerald Wallace. Carrying a depleted Blazers team, have a look at those numbers!

Kobe Bryant. Ranked outside the top 15 players this year on ESPN's fantasy as well as being listed the 7th best player in the NBA. In all seriousness... Kobe at 33 is a machine. He doesn't give a F*** what you think.

Ty Lawson Unbelievable PG, what a talent. Major part of the Nuggets and its not recognized as much as he should be.

K.O.Kiki

Wait, Kobe is 33?
:eek:

buyer95

Carcharodon wrote: »

Overrated[/B


Carmelo Anthony scores a lot but doesn't do enough after that to be rated as being so great.


I agree with most of what you said except on Melo. He was the linchpin of the nuggets, with really only billups for support and year after year dragged them to the playoffs. Now at the Knicks and with another genuine all star in Stoudemire , the reason the knicks are struggling doesnt lie with Melo, but stoudemire who just isnt performing at the level he is capable of... In fact Melo has been nothing short of outstanding, name me one player better than him maybe barring Kobe in the clutch and I'll call you a liar. Obviously he has his deficiencies but he is a top 5 or 6 guy in the NBA and to call him over rated, I think personally is grossly unfair

WHIP IT!

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Can't think of a underrated player right now, but two players I would put in the overrated category are Chris Bosh and Kendrick Perkins.

Bosh must be the most limited "superstar" I've seen in the League. Granted, he's third choice at the Heat now but, in what little I've seen of him, he was a big fish in a small pond in Toronto and has just become another good player in a Miami team that has two great players.

Perkins' reputation seems to have been enhanced by the fact Boston limped out of the playoffs after he left last year - this kinda thing is always a red flag for me. As John Giles likes to say (not about KP obviously! ) "the less he plays, the better a player he is"... I just think he has an undeserved lofty reputation. Horace Grant without the jump-shot, for me.

bosh is a good player maby not elite but a fantastic 2nd option for a team hes just the wrong type of player for the heat they need a rebounding blocking big man not another shooter.

perkins is not fantastic but good at what he does he's the type of player that the heat should gun for hes gona give as good as he gets from anyone and playing with kevin garnett did wonders for his defence

Lago

Lago wrote: »

Overrated player? Rajon Rondo springs to mind straight away. How can you be considered a top point guard when defenders can just stand yards away from you on the perimeter because you're so bad? He's just lucky that he's had some of the best shooters around to play with him. If he was on nearly any other team, he wouldn't be nearly as highly rated

because hes one of the most creative players in the league. he can shoot a decent % shot from medium to short range just seems to have a mental block against shooting that he will have to get over however he is an elite defensive pg and he is one of the best passers in the game. also hes in the wrong system because hes on an older team he plays a half court offense but the guy loves to run and is very much a "hustle" player his lack of shooting is a weakness but i would definetly rank him just below the elite pgs in the nba at tho mo

Myerz

Myerz wrote: »

I could be here all day, off the top of my head I have a questionable list of 3 each...

Overrated

Amar'e Stoudemire. Great scorer in his position, but defensively? he's average at best. he's also not selected in TEAM USA's preliminary squad for London 2012.

Joe Johnson. His contract is absolutely nothing less than astonishing, no way in hell is he that good, but I actually don't know if people rate him, so overrated? maybe.

Carlos Boozer. He's going through the motions if you ask me, not his old self like he was in Utah and not good enough if Bulls want to win a Championship.


Underrated

Gerald Wallace. Carrying a depleted Blazers team, have a look at those numbers!

Kobe Bryant. Ranked outside the top 15 players this year on ESPN's fantasy as well as being listed the 7th best player in the NBA. In all seriousness... Kobe at 33 is a machine. He doesn't give a F*** what you think.

Ty Lawson Unbelievable PG, what a talent. Major part of the Nuggets and its not recognized as much as he should be.

i think kobe is regarded as a top 5 player by 99% of people i wouldn't call him underrated everyone knows how good he is even mj said he's the player closest to him agree with the rest tho gerald wallace has been underrated for years

buyer95

buyer95 wrote: »

Carcharodon wrote: »

Overrated[/B


Carmelo Anthony scores a lot but doesn't do enough after that to be rated as being so great.


I agree with most of what you said except on Melo. He was the linchpin of the nuggets, with really only billups for support and year after year dragged them to the playoffs. Now at the Knicks and with another genuine all star in Stoudemire , the reason the knicks are struggling doesnt lie with Melo, but stoudemire who just isnt performing at the level he is capable of... In fact Melo has been nothing short of outstanding, name me one player better than him maybe barring Kobe in the clutch and I'll call you a liar. Obviously he has his deficiencies but he is a top 5 or 6 guy in the NBA and to call him over rated, I think personally is grossly unfair

melos been horrible this year worst shooting percentage of his career i do think him and amare are a terrible match up but hes done nothing to repay what ny gave for him hes playing below average on offense at the mo and he will never play d

AGORDEIRE

Carmelo Anthony is the most overrated player inthe history of basketball....


He is a fake.

The dude compares himself to Jordan ffs!! I know its comical.

He sits out an important game last weekend v Miami and puts it down to a sore wrist or back or ankle ... I tuned out after the start of the article....


The guy is just a joke

Flancrest

AGORDEIRE wrote: »

Carmelo Anthony is the most overrated player inthe history of basketball....


He is a fake.

The dude compares himself to Jordan ffs!! I know its comical.

He sits out an important game last weekend v Miami and puts it down to a sore wrist or back or ankle ... I tuned out after the start of the article....


The guy is just a joke

Have to say I don't agree with this.
The guy is a fantastic talent. Granted to show his best he requires the team to be moulded around him but I don't think you can call him a fake. When exactly did he compare himself to Jordan. Was the reason for missing the Miami game a quote from him or just some journalist who didn't do his research.

Also the most under rated player of the last decade would have to be LeMar Odom.

hehe i can see this turning into a carmello thread very quickly very good goin forward (bar this year) but he is a huge liability defending hes lazy and just not good goin back so i could never reguard him as underrated.

most underrated is hard because it changes so often and it will change depending on who you support

GoldFour4

Carmelo is a good player. I just think that hes very unlikeable, kinda like Westbrook.

shergar22

Where's Kwame in this thread? Can't believe he managed to wangle another contract this year, then turns up for camp out of shape and is now out for the rest of the season! In a strange kind of way you have to tip your hat to him for that!

shergar22

shergar22 wrote: »

Where's Kwame in this thread? Can't believe he managed to wangle another contract this year, then turns up for camp out of shape and is now out for the rest of the season! In a strange kind of way you have to tip your hat to him for that!

to be honest he's bad but not as terrible as every1 says people talk about him like he's a jamarcus russel but he's been a decent rotation player just got picked to high and thinks he's better than he is

buyer95

Jameer Nelson: When Nelson was first traded to the Magic at the 2004 draft, many believed that Orlando was receiving a point guard that could anchor their offence with fellow 2004 draftee Dwight Howard for countless years to come. Howard has blossomed into perhaps one of the best centres of all-time in the NBA. Nelson meanwhile hasn't even become an above-average point guard, yet he continues to be the starting one for the Magic.

Nelson is the definition of a player that has no strengths in his game. He's not a scoring point guard, yet he is a below average distributor and defender. He also lacks consistency when it comes to shooting the ball from all ranges. Not only was he not deserving of the All-Star honours that he received during the 2008-09 season, he has yet to improve on those satisfactory numbers since

Brandon Jennings:
My best friend told me that Jennings wasn't overrated because he scored 55 points in a game during his rookie season. And there lies the problem. After lighting it up during one game, he seemingly gained elite point guard status overnight, yet his statistics would strongly disagree. While he may be a moderately proficient scorer, he lacks the passing and/or shooting ability to establish himself as an elite point guard in the game.

Jennings scores and steals, but he fails to establish any consistency. He takes too many shots to put up a decent amount of points and probably would be better off shooting less and passing more. He has weapons like Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson at his disposable. He's likely better off using them more often

while "linsanity" is being overdone i think its fair to say when this tread started he was the most underrated

WHIP IT!

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Can't think of a underrated player right now, but two players I would put in the overrated category are Chris Bosh and Kendrick Perkins.

Bosh must be the most limited "superstar" I've seen in the League. Granted, he's third choice at the Heat now but, in what little I've seen of him, he was a big fish in a small pond in Toronto and has just become another good player in a Miami team that has two great players.

Perkins' reputation seems to have been enhanced by the fact Boston limped out of the playoffs after he left last year - this kinda thing is always a red flag for me. As John Giles likes to say (not about KP obviously! ) "the less he plays, the better a player he is"... I just think he has an undeserved lofty reputation. Horace Grant without the jump-shot, for me.

Hate to drag up an old one... Bosh came up well in the play-offs, but if one more person tells me about how great Kendrick Perkins is I think i'm gonna have to slap them with a wet fish... Enforcer? Badass?? Please... he was anonymous in the Finals - I just have never gotten what people see in him and I doubt I ever will... I earlier labelled him "Horace Grant without the jump shot", I now realise I was doing a disservice to Horace...