It completely depends on what list you are talking about. http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/ratings.cgi Granted this list is far from perfect. Why David Robinson makes the top 10 while Shaq barely cracks top 30 is beyond me, but for the most part, pretty good list.
overrated - luke walton/bobby jackson underrated- i dont know i guess matt maloney he had a lot of egos to juggle as a PG somewhat like what rondo is having to do right now
How can Tim Duncan be underrated when he is widely considered the best power forward ever and a top 20 player overall? Certainly he's not top 5 and most likely not top 10 right?
People just like to hate on him because of the love he gets from the networks on television. He's been doing great for a player his age, and while I do think he's a liability on defense, and maybe SLIGHTLY overrated because of that flaw, he most certainly is a dominant player in the league and I'd hardly call him "most overrated player in the league."
He's a good player, but i feel like fans overrate because he's a high flyer- plus he has a poor post up game.
People just hate him because of the attention he gets night in and night out. Just like everyone hating on Jeremy Lin. They loved him, and then ESPN came along and wrote a story about him every five hours and after that it just gets annoying.
Yeah to me that's overrated. His numbers dropped this year, and he didn't play particularly well in the playoffs (7 rebounds per game, 19 points) and he doesn't play defense. He's a good player, he's fun to watch, but I don't think he's someone who can be a number one option as of yet.
here's my best Carl Herrera impersonation... Most Overated [sic]: Michael Sweetney Most Underated: Manute Bol <img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lswz1exWPd1qm9rypo1_1280.jpg" height=500>
Over rated: Dr. J, Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, Shawn Kemp, Calvin Murphy, Robert Horry, Chris Mullin, Jason Kidd Under rated: Gary Payton, Kevin Johnson, LeBron James, John Stockton, Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elgin Baylor, Bob Petitte, Wilt, Kevin McHale, Kiki Vandeweghe. This is just off the top of my head..
I agree with a good portion of your list...I would also add Charles Barkley to the underrated list. I'm also of the opinion that Bill Walton belong on the overrated list as while he was a very capable player when healthy, a lot of the legends were great because of their ability to stay on the court. Plus, his career averages of 13.3 pts, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks are good, but certainly as spectacular as many are making it out to be. Great player, but hardly one of the best ever. What I had originally: Don't want to step on any toes, but I think one of the most underrated players of all-time has to be Hakeem Olajuwon. I know Houston Rockets fans show a lot of love for "The Dream", but outside of Houston, Hakeem is usually overlooked by other Greats...and maybe sometimes unfairly so. When people talk about the all-time great centers of our time, people will usually bring up Wilt for his scoring prowess, Russell for the number of rings, Kareem for his overall body of work/consistency, and even Tim Duncan for similar reasons, but rarely is Hakeem in the conversation, outside of Houston, as one of the greatest Centers of all-time, if not, simply one of the greatest players of all-time. Here is a guy who was able to bring it night in and night out at BOTH ends of the floor. He is the NBA's leading shot-blocker of ALL TIME and is the ONLY, and I repeat ONLY player to win an NBA MVP of the regular Season award, MVP of the NBA Finals, and Defensive Player of the Year award in the SAME season. I don't remember ever seeing a big man with the same sort of grace and fluidity on both ends of the court and his footwork was simply impeccable and couldn't and still can't be replicated today. Sometimes, I feel that people place too much emphasis on championship rings and certain players are overlooked for what they were able to truly bring to the game. Charles Barkley happens to be another guy that is continuously overlooked for his contributions on the court. Here is a guy that measured only 6'4", but consistently beat out guys that were 5 or 6 inches taller than he was for rebounds, blocks, points...you name it. He could beat you from the inside and the outside and if it weren't for Michael Jordan and his relatively stacked Bulls teams, Barkley may have won a title or two. However, what he was able to achieve with a less-than-stellar cast in Phoenix is a remarkable achievement in itself considering the physical disadvantage he had on a nightly basis while playing the 4 position. Hats off to both these guys.
I agree with you on Walton, he just didn't stay healthy enough. Barkley is a level below players like Olajuwon, but is a top 5 power forward all time and was great for a long time. Olajuwon is the best defensive player I have ever seen is extremely under rated.
Most overrated currently: James Harden and Blake Griffin. Griffin has many flaws and doesn't have many tools offensively. Harden didn't even average more points then Kevin Martin last year yet is put on Olympics team, All-Stars, etc. I'm not saying he doesn't have high potential, but make him earn it first! Most underrated currently: Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo Monta is just a pure scoring machine, and yet I feel is always forgotten about due to being on mediocre teams. I also think Rondo is underrated as far as point guards go, his impact on a game cutting, playing defense, passing is tremendous. Most underrated All-Time: Wilt Chamberlain The dude averaged 50 points a game in one season!! How is that even possible! Today scoring 50 is a huge deal, now imagine averaging that over an 80 game season! That's scoring over half your teams points right there, yet he isn't ever considered for best player ever.
I'm split on your underrated list, but I can see where you are coming from on Monta Ellis. For the record, I think Rajon Rondo is consistently overlooked when it comes to best pure point guards in the league considering the fact that he is a triple-double threat almost every night he is out on the court. From a point guard perspective, he has an excellent feel for a game and does make his team better overall. We also forget the fact that he has a 3x All-Star making a relatively friendly 5-year $55 million dollar contract and people were talking about throwing Aaron Brooks similar amounts. As for Monta Ellis, I think he is one heck of a scorer, but the problem is most of the people that are alive to see Ellis play have already seen somebody that was probably better than he was at what he does --that being, Allen Iverson. The difference is that Iverson was able to lead is relatively unimpressive 76ers team to a Finals appearance and that he was able to pretty much score at-will for so long, despite his even-smaller-than-Ellis diminutive size.
I think another one of the most underrated players of all-time is Bernard King. If people are going to throw Bill Walton into the the greatest-ever conversation, you might as well include Bernard King on the list. Despite tearing his ACL, King still finished with 22.5 ppg, 5.8 rbs, and 3.3 assists per game averages for his career. He has a scoring title and an MVP award to his name. If it weren't for his knee issues that would come back to plague him, there is no doubt in my mind that he would be receiving more love than he does now. Definitely one of the most overlooked talents the NBA has ever seen.
He's definitely underrated. He was never the NBA's MVP though. I look at King like a more efficient Carmelo Anthony.
