Fact of Fiction: Vince Carter is the biggest underachiever of all-time

Are you serious? Tmac's decline is not really just his health, it also comes from hiring a trainer who apparently didn't know anything about proper weightlifting techniques.

Even then, Tmac's decline has more to do with LAZINESS more than anything else. He didn't work on his shot his entire career, and although he has great handles and courtvision that's more due to him playing as a pg before he grew to his current height. IMHO his biggest offense though is he never really learned how to move without the ball, it really would have helped him a lot during the times when he was struggling with his shot or was getting swarmed by Utah defenders.

 

Greg Oden: still very young but looking alot like Sam Bowie.

Oh yeah...Sam Bowie is also an underachiever.

Randy Foye for Roy looking really stupid right now.

If Yao doesn't come back strong, we'll have to start labeling him an underachiever as well.

 

Carter has definitely been an underachiever, but he's accomplished enough (at least individually) that it's really hard to say he is the biggest underachiever of all-time. There are plenty of players that had all-world talent that never did anything in the NBA. At least Carter has been a perennial all-star.

 

You can believe whatever you want to... We all have our opinions.

Shane Battier works hard, you can see it in the way he plays. Kobe Bryant works hard. They put in all their effort because they have a passion for the game.

Don't get me wrong - i'm probably one of the biggest TMAC fan. I actually wanted him to comeback strong - although I knew this was going to happen deep down. I was pretty upset when I heard the news - but it's inevitable.

 

lol @ laziness.. tell, how would you know this ? how would u be able to sit here and say laziness, more than a slew of injuries has been the cause of decline ? you have no idea what you're talking about. i hate it when any pro athlete gets called lazy by someone who only watches games.

 

VC is just like a number of players in the NBA. His stats look great, but he just isn't a real winner. His cousin is the best example of it, but there are a lot of guys around the league right now in the same situation.

 

No properly workout athlete should report to training camp fat,
which was the case for TMac last several years. He did have a minor surgery once, but many players, e.g. Kobe, had the same surgery too and I don't remember him fat in training camp.

 

I disagree with listing these guys in terms of injuries. Especially for biggest underachiever of all-time.

 

You are right, it has got nothing to do with Carter being overrated, neither do this thread.
We are here to talk about Carter being an underachiever.

 

He took his team to the conference finals. That is pretty good for me.

 

i have no clue what you want from the guy. he was never going to be jordan or erving. he was a #5 pick in a not so great draft. he had great athletic talent but also sustained more than a few injuries. he has played on some crap teams but has still managed to get to the 2nd round 3 times. he is a borderline hall of famer if you look at his production.

anyone who votes that carter is the biggest underachiever of all-time is just insane.

 

When speaking of underachiever, there's only one guy that jumps out at me at the moment. Tracy Mcgrady!

Mr. "It's on me", can't get out of and hasn't been out of the first round. He's also lead a team that was at the bottom of the wins column and has been ran out of town everywhere he's been. Teams that he's been on, have done better after he's traded.

Pretty simple: #1 Underachiever!

 

How the f... can you say he is lazy and didn´t work on his shot, were you secretly stalking every rockets training and his off-season? Just cause you don´t like him doesn´t mean he´s not working hard.
Talking about the playoffs against Utah,
he put up incredible numbers and carried the whole f.ckin team (that didn´t deliver at all) on his back.

 

And by that logic, you can't say he is working hard.

However, we all make judgements based on the results we see, and we can all see that McGrady's game has not improved at all over the years. If anything, it's declined a lot. As such, its a logical assumption that even if he does train in the offseason, it's inadequate.

 

But you can´t judge people´s training efforts based on how they play after injuries. It´s logical that he can´t be the Orlando 35ppg superstar anymore.
I don´t understand how people call him an underachiever, his supporting cast always disappointed in the playoffs and either him or Yao weren´t healthy.
For example, what did Kobe achieve without Shaq or the current Lakers team...nothing. But that doesn´t make him a bad player or teammate. In my opinion, the rockets management was the "underachiever" when he and Yao were in their prime. The whole supporting cast was disastrous and these years were wasted time.

 

I know, recognizing this guy's weaknesses, this is a stupid poll still. people need to back away from their playstations, it ain't that easy to avg over 20 for the career. I don't care how much talent you think someone has

 

That doesn't really make sense when jordan's weakest game coming into the nba was his jump shot. He worked incredibly hard on it to the point it became his best feature when he retired for good.

In the same way, VC could have been a prolific jumpshooter if he worked harder. Of course, he did actually work very hard, and he is a very good jump shooter now as opposed to his dunking days.

My vote for greatest under-achiever goes to Jay Williams. Remember the guys who was consensus #1 pick but was drafted after Yao?

He's my favourite college player of all time and had a great rookie season till his career ending injury.

 

First of, I'm one of the biggest Tmac fans on the board here so saying I don't like him is crazy, the reason I became a rocket fan was because of Yao and Mac. With that said I don't need to stalk him, any real fan would know Tmac never really improved his game much. Unlike guys like say, Kobe or LBJ he never added wrinkles to his game like learning to move without the ball, or working on his jumpshot. I mean his glory days were with the Magic, when he was only 23 years old for crying out loud. Injuries messed with him big time, but skill wise I haven't seen anything out him in his later years that he didn't have during his magic days.

Sure he became a better defender, and maybe a better playmaker, but Tmac has always had a high understanding of the game, and with his length and speed he has always had great defensive potential. However what he lacked during his magic days he still lack until today.

 

Why is that an underachiever? Riding around in a motorcycle seemed like a bad decision or stupidity over under-achieving, and after he smashed his knee his potential was gone.

 

He didnt lack much in his Orlando days. Id say moving without the ball and shot selection were the only things he was lacking. His jumper was always money, he just decided to settle for highly contested jumpshots alot of the time.