What current player is the most overated? What about all time? Similarly, who's the most underated all time and now? I say Oscar Robertson is the most underated, Pippen is most overated (great player, but not top 50). For the current age- I say Blake Griffin is overated and Al Jefferson is underated. What are your thoughts?
Greg Monroe is the most underrated (or one of). A legit top 30 player, great offensively, solid defensively, should've been an All Star last year. Underrated because no one cares about the Pistons right now + he's played out of position so people tend to think he's a bad defender because he doesn't block a ton of shots. Overrated.... idk... maybe Josh Smith? i've seen people putting him among top 5 PFs in the game, which is laughable. or Ibaka? he has this super defender aura right now, and he's still pretty flawed and raw. Guys like Griffin or Melo get plenty of negative press too, so I'm not sure they are overrated. All time... Overrated - Bill Russell. A great player, but many people place him in their top 10s. I can get it in terms of achievements; in that sense, he's quite easily #1. But in terms of overall quality as a player, flaws and such, I think he's overrated. Underrated... Wilt? That's the last old timer you want to dismiss because he played in a different NBA era. Just an amazing overall athlete / body, more impressive than Dwight. He'd be dominant still.
I don't know about underrated but I know one of the more low-key careers of individuals who have scored 20k+ points is Mitch Richmond. He basically spent his prime on a Sacramento team that never sniffed the playoffs. He was a pretty effective player, even into his 30's. Just never played in a big market or with a good team to get much exposure but he was all-nba from 93'94 through 97'98..5 years in a row. The accolades are there but accompanied without hype.
Blake 'most overrated player in the NBA' Griffin. Underrated? Not sure. LaMarcus Aldridge? Ehh I don't know. Have to think about it.
How is that laughable? He's one of the best defenders in the game, and he gave the Hawks 19, 10, 4 and 2 last year.
Current: overrated-Blake Griffin underrated-Kyle Lowry All-time: overrated- Wilt Chamberlain underrated-Bill Russell
he gave them 19 on inefficient scoring. He chucks a ton of bad shots. Overall, has he improved compared to 2009-10? I'd say he's worse now that he's 'the man' (or considers himself one). Defensively, he's flashy. he blocks some shots, gets some steals. He's fairly solid when his man tries to post him up. But overall, his effort and results are streaky and he gambles way too much. Hard to call him one of the best defenders in the game. Above average, sure.
All time most overrated: Bill Russell All time most underrated: Dominique Wilkins Current most overrated: Carmelo Anthony Current most underrated: Lamarcus Aldridge
He is not even CONSIDERED to be one of the top 10 players of all time. I know you can argue either way but he deserves to be considered at least.
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 to 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.
Kevin Johnson's pretty underrated. And even though he's acknowledged as an all-time great, I don't think Moses gets enough respect. Dirk's become slightly overrated since winning a title, but only in the sense that he's more highly regarded now than he was 5-6 years ago, when he was a far superior player (and was probably robbed of a title by Bennett Salvatore). All time, I think Bill Walton might be the most overrated. Not because he wasn't an amazing player, but because durability is a hallmark of the all-time greats.
I am not sure Blake Griffin is overrated? He has career averages of 22 and 12 on 52% shooting. Plus 3.5 assists and he is still only 22. What more do you want from the guy?
