Who is the most underrated player in the NBA?

[insidehoops]

Who is the most underrated player in the NBA?

A guy who never makes the All-Star team. Or maybe made it once or twice but generally doesn't make the cut. An NBA player that on offense, defense or both makes every team better, but doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves?

As always, explain your answer!

And feel free to name a bunch of underrated NBA players, not just one.

[boyle777]

Andre Iguodala.

The best perimeter defender in the league, and an incredible passer and playmaker. The only other real point forward in the league besides The Chosen One, which in itself deserves huge credit. If was a bigger scoring threat, would no doubt be an all star.
Offense is always perceived as the main criterion for a players greatness, and hence it is always the leading scorers the most highly rated. Defense in the end wins championships though.

[Fiasco]

Eric Gordon.

See ClippersFan for more information.

[bagelred]

Manu Ginobli or Luis Scola were first two popped into my head.

[Tha Catalyst]

Eric Gordon.

See ClippersFan for more information.
Most seem top have him as the 3rd best SG. Seems very fair he isn't in the Bryant/Wade league. Might even be the best at his position in a few years if things fall his way. Lois Scola, Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogut are underrated I feel.

[bagelred]

Lois Scola

Is that Luis' twin sister?

[Miller for 3]

Mbah Moute, most versatile defender in the league but 8 out of 10 ESPN writers can't name what team he's on :facepalm

[MiseryCityTexas]

wesley matthews

[Harison]

Underrated - solid defenders and role players. Regular fan: "basketball is scoring-only game, right?" "Superstar carried a team of nobodies", etc.

Also hated players are underrated. Some fans significantly underrate the players they dont like, i.e. Rodman, KG, sometimes Kobe, Lebron, and the like, etc.

[Toizumi]

Who is the most underrated player in the NBA?

A guy who never makes the All-Star team. Or maybe made it once or twice but generally doesn't make the cut. An NBA player that on offense, defense or both makes every team better, but doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves?

As always, explain your answer!

And feel free to name a bunch of underrated NBA players, not just one.

Most underrated right now? I really wouldn't know.
There are a bunch of guys that have borderline all stars for most of their careers. Role players that were stars in their own right.

Lamar Odom was always one of those guys. I remember when he was on the Heat, putting up great numbers. I think that back then most people envisioned him making multiple all star teams in his career. That's why the Lakers got him, to be a sidekick (true no 2) to Kobe. Odom never really fitted that role. He's become a role player (a great one), but he has always all star talent (even now). Solid career numbers (15, 9 and 4) and two championship rings. Still somewhat underrated though.

Andre Miller never learned to shoot and it hurt his career. However, he does so many little things on both ends of the floor. He's appreciated by true NBA fans I think. However, he's never been in the spotlight. He isn't flashy, not a great scorer, doesn't have much of a personality.

[Nelson14]

Scola

[brandonislegend]

Rudy Gay

[Clippersfan86]

Luol Deng easily. Been doing such a good job in this league for years yet never gets any praise or press. He's a total do everything utility/glue guy like AK47, Tayshaun Prince (prime) SF.

[vinsanity2756]

luol deng, for the work he does on defense against top small forwards. and on offense he really improved his 3 point shooting, and he's just a solid all around player. i would also say lamarcus aldridge. he didin't even make the all-star game yet, and he is such a good player.

[Clippersfan86]

luol deng, for the work he does on defense against top small forwards. and on offense he really improved his 3 point shooting, and he's just a solid all around player. i would also say lamarcus aldridge. he didin't even make the all-star game yet, and he is such a good player.

LaMarcus Aldridge became overrated IMO because of his 2 month stretch. The reason he didn't get into the all star game is because of PF depth in the league and big man depth in the west. Dirk, Gasol, Griffin, Love, Zbo are all PF's in the same conference.

[vinsanity2756]

LeBron James. Not even kidding.
"A guy who never makes the All-Star team. Or maybe made it once or twice but generally doesn't make the cut." I wouldn't say james is the most underrated player in the league since he has won 2 mvp's and never missed an all star selection.

[qrich]

Eric Gordon is underrated at a lot of places, though I do see some placing him as the third best SG in the league, which is certainly a legit argument to do so.

[glidedrxlr22]

Marcus Thornton

[Rnbizzle]

Luol Deng easily. Been doing such a good job in this league for years yet never gets any praise or press. He's a total do everything utility/glue guy like AK47, Tayshaun Prince (prime) SF.
Agreed

[demons2005]

luol deng, for the work he does on defense against top small forwards. and on offense he really improved his 3 point shooting, and he's just a solid all around player. i would also say lamarcus aldridge. he didin't even make the all-star game yet, and he is such a good player.lol So this week I learned Deng is the most underrated player and Gibson is the best role player. Let me guess Bogans is the greatest SG. The haters are so transparent.

[Clippersfan86]

lol So this week I learned Deng is the most underrated player and Gibson is the best role player. Let me guess Bogans is the greatest SG. The haters are so transparent.

You don't like the truth apparently. Taj Gibson is such a good role player that when he had to start and play heavy minutes he played superb, despite some inconsistent stretches. His PER 36 is 12 ppg, 10 rpg, 1 apg, 1 spg and 2 bpg the last 2 seasons pretty much. Do you know that's very good?

Luol Deng is the most underrated player because.. he's put up 16 ppg, 6.5 rpg 2.5 apg and played excellent man defense his entire career.. yet when do people talk about him or give him props? He's the PERFECT 3rd option for any team. Like I said.. think prime Tayshaun Prince or prime AK47, both of which were always super underrated, low key guys like Deng.

[MichaelCheazley]

Al Jefferson. He's not even mentioned in top 10/pf or centers. He has put close to 20/10 even in utah and thats after an acl injury which takes 1 full year to get back into your true self. Great post game, good rebounder, capable of becoming a good defender in the right system. Would have loved him had we failed to get bosh and lebron.

Tyreke evans is also pretty underrated due to his plantar facitis caused reduced stats. I see him becoming something pretty damn good. Monta is also kinda underrated. Although his stats are inflated, he is an explosive scorer who can assist and rebound reasonably at his size. Bulls fans get mad when hes compared to rose but i think the gap between them isnt that big:whatever rose can do ellis can do. NOW atleast of course rose is gonna improve further next season.

[RRR3]

Agree on Al Jefferson. There is no way he's not a top 5 Center in today's league, in fact he has a good case for 2nd behind D12 because the other two guys in the running for 2nd (Bogut and Bynum) are always hurt. Al Horford is another PF playing C who gets underrated.

[JMT]

Grant Hill. Soon to be 39 years old, playing more games per than in his injury shortened prime. Doing this on an up-tempo team. Averaging 12-13 pts, 5 boards and a couple assists in 30 minutes a game. Regularly guards top scorers at the 2 or 3. Gone from superstar to the ultimate glue guy at an age when he could be sitting back and counting his money.

Greatest thing to ever happen to Jared Dudley, who has taken the example to heart. He'll have a long career doing the things Hill is teaching him.

[qrich]

Mbah Moute, most versatile defender in the league but 8 out of 10 ESPN writers can't name what team he's on :facepalm

Another name I agree with. I hope the Clippers can somehow sign him this offseason if a deal for a major wing isn't completed. Amnesty Gomes and give MBah A Moute 2 years/$7 million and you still have enough cap space since that is what Gomes' salary would have been.

[bdreason]

I like the Lamar Odom vote. He's never been an All-Star and comes off the bench... and he seems to be the scapegoat from Lakers fans a lot of the time.

[EnoughSaid]

Carmelo Anthony no question. No one even has him in their top 10. The dude is a monster and people don't even consider his abilities.

Luol Deng is underrated too.

[Jasper]

Mbah Moute, most versatile defender in the league but 8 out of 10 ESPN writers can't name what team he's on :facepalm

He was the first person that came to my mind , not because he is on my Bucks , but that the guy is a real worker.

Two summers ago , he started working real hard at playing weak side offense , going to the rack with put backs and layups , and even a nice 12 foot jumper.
I sense this year we will see an even better player.

My 2nd pick even though people appreciate him , is one of my all time fav players Shane Battier - an exceptional defender , and the point blank outside spot up shot isn't so bad either :applause:


Another name I agree with. I hope the Clippers can somehow sign him this offseason if a deal for a major wing isn't completed. Amnesty Gomes and give MBah A Moute 2 years/$7 million and you still have enough cap space since that is what Gomes' salary would have been.

Bucks will never let him go ... Moute has stated often , he is highly appreciative that the Bucks drafted him.

[Dave3]

LeBron James. Not even kidding.
No he's not. Just an influx of trolls on this site makes you feel everyone thinks that. It's like asking Jordan trolls how they feel about Kobe. The thing is though, if 90% of a population is one thing, it's going to seem like thats the opinion of the general public.

[32Dayz]

Pau Gasol.

His play suffers when Kobe over ISO's but otherwise he is one of the best PF's and Player's in the Entire League.

He is younger and at this point unless Kobe is healthy enough that he can make a legitimate improvement over last season they should run the offense through Gasol entirely and pull the reigns in on the Kobster.

[EricGordon23]

Marcus Thornton and James Harden

[7_cody]

Pau Gasol.

His play suffers when Kobe over ISO's but otherwise he is one of the best PF's and Player's in the Entire League.

He is younger and at this point unless Kobe is healthy enough that he can make a legitimate improvement over last season they should run the offense through Gasol entirely and pull the reigns in on the Kobster.

Pau Gasol is overrated, not underrated. :facepalm And Kobe's iso-ing?? What? The Lakers run the same two plays for him, and they both place him at the elbow.

[knickswin]

I don't think Luol Deng is underrated. Maybe it's because I'm a Knicks fan living in Chicago who always has to hear from my Bulls homer friends about how great he is, but I don't think he's underrated. You have people saying he's a top5 SF which is just not true. I'll give you top 10. He's a good role player, but his ppg inflates his value as a scorer. His ability to shoot off the dribble and play in the post is limited for a sf.

[JaskoX1]

Manu Ginobli or Luis Scola were first two popped into my head.
Oh, you don't watch the clowns on Espn 1st & 10 I take it.

Underrated Players:
Anderson Varejao
Xavier Henry
Mike Conley is somewhat underrated in the PG discussions.

wesley matthews

Andre Miller never learned to shoot and it hurt his career. However, he does so many little things on both ends of the floor. He's appreciated by true NBA fans I think. However, he's never been in the spotlight. He isn't flashy, not a great scorer, doesn't have much of a personality.
These ^.

[JaskoX1]

I don't think Luol Deng is underrated. Maybe it's because I'm a Knicks fan living in Chicago who always has to hear from my Bulls homer friends about how great he is, but I don't think he's underrated. You have people saying he's a top5 SF which is just not true. I'll give you top 10. He's a good role player, but his ppg inflates his value as a scorer. His ability to shoot off the dribble and play in the post is limited for a sf.
Luol Deng is underrated because Bulls fans like to underplay all their players to make Derrick Rose seem like a god. They also bag a little to much on Boozer.

[dbugz]

Tony Parker
Gerald Wallace

[calvin671996]

stevenson

he can shoot 3pt and a good defender

[G-train]

Eric Gordon is underrated at a lot of places, though I do see some placing him as the third best SG in the league, which is certainly a legit argument to do so.

I don't really think its a legit argument right now. It's a homer argument.
He is definitely top 7 or so.
I cant put him above Kobe, Wade, Manu, Joe Johnson, Monta Ellis.. then its an argument between Allen, Gordon, Iggy, Martin.
If he can make the playoffs, average 23 a game and play a reasonably full season and I'll consider him in the top 3 or 4.

[Dave3]

I don't really think its a legit argument right now. It's a homer argument.
He is definitely top 7 or so.
I cant put him above Kobe, Wade, Manu, Joe Johnson, Monta Ellis.. then its an argument between Allen, Gordon, Iggy, Martin.
If he can make the playoffs, average 23 a game and play a reasonably full season and I'll consider him in the top 3 or 4.
He doesn't put up empty stats though. He's always scoring at the opportune moments. A lot of times scorers on bad teams don't really help their teams. This guy actually does, even if it doesn't show up in the W-L record.

[JaskoX1]

LeBron James. Not even kidding.
http://i41.tinypic.com/orumqg.gif

[dee-rose]

Steph curry.

[DevilsAssassin]

PG Raymond Felton
SG Eric Gordon
SF Rudy Gay
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Andrew Bogut

[Bandito]

"A guy who never makes the All-Star team. Or maybe made it once or twice but generally doesn't make the cut." I wouldn't say james is the most underrated player in the league since he has won 2 mvp's and never missed an all star selection.
Just ignore him he's one of those 'fanatics'...

I would say Lopez is pretty much underrated and I think that next year (I don't believe the season is gonna start next year LOL) could be his breakout season if he's still working out

[Nash]

After this summer, I'd say Lebron. I've read and heard so many crazy things being said about the man. People even thought a 49 year old Jordan would beat a 26 year old Lebron in a 1-on-1.

[JaskoX1]

PG Raymond Felton
SG Eric Gordon
SF Rudy Gay
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Andrew Bogut
We can all agree that Portland is an underrated team. They did do the best against the champs in the playoffs.

[calvin671996]

Nick collison
He defended Dirk very well in the playoff

[WillC]

Andrew Bogut.

Will be a dominant center... just needs to stay healthy. Very effective on both ends of the floor. Good shot-blocker and rebounder. Soft touch around the rim.

[Nick Young]

Kobe Bean Bryant

[Arroyo8]

ibaka

[miamiandorlando]

not the most underrated but you'd think bosh was some d-league player based on some of the comments from posters on here

[SyRyanYang]

Deron Williams

[Bandito]

How is Lebron or Kobe the most underrated? Are you people blind in ish? Holy shit!!!!

[coin24]

Andrew Bogut.

Will be a dominant center... just needs to stay healthy. Very effective on both ends of the floor. Good shot-blocker and rebounder. Soft touch around the rim.


Agree. Bogut is a beast:bowdown:


And Bosh, the guy played well all through the playoffs and finals and still cops shit:facepalm Played better than Bronzey in the finals, then again so did everyone on the court:lol

[Bandito]

I think Bosh is very underrated seeing as he still got his numbers despite playing with those two ballhogs...

[Cali Syndicate]

Steph curry.

Best player from that draft. Should have been ROY.

[Boston C's]

right now i feel iggy is probably the most underrated and right there are guys like kevin martin and eric gordon (very talented but doesnt get talked about much)

generally 3 guys that I thought were extremely underrated throughout their career were Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Lamar Odom... odom the most because he was truly a do it all guy and would easily have made multiple all star teams had he been able to get touches like a number 1 or true number 2 option... Ray Ray i felt was extremely underrated because he was never a flashy player but was fundamentally sound... like the perimeter version of tim duncan (except duncan is better and more successful) hell i remember reading an article about someone knocking on his name saying that it was too boring and that if he had a cool name he would probably get noticed more (exp tracy mcgrady kobe bryant all unique names) then you have Walter Ray Allen...3 first names lmao dont really agree with that but found it funny... add it in with the fact that he spent his peak/prime in a small market and generally shitty teams and he never really got recognized... pierce I always thought was the ray allen of the east or vice versa w.e you wanna flip it... generally shitty supporting cast and never got praised for his abilities because he wasnt a flashy guy himself really but got the job done effectively... so basically in a nutshell lamar odom is the most overrated because at least allen and pierce were seen as stars/franchise players in their primes and made multiple all star games... odom never got any recognition and with his talent he could of easily made all star teams if he got more touches

[Boston C's]

not the most underrated but you'd think bosh was some d-league player based on some of the comments from posters on here

this also... ppl forget bosh came off of his best statistical season his last yr in toronto that was pretty damn ridiculous somethin like 25/10

[Nova6]

wallace