The most underrated player in NBA History

[RogueBorg]

Is this guy

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRavlUH_1XIrqV689JQTTOGqOZ1X1_EC vMu8LJlfiRPJCQALTgtQdKtLRyoPUHZ8jbXfMI&usqp=CAU


https://youtu.be/x8ynWTvgIuA?t=292

[RogueBorg]

Hall of Fame
13x All-Star
3x MVP
6x Rebounding Champ
8x All-NBA
2x All-Defensive
1982-'83 Finals MVP
1974-'75 All-Rookie

[RogueBorg]

https://youtu.be/RWX5jK2mfAg

[theman93]

BIG MO

:cheers:

[1987_Lakers]

I think some people breeze by David Robinson when discussed, people recognize he is a hofer, but at his peak he was a top 5 player ever in terms of defensive impact and had seasons in the early 90's where he was better than Hakeem & Ewing.

I would also throw Sidney Moncrief in there, was the best player on those 80's Bucks teams that were consistently a top 4 team in the league, best defensive guard of the mid 80's. Crazy he didn't get into the HOF until 2019.

[SouBeachTalents]

I agree he's underrated, but most underrated? Nah. Way too many guys from the 60's & 70's to take that title. Moses gets much more love than guys like Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry & Elvin Hayes

[RRR3]

I agree he's underrated, but most underrated? Nah. Way too many guys from the 60's & 70's to take that title. Moses gets much more love than guys like Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry & Elvin Hayes
Elvin Hayes was a chucker and awful teammate. Just ask Kblaze lol

[sdot_thadon]

Is this guy

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRavlUH_1XIrqV689JQTTOGqOZ1X1_EC vMu8LJlfiRPJCQALTgtQdKtLRyoPUHZ8jbXfMI&usqp=CAU


https://youtu.be/x8ynWTvgIuA?t=292

It didn't used to be that way, but he got shuffled out of the top 10 fairly quickly. Alot of older guys are now underrated. Doctor J is the most IMHO, but yeah Moses is too. So is Oscar, Elgin, West and a ton of others because they didnt play in our time.

[1987_Lakers]

It didn't used to be that way, but he got shuffled out of the top 10 fairly quickly. Alot of older guys are now underrated. Doctor J is the most IMHO, but yeah Moses is too. So is Oscar, Elgin, West and a ton of others because they didnt play in our time.

Funny thing is Dr. J was consistently getting GOAT talks or at least a top 3 player ever by fans and media in the 80's. People in different arenas treated him like he was MJ in his farewell season in '87. Now he doesnt crack top 10, lol

[FireDavidKahn]

Most underrated is George Mikan by far.

He was more dominant then Jordan was.

[Manny98]

It didn't used to be that way, but he got shuffled out of the top 10 fairly quickly. Alot of older guys are now underrated. Doctor J is the most IMHO, but yeah Moses is too. So is Oscar, Elgin, West and a ton of others because they didnt play in our time.

This Dr J for sure underrated

[dankok8]

Moses Malone for sure. I've posted at lengths about him before.

David Robinson is an excellent mention. That one series 95 WCF when Hakeem totally destroyed him completely changed the perception of their games but Robinson as a player was in the same tier as Hakeem. His problems were that he wasn't a go-to scorer and a combination of naval service plus injury in 1996 shortened his prime by a lot. D Rob is on the short list of most impactful players ever though. He still cracks a lot of top 25 lists and rightfully so.

John Havlicek is another underrated one. Arguably deserved 3 Finals MVP awards (1968, 1969, 1974). Had a long long prime especially for that era. At his peak put up 28/9/7 (albeit on average efficiency) but was a great defender as well.

[sdot_thadon]

Funny thing is Dr. J was consistently getting GOAT talks or at least a top 3 player ever by fans and media in the 80's. People in different arenas treated him like he was MJ in his farewell season in '87. Now he doesnt crack top 10, lol

Right, my parents told me growing up, he was "our" Mj, and what's crazy is he did have cultural impact for his era but he got cast aside almost instantly in the 90s. I think the reluctance to credit ABA stuff really hurt some of those guys, not just Dr.J.

[HoopsNY]

Hakeem is the most underrated player of all-time. He's a top 3 player. Many, if not most people, don't even have Hakeem in their top 10. Hakeem is the greatest center of all-time who ran into unfortunate circumstances regarding his teammates. He's the most skilled center ever, one of the most skilled players ever, and the greatest defensive player ever.

[sdot_thadon]

Hakeem is the most underrated player of all-time. He's a top 3 player. Many, if not most people, don't even have Hakeem in their top 10. Hakeem is the greatest center of all-time who ran into unfortunate circumstances regarding his teammates. He's the most skilled center ever, one of the most skilled players ever, and the greatest defensive player ever.

As a Dream fan, I can get on board with that for sure. For me he's the best center ever, but in reality we've got other factors that won't allow me to call him the greatest. Others have bigger career numbers, longevity, more rings. What he does have going for him is he faced the toughest level of comp at his position, and I'd say it ranks up there with anyone in terms of facing other elite guys at your position. He had an incredible peak and pretty good prime. He just doesn't check enough of the boxes to say he's the greatest center even though he's MY favorite center if that makes sense.

[FultzNationRISE]

Nah most underrated is definitely Lebron James, but Moses is up there.

[Gruppenführer]

Only correct answer:

https://content.2kdb-cdn.com/2k20/players/detlef_schrempf_8657.jpg

[ShawkFactory]

Even though he's talked about pretty frequently people tend to underestimate the impact that Stockton had on basketball games.

He also played in every single game in 17 of 19 seasons, including when he was 40. Which is nuts.

[Patrick Chewing]

I think anyone who is in the HOF should not ever be considered as underrated.

[iamgine]

At least Moses often get a mention in the top 15.

Rick Barry with his 48 win team went to the finals and SWEPT a 60 win team with no home court at all as their arena had scheduling conflict. Not to mention his 2nd scoring option was a rookie and shot 32 FG% in the finals. Hakeem & Dirk got into the greatest list but Rick Barry was often forgotten even though his achievement might've surpassed both of them by a mile. Probably cause Barry's a bonafide asshole and no one likes him.

[ShawkFactory]

I think anyone who is in the HOF should not ever be considered as underrated.

Vlade Divac is a HOFer

[RogueBorg]

Vlade Divac is a HOFer

Basketball HOF might be worse than WWE's.

[Patrick Chewing]

Vlade Divac is a HOFer

That's odd.

[fsvr54]

Rex Chapman, Mitch Richmond or Glen Rice

[Overdrive]

That's odd.

Not really, but they should consider an NBA only HOF.

[ClipperRevival]

On paper, I agree with OP, it's Moses.

Havlicheck is also a guy who has amazing on paper accomplishments and he never gets talked about.

But for me, it's Isiah Thomas all day.

https://i.insider.com/5f8d7ce9c21cfb0019468b13?width=2000&format=jpeg&auto=webp

[ClipperRevival]

I can see the case for Hakeem too when you consider PEAK and SKILLS relative to where he is ranked. At his best, to me, like Hoops NY said, he was the GOAT C. No one was more complete.

LeBron, Kobe, and a slew of other stars went to HIM for footwork lessons. That makes no sense. Smalls going to a big for footwork lessons? But see the gif below and you see why. He literally INVENTED new post moves.

https://c.tenor.com/oQIu0gXAVJMAAAAM/hakeem-turn-around.gif

[SaintzFury13]

Vlade Divac is a HOFer

I mean technically he's the greatest flopper of all time, so if someone's the greatest at something then why not let them in?

And my honest answer, as I've noticed a few others have stated, has to be Hakeem. I've never seen someone who was so dominant on both ends of the floor, be so skilled, have the accolades, including championships, a track record for dominating other superstar caliber players, and still somehow be left out of top 10s constantly. I don't know if I'd call Hakeem the greatest center of all time (I'd have to give that title to either Kareem or Wilt), but he deserves a lot more praise than he normally gets.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Kawhi Leonard. Should be hands down top 3 GOAT for his 2 finals mvps and 7 reg season top 3 SRS teams led in VORP

[RRR3]

Kawhi Leonard. Should be hands down top 3 GOAT for his 2 finals mvps and 7 reg season top 3 SRS teams led in VORP
Durrrrrrr

[houston]

Tony Parker

[L.Kizzle]

I mean technically he's the greatest flopper of all time, so if someone's the greatest at something then why not let them in?

And my honest answer, as I've noticed a few others have stated, has to be Hakeem. I've never seen someone who was so dominant on both ends of the floor, be so skilled, have the accolades, including championships, a track record for dominating other superstar caliber players, and still somehow be left out of top 10s constantly. I don't know if I'd call Hakeem the greatest center of all time (I'd have to give that title to either Kareem or Wilt), but he deserves a lot more praise than he normally gets.
Well, when you consider who they usually have ranked over him, I can't see how he's underrated. Wilt, Kareem, Russell and Shaq at center are usually over him. Duncan at PF, Bird and LeBron at SF. Jordan and Kobe at SG and Magic and Robertson at PG (and sometimes West.) Those are the players usually over him

[Psileas]

Going by a loose interpretation of "underrated", aren't like 95+% of players in NBA history underrated, including 99% of the retired ones? Such threads mostly look like a "let's see how many good players we actually know" competition. Everyone loves coming in these threads, mentioning some obscure names of very good or even great players, people generally agree with most choices, then said players get back to obscurity never to be mentioned again in any other topic whatsoever apart from the "most underrated" ones. If there's a good reason this happens, maybe these players aren't really underrated to begin with.

[dankok8]

Going by a loose interpretation of "underrated", aren't like 95+% of players in NBA history underrated, including 99% of the retired ones? Such threads mostly look like a "let's see how many good players we actually know" competition. Everyone loves coming in these threads, mentioning some obscure names of very good or even great players, people generally agree with most choices, then said players get back to obscurity never to be mentioned again in any other topic whatsoever apart from the "most underrated" ones. If there's a good reason this happens, maybe these players aren't really underrated to begin with.

I get what you're trying to say but sometimes players who are always mentioned as underrated really still are underrated. For instance I wouldn't be shocked that if a lot of peeps on this forum made an all-time list Havlicek doesn't even make the top 50 on many lists when in reality he has a top 25 all-time resume. 1 FMVP which could be 3 FMVP, fantastic 28/9/7 statline at his peak, great defender, 8 rings, and seriously good longevity.

[Rysio]

Maybe not irl but online it's probably iverson.

[SaintzFury13]

Well, when you consider who they usually have ranked over him, I can't see how he's underrated. Wilt, Kareem, Russell and Shaq at center are usually over him. Duncan at PF, Bird and LeBron at SF. Jordan and Kobe at SG and Magic and Robertson at PG (and sometimes West.) Those are the players usually over him

I can't see how anyone can justify Kobe, Robertson, and Russell being ranked over him. And those guys being ranked over him in my eyes makes him underrated.

[L.Kizzle]

I can't see how anyone can justify Kobe, Robertson, and Russell being ranked over him. And those guys being ranked over him in my eyes makes him underrated.

Maybe if it was Willis Reed, Karl Malone and Isiah Thomas being ranked over him, sure. But not those 3 of Russell, Kobe and Oscar.