I know there has to be atleast 20 threads on this in the last month but I don't want to revive any of them, so here it is . I think Jamal Crawford, and Micheal Redd are pretty underrated guards in the NBA. In terms of centers I thinkl Brad Miller, and Zydrunas are also pretty unnoticed.
Ilgauskas is probably the most talented center in the league (with Shaq's age making him worse and worse) outside of Yao. He's under-utilized, and definitley over-rated.
How about Richard Jefferson? He is an amazing player who has really improved as the seasons went by. When Carter wasn't in NJ and Kidd was injured ,this guy was averaging 22 pts per game. It's seems because Carter is in town everybody seems to forget about Jeff and how he helps the team. He might not be the most underrated player but he defiantly one of the most underrated.
I won't say one particular player as the most underrated. But my list would consist of: Richard Jefferson He's always been a solid player and is capable of being a semi-superstar in my opinion. Tim Duncan Because with all the emphasis on Shaq winning 4 championships, people seem to forget that Duncan has led the Spurs to THREE championships, including one in his SOPHMORE year, regardless of if he had an aging legend in Robinson or not. Tim Duncan is, and always has been, a winner, yet he is rarely recognized for it. Michael Redd He lived up to his contract and is an excellent player. Ray Allen Responded to his contract extension by putting up greater numbers then the ones he put up during his contract year (I believe), and has always been a solid player who has never received much hype. The only time I remember him getting a lot of hype was during the East Finals in 2001 against Philly, and even then, he was overshadowed because Allen Iverson was getting props from everyone for being "the little guy who led his team this far". Kirk Hinrich With all the emphasis on the "top 3" or "top 4 (if you wanna include Bosh), I think people don't pay attention to the fact that Kirk's career with the Bulls has been sucessful as well. I believe he will become a great point guard in the future. Although, he may never be a "superstar" type point guard, he will always be solid and a great player to have on anyone's team.
Shane Battier. The fact that Rockets fans were actually complaining about the draft-day deal is a perfect example of how underrated he is.
Come on nobody mentioned G-Force Gerald Wallace? http://youtube.com/watch?v=1KZTUxwIFmY&sea...erald%20Wallace
Although hes an all-star....he still don't get enough love: Paul Pierce: The Most Slept On Superstar In the Game.
Here is some more to add. Richard Jefferson Jason Richardson Paul Pierce Emeka Okafor Gerald Wallace Memo Okur AK47 Andres Nocioni* Tyson Chandler Smush Parker Lamar Odom Primoz Brezec* Manu Ginobili <font size=""1"">* is for spelling errors I think I may have made.</font>
Manu Ginobili is another underrated player Kid is a stud,hes got handles,can shoot,gets to the Rack at will,Plays D,can Pass and hes top 5 SG's in the league IMO Another is Pepe Sow............................................................
Andrei Kirilenko, I think people forget just how great this kid is. He can do everything, he can score, rebound, pass, steal, block, defend, he never really gets the credit he deserves. I cant really think of anyone else who can do what he can. last season he averaged: 15.3ppg, 8.0rpg, 4.3apg, 1.48spg, 2.50bpg Another player who I think is serverly underated is Jason Terry, he never gets much recognition at all.
^^^^^True Other Underrated Player right is Ason Kidd (Yea he has no J) since Ason getting old people shadow away from him when talking about the best PGs in the league...Ason still got it IMO Another Underrated Player is Jamison Brewer..........................................................
For my team I nominate Udonis Haslem. When you think of a PF you would want on your team, Udonis Haslem is probably the 20th pick of a possible 30 teams with starting forwards. <font color=""Indigo"">I bet even </font>the ever injured Carlos Boozer and Kenyon Martin are more coveted than Haslem. To his credit, he does about as good a job you can do at defending the premier offensive PFs in the game, he does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet, he's one of the best effort/energy players in the league, and basically he just does what it takes to win. He doesn't get many shots but he does a good job on capitilizing off the opportunity he gets. He came into the league with a well known erratic jumpshot and now he's one of the best/streakiest mid-range shooting PF in the NBA. Still, he's the poision when talking about which player on the Heat you would not cover because of lack of offensive talent. Go back and look in the Finals and you'll see things like him getting misses and putting them back with less than 2 minutes in the 4th and him hitting huuuuuuuuge jumpers because Dallas felt they would live with Udonis beating them. Or in Game 3, with one last chance for Dallas to score, he stole a pass intender Dirk Nowitzki, and even though he's not a good dribbler (you'll rarely see him putting it on the floor), he gunned down the court in an attempt to score right before Jason Terry fouled him.
Beyond anything, I think Gerald Wallace is the top, averaged 2 blocks and 2 steals and no all-defense? Also AK47 (not to mention the best nickname in the league) and Okur.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Flashback:</div><div class="quote_post">Beyond anything, I think Gerald Wallace is the top, averaged 2 blocks and 2 steals and no all-defense?</div> I think that was more due to him only playing 55 games. Also I personally dont think Jason Kidd is underated at all, many fans and enthusiasts alike still rate him as probally the best point guard behind Steve Nash.
I don't think most of those guys are underrated as much as a new generation of players have come in and are ready to take the NBA into the next half of the decade. Guys like Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Pierce, Kidd, Carter, Iverson, Kobe (the only exception), McGrady, etc... are all from the 90s-to-early 00s generation. In that time they were considered some of the best the NBA has seen. Now they're all taking a back seat to let the new generation of players shine. They're still great players but their names/styles/faces are growing repetitive and us as fans have turned our attention to the new crop of players.
