I recently wrote a list of the ten most underrated players in the NBA. Well, here is the list the of the ten most overrated players in the league.
10. Ray Allen:
Ray Allen is one of the best scorers and shooters in the league. However, he is not a great player. He is a below average rebounder, passer and defender. He is considered by many to be a great player and a superstar, but those descriptions are completely false.
He is a good player who had good stats on bad teams. He isn't an all around player and he shouldn't be a hall of famer. If he is inducted to the hall, he would be one of the five to ten worst players inducted.
9. Dirk Nowitzki:
Dirk is a very good player. He is one of the best big men in the game. He is arguably the greatest shooting big man in the history of the league and he is a lock to average 24-25 points and nine rebounds. He is also a good passer averaging around four assists.
However, he is not a franchise player like many people say he is. He isn't good enough to be the best player on a championship-winning team. He also isn't good enough to win a MVP award and he should not be mentioned in the top five to six players in the league like I usually do hear.
8. Gilbert Arenas:
I know a lot of people will disagree with this choice. However, Arenas is overrated. Yes, he is a great offensive player. He is as good as a scorer as there is in the league and one of its most clutch players. However, he is a below average defender, he doesn't make any of his teammates better, he shoots way too much and he isn't a good leader.
If you want proof of him not making his teammates better, look at how good the Wizards were without him and how bad they were with him in the lineup. He is a good player, but not a superstar or a franchise player.
7. Jason Kidd:
Jason Kidd is one of the ten greatest point guards of all time. He is one of the most unselfish and best passers of all time. However, he isn't a superstar. He has never been able to shoot the ball, is an average scorer and shoots a terrible percent from the field..
He has only averaged more than 17 points per game in just one season and he has shot under 40% in seven different seasons. He is a lock for the hall of fame, but he isn't and never has been a superstar because of his minimal scoring abilities.
6. Carlos Boozer:
Boozer is a solid power forward. He is a very good rebounder with around eleven boards a game and a good scorer averaging 20 points a game. However, he is not an elite player. He is helped tremendously by Deron Williams' passing ability. He is also a terrible defender who doesn't have the ability to block any shots and is a weak one-on-one defender.
He is a good player, but he should never be considered one of the top five or six big men in the league like I have heard him called by several different people in the media.
5. Dwyane Wade:
Wade is one of the top 10 to 15 best players in the league when he is healthy. He is as good as anyone at getting to the rim and finishing and getting to the free throw line. He is also a good passer and a solid rebounder. However, he is an average defender at best and is a turnover machine with over four a game.
A couple of years ago, after the Heat's championship, everyone was saying how he was better than Kobe and Lebron and that he was the best player in the league. That is a completely stupid and false statement. He is not close to Kobe or Lebron's all-around game. He is a great player, even a superstar, but he isn't that legendary player like a Kobe or a Lebron that many people make him seem to be.
4. Amare Stoudamire:
Amare Stoudamire is a great scoring big man. He could score over 20 a game any time. He is not a great player though. He is a very good player who doesn't use all of his skills as much as he should. He is a below average defender, an average rebounder, a terrible passer and he has a terrible basketball IQ who regularly commits stupid fouls away from the basket.
He is blessed to be with Steve Nash, who he fits perfect with as they are both great pick-and-roll players. He is also in an up-tempo offense which gives him several opportunities to score and be successful. He is a perennial all star, but he will never be a franchise player on a championship team unless he improves his defense and rebounding.
3. Carmelo Anthony:
Anthony is one of the best scorers in the league, but that is all he will ever be - a great scorer. He isn't good at making his teammates better; he averages only three assists even though he has several talented offensive players on his team. He is a terrible defender, a bad leader and he is finally a loser, going 4-19 in playoffs) He will never be a true superstar because you must be able to make your teammates better for you to be a superstar and you need to at least advance to the second round of the playoffs. Are you listening T Mac?
He is great for your fantasy team and he will end up with a good career statistically, but he doesn't have an impact on the game as his stats suggest. For anyone to put him as one of the ten best players in the league is preposterous.
2. Tony Parker:
Paker is a very solid point guard. He is excellent at getting to the rim and finishing in a variety of different ways, his floater being an example. He is a 18-19 point scorer and is very efficient. He shoots a high field goal percentage and averages a low turnover total. He isn't a great point guard even though many people say he is because he has won three rings.
He is not close to the level or Deron Williams or Chris Paul and will never be. He can score as well as them, but he isn't close to the passer and leader that they are. He also wouldn't be that good if it weren't for Tim Duncan's greatness in the middle. He is a good point guard, but he should never be considered one of the three or four best point guards in the league.
1. Steve Nash:
Nash is a very good pass-first point guard. He is a good passer and he is an extremely efficient scorer at over 50% from field, 40% from three-point line and 90% from the free-throw line. He is also a solid scorer at around 17-18 points per game. However, for him to have won two MVPs and be considered the best point guard in the last five years is ridiculous and appalling.
He is probably the worst defending guard of all time, he is extremely turnover prone averaging four a game and he is helped dramatically by his great teammates and fast up-tempo offense which give him several more opportunities than usual to make plays. He is a solid point guard, but he should have never been an MVP candidate and he shouldn't come close to the hall of fame, even though he will now because of his two MVPs.
I hope you enjoyed my list. I would like to hear you guys' opinions about my list. Who shouldn't be on the list and who should have been on the list?
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3 months ago
This could be the worst list EVER!! If you win an MVP in an sport i think you shouldn't be called overrated. If Nash sucks so bad where was Kobe, LeBron, Duncan, and Garnett those 2 years in a row he won he's MVPS. Yes he sucks at defense, but you don't have to be great at everything to be considered great. Ask anyone in the NBA they will tell you Steve Nash is an amazing player
Lebron is horrible at three pointers and free throws maybe he should be on here as well.
Kidd and Gilbert should be on this list I think thats about it. Melo can play defense, but it seems like he never wants to.
PS Payton Manning can't run well so throw him on your football list in a couple months.
3 months ago
Wow, you need help. Are u comparing three point shooting to defense. How can u be a great player when you are a terrible defender. It doesn't matter if Nash is giving you 20 and 10 if he is giving up the same if not more. Any year by Kobe, Lebron, KG or Duncan is a lot better than Nash's two seasons that he won the MVPs in.
from 3 months ago
If there years are so much better then why didn't they win it? he is more than a thre point shooter. You calling steve nash just a three point shooter shows where your nba knowledge is.
Dwight howard has no jump shot and is bad at free throws so i guess he isn't very either huh?
3 months ago
Wow, I was making a respnse to ur first comment about Lebron's poor three point shooting. You telling me the year Kobe averaged 35,5 and 5 wasn't as good as Nash or Lebron's season when he averaged 30,7, and 6. Nash is an good point guard, but everyone calls him a great point guard and an MVP when he wasn't even the best player on his own team. (Marion or Amare)
from 3 months ago
look buddy don't freak out ok... He great to everyone but you. and yes 30,7, and 6 is better but nash's game and their style he does't have to do that. and Amare is a bad player to you as well so i don't know what to tell you fella.
ps your underrated list is very good
3 months ago
What? Ray Allen, one of the best shooters EVER overrated? Steve Nash??? With all of those successful Suns teams he led? Averaging a double-double as a PG? Tony Parker, with three titles as a starting PG? Carmelo Anthony, one of the most talented low-post scorers today? A. Stoudemire, averaging a double-double after two knee surgeries? D. Wade, one of the best finals performances of all-time? Man, I'm lost on this one. Those guys are all in the top 30 players in the league right now. I would like to see your list of the ten best players in the league without Amare or Dwyane.
from 3 months ago
TRUE SAM TRUE !
3 months ago
Your pathetic, this article is a joke...it's a waste of our time...thanks for wasting 5 min i'll never get back...geez
3 months ago
I would put Steve Nash as top 3 point guards of all time, and your telling me he's over rated...hey how about you tell that to the people of phoenix who had to endure Stephon Marbury led losers...Nash single handedly turned that team around...he made stars out of Diaw, Barbosa....Are you seriously telling me Shawn Marion and Amare stoudamire are better then Nash or more valuable...dude ur basketball IQ is straight up pathetic...were you in hibernation when Amare, Joe Johnson and Marion of and Stephon Marbury led the Suns to a 25 win season?? i'm sorry, but did u forget about that season...or maybe you forgot abt the season after when Nash came on board with the exact same team and led the Suns to a 62 win season....correct me if i'm wrong, but that's the reason he won MVP.....
yeah he is gonna be considered one of the top 3 point guards of all time, and he will be a first ballot all star, he is probably considered Canada's greatest athlete (next to Wayne Gretzky), and he's one of the few ballers in the NBA that can say they won 2 MVP's....and he's over rated?
3 months ago
Praise the heavens for you for putting Steve Nash No. 1!
I have been saying even before his back-to-back MVP's that Steve Nash was overrated. Let's recall when he first came into the league and the level of point guard play compared to recent years. Except for this season, the point guard position as been quite pedestrian. And Steve Nash being a product of a more competitive era of point guard reaped the benefits. For all the youngsters out there let me drop some names: Jason Kidd, Damon Stoudamire, Mark Jackson, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith, Terry Porter. These guys while some of them not great, played at a high level and poor Nash could not keep up with them.
I will have to argue you about Jason Kidd. By no means is he overrated. In fact I would put him No. 2 behind Magic and Zeke. Yes, we are looking at an old Kidd right now that was thrown into an overrated team for strictly nostalgic purposes. But do not be fooled. Kidd's game is and has always been extremely remarkable. No he doesn't shoot the lights out of the gym, but his court management is second only to Magic, can rebound better than probably 80% of the big men in the league today and has found ways to score without having the best shot in the world. And I think Tony Parker is a great player as well. I can get with you as far as the rest of the guys on the list. I would probably put the entire Phoenix Suns team outside of Shaq on the list.
3 months ago
I'm going to have to agree with everyone on that list except for Dwayne Wade and Steve Nash. The thing most of you are missing is that when he says overrated that doesn't mean that their not good, it means their not as good as they are hyped up to be. Look at Jason Kidd this season, what he did with the Mavricks was absolutly pathetic yet people still priase his skill. And Amare is a pure scorer, hes overrated because people believe that he can lead the suns when obviously he cant do anything without Nash.
Now with Dwayne Wade, how can you possibly say that he is overrated, he got no hype this season, nobody even talked about him this season...he's been injured. When he was healthy and took Miami to the finals he was up there as the top 3 players in the league. We haven't really see Wade play at 100% since that time.
from 3 months ago
Amare obviously can't do anything without Nash? That is obvious how? Because in Amare's second season WITHOUT Nash he averaged a measly 21 and 9?
3 months ago
I didn't realize a player ranked No 5 in the league in Points Per Game is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No 5 in field goal percentage at 59% shooting is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No 6 in blocked shots is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No. 3 in free throws made is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No 1 in Points Per 48 Minutes is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No 1 in overall ranking efficiency is overrated. I didn't realize a player ranked No 14 in double doubles is overrated. I didn't realize Amare is simply overrated and is not considered a "great player" only a "very good player."
You're obviously a biased Lakers fan.
One more thing. Learn to spell Amare's last name correct.
You should take down this article immediately and recheck yourself.
3 months ago
If these guys are so overrated, who is actually better than them. It seems like you think Duncan, Kobe, Lebron, Chris Paul and Deron Williams are great, so who make up the next tier of players? You suggest that Carlos Boozer isn't one of the "top five or six big men" but you give no indication of who would fill those spots. David West? Pau Gasol? Obviously not Amare, because he's even MORE overrated. I feel like this list is incomplete without arguing for who is better than these players.
3 months ago
Marcel,
the only pick that I can agree with is Gilbert Arenas and maybe Carmelo Anthony. Even Anthony is a stretch.
You cannot make controversial picks like this without explaining what your definition of "great" is. How are you defining overrated? This article might be digestable if we knew your working definition of "overrated."
You also cannot say, well this guy is top 15 or a hall of famer in Kidd's case and then drop the overrated insult. How can a hall of famer be overrated?
And also, if you want to convince people that a player is not worth his supposed greatness, do not start out your explanation with "this guy is very good," "this guy is great," or "this guys is the best shooting big man of all time." It would be like trying to persuade you that a new neighborhood is low crime by citing its nation leading 23 murders per month.
Do you watch basketball? For example, with Stoudemire, if you watched any NBA games, you would hear every analyst questioning his defense and his mental toughness. Who is calling him a great defender?
You can make the overrated argument with Arenas because he doesn't defend, routinely heaves bad shots and is a ballstopper. With the money he makes and his star status, his team should not be playing better without him.
3 months ago
How can u say Steve Nash is an overrated player when he has the record for the third best free throwing percentage in NBA history and fifth best 3 point shooting percentage in NBA history??? In the 2005-2006 season, Nash became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range (43.9), and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price!!!! On 11 May 2006, ESPN.com rated Nash as the 9th-best point guard of all time,[45] and in a survey by nba.com in 2007, Nash received 85% of the votes by the league's general managers as best point guard in the league!!! These are just a few examples on why Steve Nash is NOT overrated!!!!!!!!!
Ray Allen who held the record of being second in the all time history of three-pointers made should not be overated. A more recent example would be game 4 in the NBA finals this year where Ray Allen brought the Celtics to the biggest comeback ever in the Finals when both KG and Paul Pierce were not playing well!!!!!
Dwyane Wade who won the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge twice has surely proven to us that he is not overrated. Wade scored 14 points in 24 minutes in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game and 20 points in 30 minutes in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game. Also his performance in Games 3, 4 and 5 in 2006 NBA Finals is even better than Kobe Bryant score in this year NBA finals. He became the fifth youngest player in NBA history to capture NBA Finals MVP honors and recorded the third highest scoring average by a player in his first NBA Finals with 34.7 points per game. Also, John Hollinger rate his PER in the NBA Finals as the greatest performance in NBA History.
This article is just stupic. You can't say that these players are overated when they are so good. Players listed in this article are at the very least top 10 players in their position in the NBA currently. More to the point, Steve Nash isn't just a three point shooter. I personally recon that Steve Nash is more unselfish that Kidd. Nash can shoot very well but he still passes the ball to other players while Kidd has to pass the ball because he isn't as good as Nash in shooting. MVP isn't just about scoring points, MVP is about leading your team. If you are scoring 50 points personally but you can't lead your team, you will not get the MVP. Thats why Kobe only get his first MVP this year beacuse this year he is starting to lead Lakers. A team needs a leader and Kobe wasn't a leader until this year.
3 months ago
i don't wanna waste 5 minutes tearing apart this list after alredy wasting 5 minutes reading so I will say this.
Arenas is the only legitimate name and the funny thing is that of all the people, you say "a lot of people will disagree with this choice"... lol its prolly the only one i agree
calling steve nash overrated, when he is in the prime of his career and playing better basketball than virtually anyone not named Kobe Bryant is sickening. The worst defending point guard of all time? Are you kidding me? Clearly you have only watched the game of basketball for one year.
3 months ago
I don't care what you guys say about Steve Nash. He is overrated. For him to have more MVPs than Shaq, Kobe, KG and AI is beyond me. Yes, he is a good point guard who has nice %s, but he is a terrible defender, is helped a lot by his good teammates and up tempo offense and turnovers the ball a lot. My next tier of players are Yao, KG, Pierce, Baron Davis, Brand, Al Jefferson, David West, Roy, Bosh, Butler and Ginobli. Wade is on my list because just two years ago everyone was saying he was the best player in the league, even though he isn't close to Lebron or Kobe. Parker is always mentioned as one of the 2-3 best point guards even though he isn't in the top 5. Deron, Paul, Nash, Billups and Baron Davis are all better. Carmelo is just a good scorer, as well as Amare.
3 months ago
Hi, I liked your article. Here's what I think about each player:
10. Disagree. Ray Allen is a better defender than people give him credit for. He went head on with Kobe and the Lakers and won an NBA championsip.
9. Agree. For a seven footer, he is not near around where he should be in rebounding and defense.
8. Agree. For as good as he is, Arenas is overrated. You made all the points already.
7. Agree. Jason Kidd is way overrated. He shoots terribly from the field.
6. Agree. Carlos Boozer is a good scorer but he can't play defense.
5. Disagree. Dwyane Wade is one of the premier players in the NBA. In a healthy season, he will average 25 PPG, 7 APG, 5 RPG, 2 SPG, and 1 BPG. Also, unlike LeBron, he has a championship.
4. Disagree. Stoudemire averages 25 PPG, 9 RPG, 2 BPG, and 1 SPG. He's led his team to the playoffs the last few years also.
3. Agree. Anthony is one-dimensional. He can score. That's it.
2. Disagree. Parker has 3 championships.
1. Disagree. Nash's assist-turnover ratio is about 3:1. That's pretty good for a point guard.
3 months ago
I could POSSIBLY AGREE with you on Anthony and Arenas, but STEVE NASH?! He may not have won a title, but the guy led his teams to the conference finals thrice. Oh and he has a couple MVP awards. Tony Parker may not be the traditional point guard, but he's got three rings and a Finals MVP to make his case. And please, I thought this article was a good read, but Jason Kidd OVERRATED? This man led the NETS....THE NEW JERSEY NETS WHO WERE TERRIBLE FOR YEARS to the NBA Finals twice. He played on some BAD and i mean BAD nets teams and made all of his teammates better. I think any Nets fan will tell you that. Good to hear someone voice their opinion though, no matter how radically different it is from mine lol.
3 months ago
Im sorry but LeBron has to be in here before D-Wade. Lebrons NBA Finals Stats 22ppg 7rpg 6.8apg 2 spg 5.75turnovers per game...Untill he can prove he is clutch in the finals u have to put him on this list..... There should be no NBA player that averaged (35 ppg 8 rpg 4 apg and 3 spg) in a NBA finals series and to lead their team from down 0-2 be in a overrated list... he has been through injuries but he is not overrated
from 3 months ago
LeBron overrated Jimmy? One word, NO.
about 1 month ago
Dude, D-Wade, Parker, and even Ray Allen are totally uncalled for. You should have put Arenas at #1. Statistically, he's one of the worst all-around performers, much worse than Nash. Nash may be horrendous at defense, but he gets his teammates involved and is a true leader while Arenas does not.
I can't believe you think D-Wade is overrated. That alone makes you a moron. Have you only watched him play when he's injured? Maybe the Olympics will make you realize your mistake. He and LeBron are by far the two best players on the team and Wade is doing it by coming off of the bench. I project that his all-around PER stat will be 3rd behind Chris Paul and LeBron James this season, and you call that overrated?
Arenas and Kidd are the two of the most overrated players in the NBA. I would take Jose Calderon over them. That's right Gilbert, I said it. Calderon is a better player than you.
about 1 month ago
This list is horrid. Anyone can pick flaws out of any player and call them overrated.
How is Melo overrated? He could barely get onto a freaking All Star team.
Jason Kidd is overrated just because he can't shoot the ball? Are you a moron?
Tony Parker defines success.
DWAYNE WADE? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU???
Just an attention whore article. Opinions are one thing, but this is ridiculous. You should be banned from the internet.
about 1 month ago
D Wade healthy is top 5 in the league buddy.
about 1 month ago
Do you actually watch the NBA? Or did you just put the names of the top 20 players in a hat a draw out ten and say they are the most overrated. I agree that a lot of the players on your list are not perfect, not fully complete players, but they are still pretty damn good. You lost all credability as a sports writer for this article, atleast in my mind.
about 1 month ago
Great article, Marcel, even if you only got #1 right---------------for damn sure!
20 days ago
Hmm...Marcel just seems like he's blasting players for the "one" fault they have in the game
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