The 10 Most Overrated Players In The NBA

The NBA has some amazing players such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Kobe Bryant.

There are the bench warmers that don't see much action unless it's a blowout loss or win, there are players that are mediocre, and then there are players who get a lot of attention that don't necessarily deserve it, and these are the players who are overrated. 

So, coming into the 2010-2011 season here's the list of the top 10 most overrated players in the NBA! 

10. Kevin Martin

Maybe it had to do with Kevin Martin missing a majority of the season or maybe he was just overly hyped in Sacramento.

With the emergence of young Tyreke Evans, with Martin missing time with injuries he became expendable and was traded to the Houston Rockets. 

Though he does provide scoring, some good shooting from the outside, and the ability to get to the free throw line there's not much else to his game.

He has significant holes to fix in his game particularly passing the ball has only averaged 1.9 assists for his career in 31 minutes per game.

At '6'7 he doesn't provide much rebounding as he has averaged only 3.6 rebounds, and defensively he doesn't use his length to his advantage and is easily beaten off the dribble. 

9. Devin Harris

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Devin Harris has been overrated since he was involved in the trade that brought Jason Kidd back to the Dallas Mavericks.

He was supposed to be able to run the Nets team as the point guard even though he's always been a shooting guard no matter how badly Mavericks fans would argue that he played the point guard position. 

He's quick there's no doubt about it, but his primary asset for the Mavericks was to provide scoring and that's what he did.

His numbers reflect that although he does have the ability to find open teammates he's never going to be the prototypical point guard that the Nets were looking for in replacing Kidd.

In fact, Harris is the exact opposite. 

Offensively, Harris is a volume shooter and is one of the least efficient scorers in the NBA.

In his two seasons with the Nets he has shot 43.8 and 40.3 percent from the field and from beyond the arc it's even worse at 29.1 and 27.6 percent. 

What allows Harris to score points though is his speed and getting to the basket, so he's good drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line.

He has averaged 8.8 and 6 attempts per game since arriving in New Jersey. 

According to Dave A'Lessandro article on Harris he says "his jumper’s broken. His defense, by and large, is still poor." He was a decent defender in Dallas nothing special he certainly wasn't horrible, but as injuries have been an issue while in New Jersey, his defense has suffered. 

Which makes it interesting that the proposed trade for Carmelo Anthony, the Charlotte Bobcats are interested in Harris as Larry Brown insists on defense. 

8. Steve Nash

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If there was a player that would be defined by his ability to play well offensively, Nash would be the man.

The Phoenix Suns have employed the philosophy of score whenever, get up the court no matter what happens, and the major factor of the Suns success is the ability to play at a fast pace, if the game is slowed the Suns struggle. 

There's no doubt that Nash is great at finding players in the open court and because of his ability to shoot the ball, he's not a player a team wants to leave open. 

Yet, if a team's opposing point guard is being defended by Nash the point guard will be salivating.

As Nash does not play defense, at all the only defense Nash tries to play is if a point guard is off in transition he'll attempt to draw a charge by staying in one place for the entirety of the play, but usually Nash is easily avoidable. 

For a soccer player, Nash has some of the worst footwork on defense, there's a clip of Monta Ellis going behind his back as Nash falls to the floor, the main reason is that Nash never got in a defensive stance. 

As for why he's overrated this year it's simple he has lost Amare Stoudemire, he has no pick and roll guy anymore. Teams will be able to play him more aggressively.

Hakim Warrick doesn't scare any team in the post, Channing Frye is a good shooter for a big man, but won't play in the post or rebound very well. Jason Richardson and Grant Hill are good role players.

Hedo Turkoglu is the key to the Suns season and with that being said if Turkoglu plays like he did last year, the Suns aren't going anywhere in the West.  

7. Brandon Jennings

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Brandon Jennings continues to amaze with his immaturity especially with his comments about not being asked to participate in the FIBA tournament for the United States. There's a reason why Mike Krzyzewski did not want Jennings. 

In his rookie season Jennings proved that he could score by driving to the basket that pretty much was his only move.

His speed helps, but as teams adjust to him he's going to find it even more difficult to score and with the possibility of Andrew Bogut not being healthy to start the season or Corey Maggette who was brought in from Golden State not being healthy, more of the scoring load falls on Jennings. 

That will be a huge concern for the Milwaukee Bucks as Jennings is a horrible shooter. He did hit for a decent amount from three, but put him at 15-18 feet and he was horrific.

It says something about Jennings when he finishes the season shooting 37.1 percent from the field. 

Defensively with Scott Skiles as coach, he will continue to improve defensively and his steals will go up, but being 6'1 as the year moves on, teams are going to take advantage of his lack of height and post up their starting point guards. 

6. Rajon Rondo

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If there was a polar opposite to Steve Nash, then Rajon Rondo would be it.

As great as Rondo is at finding open teammates, attacking the rim, getting to the free throw line, and playing solid defense, Rondo still leaves a lot to be desired from the point guard position.

As Rondo is great on driving to the hoop it was shown in the Finals how to destroy Rondo's confidence though, as Kobe Bryant in game seven got the assignment to defend Rondo.

Bryant did not allow Rondo to drive and instead forced Rondo into a jumper near the free throw line. The shot was not even close. 

Rondo was not heard from again until the fourth quarter and by then it was a little too late for Rondo's aggressiveness on the offensive end.

His main problems are his shooting whether it's from three, mid-range, or even the free throw line. 

Even though on defense Rondo is one of the better defensive point guards he still tends to gamble a little too much on the defensive end, which leaves his big men vulnerable on drives by opposing guards and could get them in foul trouble. 

5. Derrick Rose

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Derrick Rose comes in with a lot of hype after his experience in the FIBA tournament.

There's some Chicago Bulls fans that believe who Rose will be in the running for the Most Valuable Player award. Rose is extremely athletic and can't get to the rim to score points. 

His issue though is that he's got the mentality of score first then look for his open teammates.

Now, there's not much problems with that because Rose can get to the rim, but if teams play back on him then there's going to be trouble for the Bulls. 

Rose like Rondo and Jennings does not possess a very good mid-range game and Rose does not take a lot of threes, but when he does he has very poor numbers from beyond the arc. 

On defense, Rose isn't close to the defender that Rondo is. He certainly has the ability to defend and be up there with the likes of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Rondo at the defensive end, but it remains to be seen. 

He showed flashes of how well he could do in the FIBA tournament, but again that type of defense from Rose has not been shown yet at the NBA level. 

4. Dwight Howard

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Has there been a big man in NBA history who has done less than Howard?

On the offensive end, Howard is as limited as any big man that has come through the league has ever been. There's no hook shot and there's certainly not a back to the basket game. 

Howard does his damage because of his athleticism he can get down the court better than most big men.

He can out jump a lot of big men, so he's a beast on the offensive glass, so he gets his dunks on the offensive boards or on alley-oops because of his ability to jump. 

Defensively he's a great help defender, hence why he's usually leading the league in blocked shots, but when forced to play one-on-one defense he's got a ways to go to improve. Finally, Howard is a terrible free throw shooter.  

3. Rudy Gay

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Rudy Gay is another extremely athletic player and at 6'9 he possesses matchup nightmares for most teams at the small forward position. Gay could be a tremendous scorer at the NBA level, but he hasn't shown that. 

Though he has averaged 17.4 points for his career he could be an even more efficient scorer.

He doesn't have much of a post up game, he doesn't shoot very well from beyond 15 feet, is not a good ball handler for his position, needs to rebound more, does not pass the ball very often (only 1.7 assists in 35.3 minutes), and should become better defensively. 

While his rebounding numbers are decent for a small forward at 6'9 with a wingspan of 7'2, he should be getting more rebounds. Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks is similar in size and in athleticism and he averages more rebounds than Gay does. 

Gay is known for his ability to dunk the basketball, but as he gets older he needs to improve on his jumper, his ball handling, and also using his athleticism to pester offensive players whether by getting steals or blocked shots.

Again, Smith has Gay beat on those aspects as well. 

2. Danny Granger

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Danny Granger is one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Besides scoring, what does Granger offer for the Indiana Pacers?

He's a solid shooter from beyond the arc and has relatively good size for a small forward. 

Much like Kevin Martin, Granger is a poor rebounder although a little bit better than Martin. He has averaged only two assists in 33 minutes, is not a good ball handler, and defensively, Granger leaves a lot to be desired. 

He's not the most athletic of NBA players, so he has a difficult time staying in front of quicker players. At times he has shown good recovery time, but for the most part, he's not going to be making stops on the defensive end. 

1. Carmelo Anthony

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Carmelo Anthony is the most overrated player heading into the 2010-2011 regardless of where he ends up, Anthony has been overhyped since coming into the league.

Sure, Anthony can score in a variety of ways whether it's from the outside or posting up.

A huge drawback of Anthony is that Chauncey Billups has been the team leader since he arrived from the Detroit Pistons. 

The reality is that Anthony has never been the leader of the Nuggets. Billups with his experience and ring was the one making the clutch plays and leading the Nuggets. 

For a small forward, Anthony plays much more like a power forward as he can post up and utilize his strength, but as teams force him away from the basket he becomes less effective.

He's not a good ball handler, he's a decent rebounder, decent passer, and could do more defensively, especially rebounding the ball.

With Anthony's size and strength he should be averaging more than 6.2 rebounds. When Anthony is a supposed superstar in the league and he's being outrebounded by someone who's 6'4, then it becomes a problem. 

The question becomes will a change of scenery as Anthony has requested being traded by the Nuggets. Will he show more effort rebounding the ball and becoming a better all-around player?

Until that question is answered Anthony will continue to be overrated.