Ranking the NBA's Most Underrated Players
Look, keeping up with the rises to prominence that happen across the NBA landscape each and every year can be a time-consuming process. With 30 teams and more talent in the Association than ever, outbursts can come fast and furious from various unexpected sources.
We're here to help you by identifying the eight players whose reputations don't currently match their actual levels of play. Some are veterans with pre-established narrative trends that no longer apply. Others are up-and-comers surging without any—or enough—attached media attention.
Some subjectivity must come into play here since it's impossible to identify exactly how the general public values a player. But these players have (sustainably) outpaced perception by the widest margins during the early portion of the 2023-24 calendar.
8. Jalen Suggs
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Reason for Value Disconnect: Delayed growth curve
When it clicks, it clicks. And it doesn't always happen on the expected timetable.
Such is the case for Jalen Suggs, who looked locked into a bust trajectory through his first two seasons after entering the Association as the No. 5 pick of the 2021 NBA draft. But he's emerged in his third campaign even without his three-point stroke coming around.
Suggs is now playing as if the game has slowed down a bit on the offensive end, which has allowed him to make better decisions and attack the basket with relentless physicality. But his offense pales in comparison to his defense, where that mentality is even more obvious as he locks down bigger players and flashes quick hands to wreak havoc in both on-ball situations and passing lanes.
Orlando has featured one of the league's premier defenses in the early stages of the 2023-24 season, and Suggs has been a big part of that growth with his point-of-attack efforts and willingness to bang in the post after getting switched onto an oversized assignment. His mentality has proved contagious, as well.
7. Alex Caruso
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Reason for Value Disconnect: Memeification
In some NBA-watching circles, Alex Caruso has become known more for his presence in memes than his skills between the lines. And that's a shame because he's a dogged defender playing the best all-around basketball of his career for the Chicago Bulls.
Caruso doesn't need to dominate the ball on offense to be effective. He's willing to take shots that come to him within the flow of a possession, he can capably serve as a secondary playmaker even when set plays break down, and he rarely makes mistakes in the half-court set. Pair that with an improved perimeter shooting stroke and the multipositional defensive chops that helped him make the 2022-23 All-Defensive first team, and his value should be readily apparent.
"He's a phenomenal player," Kevin Durant told reporters in early November after suiting up against the Texas A&M product. "I don't want to even call him a role player; he's a guy you can plug with any lineup and he will make the right reads and right plays on the defensive and offensive side and the Bulls are lucky to have him."
Fun fact: Caruso has improved his team's net rating when he's on the floor during each and every one of his seven NBA seasons.
6. Tobias Harris
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Reason for Value Disconnect: His contract
You can probably count on one hand how many conversations have centered around Tobias Harris in the last few years that haven't mentioned his eye-popping salary figures.
Yes, it's true Harris has made over $32 million in each season since 2019-20. Yes, it's true he's earning a whopping $39.3 million this season as his five-year, $180 million pact with the Philadelphia 76ers draws to a conclusion. Yes, it's true he's been drastically overpaid.
But after Harris took an unnecessarily big step back in a jam-packed Sixers lineup each of the last two seasons, he's again proving his all-around value in 2023-24.
The 31-year-old isn't a primary scorer, a shutdown defender, a board-eating rebounder, a leading distributor or any other superlative. But he's highly capable in just about every area, whether he's attacking the rim, spacing the floor, guarding multiple positions or filling in the cracks. And considering he gets to operate alongside the reigning MVP in Joel Embiid and a surging star in Tyrese Maxey, that's been more than enough for a Philadelphia squad looking to make some serious postseason noise and end the falling-flat-in-the-playoffs pattern.
Sometimes, it's possible to be both overpaid and undervalued.
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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Reason for Value Disconnect: True MVP candidacy
The Ringer updated its top-100 player rankings on Nov. 22 and had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 10. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard checked in one spot lower in Bleacher Report's preseason rankings. ESPN's NBArank project was perhaps the most optimistic of the major outlets, elevating him all the way up to No. 8.
And yet, none of those feel like they're giving him enough credit, and fans at large still seem to have trouble propping up Gilgeous-Alexander alongside more established MVP candidates.
Make no mistake: He deserves to be near the forefront of the conversation for the league's preeminent individual honor.
Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder rolling toward the top spot in the Western Conference as he averages a jaw-dropping 30.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.4 steals and 0.9 blocks while slashing 53.8/35.8/93.1.
According to Dunks & Threes' estimated wins, only Nikola Jokić has added more value this season. NBA Math's RPR MVP has him trailing just Jokić and Joel Embiid. Basketball Reference's NBA MVP Award Tracker has him at No. 2. So on and so forth.
Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't yet have the track record for popular opinion to place him alongside—or ahead of—longstanding luminaries of the sport, but he's now closer to the top of the individual hierarchy than he is to falling outside the top 10.
4. Chet Holmgren
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Reason for Value Disconnect: He's not Victor Wembanyama
"Victor Wembanyama might be the future of the league, but Chet Holmgren is the rookie of the year, albeit one with a redshirt season under his belt," Chris Ryan wrote in the same rankings at The Ringer that listed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 10.
Except...Wembanyama checked in at No. 67. Holmgren fell 21 spots lower despite being the inarguably better player at this early stage of their respective careers.
Averaging 17.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.3 blocks while shooting 55.7 percent from the field, 43.4 percent from beyond the arc and 87.7 percent at the stripe, the 21-year-old has shattered expectations during his redshirt rookie season. He's also not exactly posting empty numbers considering he's suiting up for a highly competitive outfit that has been substantially better with him on the floor.
Holmgren is already a defensive menace stuffing shots from smaller opponents (i.e. virtually everyone given his 7'1" frame). He's an intelligent cutter showing more confidence handling the ball on the perimeter and creating his own looks. He's drilling high-leverage jumpers and doing enough to serve as a true focal point even when Gilgeous-Alexander is on the floor.
The sky feels like the limit down the road, but he's already existing in the stratosphere.
3. Scottie Barnes
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Reason for Value Disconnect: Leap taking place without a spotlight
After winning Rookie of the Year in 2021-22, Scottie Barnes didn't make the second-year leap some might have expected. His level of defensive play slipped, his shot grew a bit less accurate, and he went from breaking out for a 48-win Toronto Raptors squad to playing in relative anonymity for a unit that struggled its way to a .500 record.
Naturally, the excitement dwindled, especially relative to other possible third-year-breakout candidates.
But with the spotlight focused elsewhere, Barnes has ascended.
Playing swarming on-ball defense and consistently positioning himself properly in off-ball scenarios, he's become a legitimate All-Defensive threat while showing off a more reliable jumper and averaging a where-did-that-come-from 19.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists. Dunks & Threes' estimated plus-minus metric has him in the 88th percentile on offense and the 100th percentile on defense, to the point that only Nikola Jokić, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Joel Embiid have added more estimated wins.
The leap is happening before our very eyes. Well, at least before the very eyes of those who have paid close attention to a Raptors squad sitting just below .500 and failing to generate the deserved attention for its key players.
2. Paul George
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Reason for Value Disconnect: Playoff "disappointments"
Which line would you rather have?
- Player A: 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks while shooting 42.4/35.1/82.5 with a 3.5 box plus/minus and 0.123 win shares per 48 minutes
- Player B: 21.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.6 blocks while shooting 46.0/34.7/83.0 with a 5.7 box plus/minus and 0.179 win shares per 48 minutes
Largely due to heightened efficiency levels, Player B is the obvious choice. But the gap between him (Jimmy Butler) and Player A (Paul George) throughout their playoff careers isn't that wide despite Butler receiving endless credit for elevating his level of play when it matters most and George getting reamed for his perceived inability to do so.
George admittedly had a few postseasons filled with rough shooting stretches and has failed to advance past the penultimate stage. But those previous shortcomings are doing far more heavy lifting than they should when evaluating his stellar level of current play.
The 33-year-old is playing at arguably the highest level he's reached since his brilliant and brief tenure with the Oklahoma City Thunder, raining in long-range jumpers off the bounce, serving as a secondary distributor, locking down in myriad defensive roles and doing everything he can to elevate the level of play in L.A.
Though the Clippers are below .500 and struggling to live up to the expectations associated with a depth chart comprised of so many big-name contributors, that's no fault of George's. His squad has been a staggering 20.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.
1. Alperen Şengün
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Reason for Value Disconnect: Relative anonymity
"More of the offense is being run through the 21-year-old this season, and it looks great on both player and team," Dan Favale wrote for Bleacher Report in mid-November. "[Alperen] Şengün continues to set up teammates from all over the court. He can grab and go, facilitate out of the post and from the elbows, survey or attack from the middle of the floor, fling passes out of the short roll, toss entry lobs from the wing—the list goes on and on, potentially without end."
Since then, Şengün has held his own in a matchup with Nikola Jokić, bullied LeBron James, served as the go-to offensive hub against the Golden State Warriors and averaged 22.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists while slashing 53.6/46.2/66.7.
You have our permission to pick your jaw up off the floor.
Şengün still has room to grow on defense, but he's a creative offensive stalwart already figuring out how to blend together physicality and finesse against virtually every matchup. He's equally adept at filling a point-center role as he is going to work in the painted area with his back to the basket, and he never stops hustling for rebounds or fighting for position when he's not in control of a possession.
Don't be surprised when Şengün fails to make the Western Conference All-Star roster because the general public isn't yet ready to buy in on the Houston Rockets. But also don't be surprised when the Turkish big man then goes on a torrid second-half run that earns him fringe All-NBA consideration from those in the know.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference and accurate entering Friday's games.
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