Kevin Love and the 7 Most Ridiculously Overhyped NBA Players

An overhyped player is one that is misjudged. A majority of people usually think he's better than he actually is. 

For instance, if people believe that a certain player is a top-five player based on a small sample games and they overreact in that manner, the player is overrated.

Simple as that.

The NBA has a handful of players that fall in this category. People are ready to put them in their Top 10 lists, but their deficiencies are glaring and hold them back in reality.

Here are eight of the most overhyped players in the league. 

John Wall

For a guy that had the audacity to do the Dougie in his first NBA home game, John Wall has been pretty pedestrian.

Then early last year, he had a game where he was one steal shy from a triple-double and everyone went crazy. Sure, it was an impressive game, but as Colin Cowherd mentioned in his rant about him last season, Wall's immaturity was exemplified through his dance.

(And yes, as much as you hate it, I just referenced Colin. He's on ESPN, after all. He's had to have done something right.)

While Wall isn't anything close to a thug, his inability to lead has to be questioned because of the fact that he's only led the Wizards to three road wins in his entire career. Just three. They went 3-38 last year and are 0-6 this year. 

Road wins are about players uniting as a team and overcoming in hostile environments. That's on Wall.

Also, for a guy who's the No. 1 overall pick, Wall only average 6.9 assists and 12.8 points per game.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget that he's a turnover machine—giving the ball way 3.9 times per game.

Looks like the Wizards swung and missed again on a No. 1 overall pick. Somewhere, Kwame Brown is smiling and saying, "There's a chance that I won't be the worst No. 1 overall pick in Wizards' history."

Carmelo Anthony

There's no doubt that Carmelo Anthony is one of the best, if not the best, scorer in the league. Anyone with a lifetime average of 45.8 percent from the field and averaging close to 25 points per game has to be considered a great player.

But just how great and valuable is Carmelo? 

Not enough to help bring a title to New York City. Last year, the hype surrounding Carmelo's trade was similar to the mania surrounding LeBron's decision a few months before. 

Carmelo's trade has improved the Knicks, but the guy can't play a lick of defense. His defensive flaws are major deficiencies that will eventually do the Knicks in. 

The Knicks, as a team, have improved their defense this season. They're allowing more than 10 fewer points per game, but it's definitely not because of anything Carmelo's doing. 

And even as a scorer, Anthony is behind the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. 

He's also never had much playoff success—making the Western Conference Finals just once in his career.

LeBron gets bashed so often, but he's at least made the Finals twice. Carmelo had similar hype surrounding his trade and nobody ever calls him a choker. 

Kevin Love

How can a guy averaging around 24 points and 15 rebounds per game be overhyped?

Well for one, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the last three seasons have been in the lowest quartile in field goal percentage. They miss a lot of shots and this means Love gets a lot of opportunities for offensive rebounds.

Love averages five offensive rebounds this year. This definitely pads up his stats.

Secondly, he's never really taken the Timberwolves above the hump. They've never been close to competing for a playoff spot. If Love was deserving of his Right Guard "Love in the Shower" advertisements, he would be able to at least make his team more competitive, especially with Ricky Rubio on the team now. 

This isn't to say that Love is not a great, young player. He's phenomenal. He had an unbelievable 30-point, 30-rebound game last year which was absolutely jaw-dropping. No one else can do that.

But before we crown this guy as one of the best centers in the league, let him show us he can play in a pressure packed situation in a meaningful game. If he can't lead Minnesota to play in a meaningful game, then maybe he's just not that great.

LeBron James led a terrible Cleveland Cavaliers team to the NBA Finals. Love can't lead the Wolves to the playoffs?

Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis may be a fantastic scorer, but is he really going to lead a team to a championship like Kobe Bryant or Paul Pierce? 

There's a reason why the Orlando Magic didn't want to acquire him for Dwight Howard. They said they saw him as a player who would accompany Howard, not replace him (via Examiner.com). The Magic wanted to acquire him for guys that weren't named Dwight Howard. 

That just shows what the rest of the league probably thinks of Ellis. The Warriors obviously think he's a guy like Howard, who can elevate a team.

Now that's overhyped.

Ellis is also always in the headlines for the wrong reason (via The Globe and Mail), and generally speaking, unless you're Kobe Bryant, that's not going to help your chances in being a winner. 

Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose won the MVP award last season, but that award could've easily gone to Dwight Howard or LeBron James. 

Was Rose really the most valuable player last season?

LeBron James' value was exemplified by what happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

And if Dwight Howard left Orlando, the Magic would be a lottery team.

Rose is a budding superstar, but just because a player is MVP in a season where he probably didn't even deserve the honor, it doesn't mean he's the best player in the league. 

Rose couldn't even get past LeBron in the playoffs—he was stifled when James guarded him late in games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In fact, the series wasn't even close. The Heat ran away with it easily. 

It's easy to say that the Heat was the better team, but when James was defending Rose when the game was on the line, he couldn't do anything. 

Heck, LeBron averaged about one less assist than Mr. MVP and he's not even a point guard. How can one say that Rose is better than LeBron? 

It's all stemmed from hype.

A simple explanation for the infatuation of Rose last season was LeBron's "The Decision," which possibly made America want to find a new NBA hero to look up to. Rose was putting up solid numbers for first place Chicago, so he became that guy. 

Pau Gasol

He may have been a part of two championship Laker teams, but how much value does Pau Gasol really bring to the Los Angeles Lakers right now?

It wouldn't be crazy to say that Gasol is now the third best Laker behind Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant.

It's easy to say that Gasol is one of the best European bigs of all time. But who does that put him ahead of? 

Dirk Nowitzki and Arvydas Sabonis?

Really?

Gasol can't match up with the tough physical American centers in the league like Dwight Howard, Kendrick Perkins (who gave him fits in the 2008 Finals) and even Andrew Bynum (if he wasn't on his team).

Gasol's rebounding numbers have been down in the last two seasons, and he's not even in double digits in that stat anymore. 

Ultimately, he was an instrumental component in the Lakers championship runs, but at this point people shouldn't fall into the "best European center" trap anymore. That doesn't mean anything. 

Deron Williams

Deron Williams is another player who had his name thrown around in trades in the last few years. There's plenty of hype around this guy, but one glaring moment in his career can make one cringe.

When Williams played in Utah, he got into a huge argument with Jerry Sloan, via SB Nation. Sloan resigned afterwards, ending an illustrious coaching career.

His lack of respect for one of the greatest coaches of all time makes one wonder if he really knows how to handle adversity. When the going gets tough, he's supposed to be a leader and an example for his teammates.

Not get into a fight with your coach. That's what Latrell Sprewell did.  

Williams' lack of leadership becomes more glaring when one looks at how bad the Nets are again this season with their 3-9 record.

Perhaps Williams is just supposed to be a second fiddle player. Maybe he'll fit nicely with Kobe and the Lakers next season. 

Follow Andre Khatchaturian on Twitter (@AndreKhatch)