Athletes Who Are Quietly Crushing It
Kawhi Leonard is quietly having an incredible season for the San Antonio Spurs. At the same time, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are pretty much overshadowing everyone else in the NBA (and really, in sports).
Leonard isn't the only athlete going about his business superbly but to little fanfare. Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is perhaps a bit lost on a team of NHL stars, and Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado suffers from not being named Bryce Harper or Mike Trout.
And yet, these athletes are performing well above average. Whether it's with scoring, facilitating or impeccable leadership, they deserve more hype than they're getting. Here is a chance for them to receive just a slice of the recognition they so clearly deserve.
Quick note: Although the Warriors are overshadowing everyone, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder just barely missed this list on account of their increasing volume lately. Don't buy it? See: Durant's impending free agency, Westbrook's 16 triple-doubles and the team's eight straight victories.
Now, on to the unsung heroes.
Honorable Mention: Chris Paul
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It's tough to be completely overshadowed when you play in Los Angeles and you've perennially been one of the league's top point guards. Then again, the word "underrated" has come up more than a few times with Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers.
In the 2015-16 season especially, Paul has had to overcome the absence of All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, and he's done so brilliantly. He is averaging 19.8 points, 9.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game on the season (as of March 28), and his leadership has gone a long way toward keeping the Clips squarely in the Western Conference playoff picture.
On March 22, Micah Adams of ESPN Stats & Information elaborated on just how impactful Paul's presence has been. He wrote:
"With Paul on the floor since Dec. 26, the Clippers are averaging 113.0 points per 100 possessions, which would tie for first with the Golden State Warriors over that span. In the nearly 600 minutes that Paul has been off the court over that span, the Clippers' offense has managed 97.2 points per 100 possessions, which would rank last.
"
Romelu Lukaku
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In early March, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku broke the club record for most Premier League goals in a season.
According to Ladbrokes (via Bleacher Report UK), the 22-year-old Belgian is the first Everton player since 1985 to score 20 or more goals in back-to-back seasons.
Harrison Prolic of 32 Flags wrote in February, "When talking about the best strikers in England, you can't go wrong mentioning Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane, Diego Costa or even this year's breakout star Jamie Vardy. But with the exception of Vardy, none of these strikers are having the same kind of production that Everton's Romelu Lukaku has had this season."
Now, according to Ryan Rosenblatt of Fox Soccer, talk of a move is in the air. Per Rosenblatt, Lukaku has expressed a desire to play in Champions League competition next season, something that won't happen if he stays with Everton.
Ben Bishop
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Much of the Vezina Trophy talk early in the NHL season centered around the Washington Capitals' Braden Holtby. Late in the year, talk has shifted to Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings.
That said, Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning is quietly having perhaps his best season ever. As of March 27, Bishop is second in the league in GAA (2.05) and save percentage (.927), and he is top-10 in wins (32) and shutouts (five).
Bishop's own team seems to think highly of his contributions. In late March, head coach Jon Cooper said, "We have 10 games left and there's a long way to go to get ourselves in the playoffs. But to be honest, I don't know if we are here without Bish," per Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
Indeed, Kevin Allen of USA Today wrote, "A case can be made that he is the league's most underrated player. Bishop is the primary reason why the Lightning stayed afloat early in the season when they were struggling everywhere else."
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Kelsey Plum
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It can be difficult for any female basketball payer to truly shine in an NCAA tournament that runs concurrently with the men's, particularly when that player is not at a juggernaut school such as UConn.
And yet, the seventh-seeded University of Washington women's basketball team advanced to its first-ever Final Four in 2016.
Junior forward Chantel Osahor was impressive, averaging 21.5 points, 17.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the Lexington Regional, according to Graham Hays of espnW.com. And though Osahor was a star, her teammate, junior guard Kelsey Plum, has been leading the team all season.
According to KPUG AM 1170, the candidate for player of the year averaged 26.3 points per game, tied for third best in the nation. In early March, she became her school's all-time leading scorer with a 29-point performance against Stanford.
Plum scored 26 points in Washington's 85-76 Elite Eight win, again over Stanford, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said, "Osahor was really the difference. … They have a very skilled team. Kelsey Plum is an All-American. Flat out, period. There is no player that we played on any other team all year that was harder to guard than her."
C.J. McCollum
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As the Golden State Warriors gobble up much of the NBA mindshare this season, their neighbors to the north have quietly put together a pretty mean backcourt in C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard.
On March 28, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian reported that, together, the Portland Trail Blazers guards have outscored their starting backcourt counterparts in 13 of the past 16 contests.
Both are certainly overshadowed, but McCollum's breakout season has come as an even bigger surprise. (Lillard is a two-time All-Star, after all.) He went from averaging 6.8 points and 1.0 assist in 15.7 minutes per game in 2014-15 to 20.8 points, 4.2 assists and 35 minutes per game, as of March 27, in 2015-16, making him an excellent bet to win the Most Improved Player Award.
McCollum's increase in minutes came as a result of health and the departure of Wesley Matthews to free agency.
McCollum said in mid-March, "Some players aren't ready for the drastic change. I was ready. The opportunity increased, and my game rose with the increase. I knew what I was capable of. I just needed the opportunity to play," per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Brandon Doughty
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In college, Brandon Doughty of Western Kentucky threw for 111 touchdowns in three seasons as the team's starting quarterback, according to Thomas George of SB Nation. In 2015, he tossed 48 TDs and just nine interceptions.
Yet Doughty has seldom been discussed as a tippy-top QB prospect in a draft that so desperately needs talent at the position. As Cal's Jared Goff and North Dakota State's Carson Wentz dominate draft boards such as the one at CBSSports.com, Doughty has come in decidedly lower.
And he's still not at the top of those boards, but according to Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, Doughty helped himself at the combine.
Doug Farrar of SI.com agreed, complimenting Doughty's mechanics and writing, "The first time Doughty made that throw, it stopped me short. He's got a natural ability to make the ball zip out of his hands with minimal effort, and that kind of easy velocity can lead to success with downfield throws."
It's uncertain whether Doughty's production can translate to the NFL, but right now, it appears he's doing better than fans might realize leading up to April's draft.
Nolan Arenado
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Of course, spring training numbers don't count. If they did, however, Nolan Arenado's would be pretty impressive. The Colorado Rockies third baseman leads MLB in spring training batting average with .553 over 47 at-bats as of March 27.
With three big league seasons under his belt, Arenado is already a three-time Gold Glover and made his first All-Star team in 2015. Now, Arenado is poised for an encore to a breakout 2015 season that saw him hit a National League-leading 42 home runs and an MLB-leading 130 RBI.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss told reporters he felt Arenado should be mentioned in the same breath as Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals in terms of the game's young elite, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.
ESPN.com senior fantasy writer Eric Karabell wrote, "Arenado is one of the sport's elite run producers and should add more All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves to his ledger."
John Wall
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Washington Wizards point guard John Wall is having a career year, averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 assists per game (as of March 28).
He posted consecutive triple-doubles in March, but with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook out there putting up 16 on the season (and counting), it's hard for Wall to stand out among the crowd of talented NBA point guards.
Back in December, there were cries of "underrated" as Wall was not named an All-Star starter.
In late March, Ben Mehic of Fansided wrote, "Wall is stuck in a league that's ridiculously talented, and he will probably never get the recognition he deserves."
Some of the silence surrounding Wall has to do with the Wizards' overall status. Wall is the crown jewel of a team in the midst of a disappointing season. Coming off two straight playoff appearances, postseason hopes look bleak for the Wizards as the season winds down.
Wall said, "Don't matter if I'm averaging 20, 10, and five, and was an All-Star. It don't mean nothing to me," according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post.
Luka Modric
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It's easy to be overshadowed on a team that includes players named Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and is managed by Zinedine Zidane. Not only that, but often, if a player isn't scoring goals with regularity, he's not getting glory with regularity. Such is the case with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.
Modric's ability to create scoring opportunities for his teammates and take care of the ball was heralded by Eduardo Alvarez of ESPNFC in early February.
And Lee Roden of FourFourTwo wrote about Modric's passing and ball-handling skills. He noted, as of mid-February, 91 percent of the 1,620 passes attempted by Modric in La Liga play had successfully hit their targets.
Roden wrote, "The paradox of Modric's years at the Bernabeu is that he has been so consistently good that it tends to have a camouflaging effect, his regularity ultimately grabbing less attention than players who are more spectacular but less steady."
According to the Telegraph, Paul Scholes suggested to United We Stand that Manchester United should pursue Modric in the summer transfer window.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
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The Washington Capitals are in the midst of a historic season. In late March, with seven games remaining, they had already clinched a playoff spot, the No. 1 seed and the best record in hockey.
The entire team has been a victim of that same golden shadow hailing from the West Coast that is minimizing the accomplishments of the sports world at large. But even within the team, one player not named Alexander Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom is absolutely dominating.
The aforementioned Ovechkin leads the team (and league) in goals with 43, but center Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the team in points, with 73 as of March 28. (That figure puts him near the top of NHL scorers, as well.)
Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wrote an article in March titled, "What's Russian for 'brilliant'? Evgeny Kuznetsov," lauding his skating and speed.
Teammate Brooks Orpik said, "Kuznetsov gets overlooked because Ovi and Backy have been top guys in the league for years. But he's not underappreciated in here," per Boswell.
Kawhi Leonard
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The San Antonio Spurs are having a phenomenal season. With a win over the Memphis Grizzlies in late March, the team improved its home record to 37-0, tying the longest home win record to start a season in NBA history.
Specifically, Kawhi Leonard is playing like an MVP contender. The Spurs forward, described by ESPN's Michael C. Wright as a "quiet new superstar," put up a career-high 32 points against the Miami Heat in late March.
Michael Singer of USA Today astutely wrote of Leonard on March 24, "The best player on the second-best team, putting up career-high numbers (21 points, 31.8 minutes, 46 percent three-point shooting) all while earning universal praise for his defense. That's a pretty good argument for MVP, unless of course it's the year of Steph…which it is."
Shoutout to Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge as well, who, in his first year with the Spurs, is averaging 17.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in just over 30 minutes per game, as of March 27.
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