10 Sports Stars Who Deserve a Better Supporting Cast
In a bizarre paradox, individual sports stars are revered based on team success.
When Peyton Manning regularly carried the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs, the quarterback received scorn for not winning a title every year. When the Denver Broncos dragged him to a Super Bowl victory, his reputation somehow grew despite the worst play of his career.
Aside from maybe LeBron James and Tom Brady, no one person can make up for a lackluster squad. Not every premier athlete has the fortune of Stephen Curry, Cam Newton, Patrick Kane and Kris Bryant, whose supporting casts create the optimal environments for success.
These stars are instead left to shoulder a heavier burden on subpar clubs. Their dominance shows in the box score, but not the standings. It's easier to blame the most prominent person, but none of the following studs are the problem.
The following 10 players can all use some more help.
Carmelo Anthony
1 of 10
Olympic Carmelo Anthony is the best. The star forward became the United States' all-time leading scorer en route to earning his third gold medal.
He better cherish those medals, because he won't add NBA hardware to his collection any time soon.
Surrounded by stars who allowed him to catch and shoot from a closer three-point line, international play is perfectly suited for Anthony. On the New York Knicks, however, he has fallen into bad habits as an isolation scorer.
He tried to spread the wealth last year, distributing a career-high 4.1 assists per contest. Yet the Knicks still finished 32-50 with the Eastern Conference's third-worst offense behind the hapless Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.
Anthony gets punished simply for not being a top-tier superstar like James. He's an elite scorer; James and Kevin Durant are the only active players who have averaged more points per game than his career 24.9. Few guys are elite all-around players, and the Knicks star isn't one of them.
Kristaps Porzingis will blossom into the sidekick Anthony needs, but adding Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years too late won't vault them up the standings. According to ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton, ESPN's real plus-minus projects 34.7 wins.
Anthony needs a selfless floor general and/or an athletic lockdown defender, not a high-usage point guard and aching 31-year-old center. It won't get any better for him than it did in Rio Janeiro.
Drew Brees
2 of 10
Drew Brees has something which has eluded everyone else on this list: a championship ring.
The New Orleans Saints quarterback and head coach Sean Payton were fortunate to find each other. Since joining forces ten years ago, they have made five playoff appearances with one title to show for it.
Brees has accumulated over 4,400 passing yards each season, topping 5,000 four times. Nobody else has hit that milestone twice.
The duo spearheaded the NFL's redirection to uptempo, pass-heavy spread offenses. He chose well when signing with New Orleans. Lately, however, the organization is a mess.
New Orleans' passing defense was historically bad last season, relinquishing 45 touchdowns, 8.7 yards per attempt and a 116.2 passer rating through the air. Brees and Co. ranked No. 8 in scoring offense and second in total yards behind the Arizona Cardinals, but Rob Ryan's abysmal defense dragged the Saints down to their second straight 7-9 finish.
Cap restrictions prevented them from making any major signings outside of defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who should fortify the defensive line alongside first-round pick Sheldon Rankins. Brees also had to say farewell to longtime receiving target Marques Colston a year after losing star tight end Jimmy Graham.
For the past few years, the Saints have banked on Brees offsetting their woes, but it's no longer a check the 37-year-old quarterback can cash.
Anthony Davis
3 of 10
A lacking supporting cast isn't Anthony Davis' only problem. Although he has the talent to rule the NBA, he has also missed at least 14 games in all four seasons.
Despite taking a step back from a breakout 2014-15 campaign, the Unibrow starred when healthy. In 61 games, the New Orleans Pelicans big man averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per contest. Per Basketball-Reference.com, his 25.0 player efficiency rating (PER) ranked No. 9, a far cry from the previous year's league-best 30.8.
Remember, he's 23 years old. If the NBA decided to start from scratch with a massive fantasy draft, he's still a top-five selection despite durability concerns. Team construction centers around landing a superstar, and New Orleans is one of few franchises lucky enough to have one.
Yet the Pelicans only managed to pull out a No. 8 seed during his monster year, which looks much better now after going 30-52 last season. Making matters worse, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon both bolted to the Houston Rockets last summer. Unless rookie Buddy Hield delivers immediate returns, New Orleans will struggle to score on the perimeter.
The Western Conference has lost some luster, making it more vulnerable than ever for Davis to headline a lower-seed playoff squad. He'll need some help, but the Pelicans look thinner than they did last year.
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Paul Goldcschmidt
4 of 10
One of baseball's least recognized stars also plays on one of the game's most team-friendly contracts. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Paul Goldschmidt will earn $5.75 million this season and is set to make $19.75 million over the next two years. Barring an injury or catastrophic decline, the Arizona Diamondbacks will certainly exercise a $14.5 million club option for 2019.
In MLB's universe, that's pennies for a first baseman batting .303/.420/.502 with 20 home runs and 21 stolen bases. That actually represents an off year for the slugger, who submitted a 1.005 OPS last season.
Most teams would utilize a wildly underpaid superstar to its advantage. Arizona, however, is 55-76 after splashy offseason moves fizzled. The organization's gains went to signing starting pitcher Zack Greinke, whose 4.29 ERA is 2.63 runs higher than last year's unsustainable clip.
The heavily maligned front office also made a mind-numbingly awful trade last winter. In exchange for Shelby Miller—who has a 7.14 ERA this season—the Diamondbacks gave up 2015 No. 1 pick Dansby Swanson, sure-handed center fielder Ender Inciarte and top pitching prospect Aaron Blair.
Despite their desperate offseason attempts to improve their pitching staff, they have surrendered the most runs this year. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Goldschmidt hasn't seen the postseason since 2011, when he went 7-for-16 with two home runs as a rookie during their National League Division Series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Arizona can turn the corner next year with a healthy A.J. Pollock and bounce-back efforts from Greinke and Miller, but gutting the farm system has hindered its future. Barring a front-office overhaul, the franchise looks poised to waste Goldschmidt's prime years.
Todd Gurley
5 of 10
Extenuating circumstances made Todd Gurley's stellar debut season all the more amazing.
Having missed the first two weeks recovering from a torn ACL, nobody knew what to expect from the highly touted rookie running back. ("Adrian Peterson came back fine" was not a valid reason to assume a full recovery. Adrian Peterson isn't like most humans.)
Gurley took off running anyway, accruing 1,106 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns over 229 carries in 13 games. It was a gutsy, star-making rookie campaign that ultimately didn't matter.
The St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams' passing offense was so horrific that they finished last in total offense despite their star rusher carrying their carcasses down the field. They placed last in passing yards (2,805), passing touchdowns (11) and yards per attempt (6.2), and a talented defense underwhelmed with a bottom-10 unit.
Peterson, who Gurley is often compared to, is also a candidate for this list. While the Minnesota Vikings recorded the second-fewest passing yards, Teddy Bridgewater played effectively enough in his limited role. Los Angeles doesn't have a game-manager and stable defense to guide its bell cow back into the playoffs.
Jared Goff can change all this, but the rookie likely won't play this fall. Gurley will remain stuck running into loaded boxes focused solely on stopping him. They probably won't, but no NFL team can overcome the complete absence of a decent passing game.
Henrik Lundqvist
6 of 10
Although they have frequently come close, the New York Rangers have yet to win a Stanley Cup with Henrik Lundqvist shielding their net.
Since drafting him in the seventh round in 2005, the Rangers have made the postseason in all but one season. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and the conference finals in 2015, but their offense couldn't finish the job.
According to NHL.com, the Rangers have recorded a shot attempts for percentage below 50 percent in each of the past two seasons. No other team made the playoffs both years with a rate below the halfway threshold. Then again, no other team has Lundqvist.
The Swedish goalie ranks second in all-time wins (374) and adjusted goals against average among active goalies, per Hockey-Reference.com. He has netted a save percentage of .920 or higher in each of the last seven seasons, but his prime has past.
Last year, Lundqvist relinquished a career-worst 2.48 goals per game. He also had to combat the most shot attempts and short-handed situations in five years, so he's far from over the hill. Either way, the Rangers can't expect the 34-year-old to single-handedly will them back into the title hunt.
Philip Rivers
7 of 10
By most statistical measures, Philip Rivers is the best quarterback from the fabled 2004 draft class. Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, he holds a higher career completion percentage (64.8), passer rating (95.5) and adjusted net yards per pass attempt (6.89) than Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning.
This is where everyone yells about the only number that matters: Roethlisberger and Manning each have two Super Bowl wins. Rivers has none.
The other quarterbacks were more bystanders than conquering heroes during their respective first title runs, but history ignores nuance for the final result. Before a dominant pass rush, Asante Samuel's butter fingers and David Tyree's sticky helmet led Manning to an upset for the ages, the Chargers fell short of upending the undefeated New England Patriots.
Rivers just didn't have what it took to beat one of the best teams ever while playing with a torn ACL.
At least the Chargers made the playoffs that year. They have missed five of the past six postseasons, reaching their nadir with a 4-12 record last season.
Don't blame Rivers, who posted a career-high 4.792 passing yards with a 93.8 quarterback rating. He tallied 502 passing yards against the Green Bay Packers, and San Diego still lost.
A poor offensive line yielded 40 sacks, and the ground game produced an NFL-worst 3.5 yards per carry and four rushing touchdowns. This is a franchise which spent the summer in a contentious stalemate with No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa, whom they finally signed on Monday.
Rivers is a top-tier quarterback, but he's not treated as one because his team can't get its act together.
Mike Trout
8 of 10
If the Los Angeles Angels were a perennial playoff team, Mike Trout could be chasing his fifth consecutive American League MVP award this season.
In every season of his remarkable career, the outfielder has led the AL in Baseball Reference's WAR. Most MLB writers, however, fail to separate individual greatness from group success in a sport less impacted by singular superstars than other team games.
The Angels have squandered his transcendent talent, making the postseason once in 2014, when they were promptly swept out of the AL Division Series. As a result, he twice fell short to Miguel Cabrera in the MVP ballot and finished second to Josh Donaldson last year.
Even though he's hitting .316/.434/.556 with 25 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 100 runs, Trout will probably finish fourth or fifth in a stacked AL MVP race. As the 57-74 Angels bottom out, Donaldson, Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts and Manny Machado are all having great seasons on playoff contenders.
Flanked by a decaying Albert Pujols and little else, the Angels are wasting one of the greatest players ever. By FanGraphs' WAR, only Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby and Mel Ott have procured more value before turning 26.
There's no help on the way either. After June's amateur draft, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter rated the Angels' farm system as baseball's worst. If they can't build a functional team around him, they should trade him so he can receive the spotlight he deserves.
Joey Votto
9 of 10
No active MLB player has a higher on-base percentage than Joey Votto. Fun fact, courtesy of FanGraphs: The three hitters on the list are the only ones with a career .300 average, .400 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage or higher.
If he batted No. 1 or 2 for the Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs, Votto would likely lead the league in runs scored. He has crossed home plate 82 times this season despite playing for the 55-75 Cincinnati Reds. Because of his keen pitch selection, Jay Bruce reaped the rewards with a then MLB-best 80 RBI before getting traded to the New York Mets.
Despite Votto's best efforts, which include garnering National League MVP honors in 2010, the Reds have not advanced past the division round during his nine-year tenure. And he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
A rare one-franchise lifer, he is on the fifth year of a 10-year contract, per Cot's Baseball Contracts. The first baseman will turn 38 before the arrangement expires in 2021. That puts the veteran in the uncomfortable position of living through a rebuilding project from which Bruce, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Todd Frazier and Aroldis Chapman were all casualties.
The Reds have promising young talent on the big league roster (Billy Hamilton, Adam Duvall, Jose Peraza, Anthony DeSclafani, Raisel Iglesias) and in the minors (Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Amir Garrett) to escape the basement with Votto leading the charges. But by the time they return to contention, their star will be an expensive veteran on the decline.
John Wall
10 of 10
John Wall, who is not flanked by top-notch teammates, publicly challenged his best one.
The Washington Wizards point guard caused a stir during an interview with CSN's Chris Miller, per CSNMid-Atlantic.com's J. Michael, by saying he and Bradley Beal "have a tendency to dislike each other on the court." Despite playing 55 games last season, the shooting guard signed a five-year max contract to stay in Washington.
Wall's earlier comments made headlines, but he also urged Beal to live up to his lucrative extension:
"Now that you have your money you got to go out there and improve your game. I want you to be an All-Star just as much as I’m an All-Star. If we were playing well as a tandem like the other two superstars that play together as a backcourt, play as a tandem, one night it’s going to be his night, one night it’s going to be mine, some nights it might be both of us. Those are nights it’s going to be tough to beat us.
"
He's right in asserting that his backcourt partner has yet to justify his star billing and salary. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Beal has accrued a 3.3 Value over Replacement Player (VORP) during his four-year career. Wall, meanwhile, generated a 3.7 VORP last season.
Chris Paul is the only other point guard to dish out double-digit assists in each of the past two seasons, and Wall doesn't have Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan slamming down lobs. He instead has a high-volume shooting guard and Marcin Gortat.
Beal's stunted growth caused Washington to miss the playoffs at 41-41 last season, but the team is too talented to miss the cut again. Wall is too good for an Eastern Conference team to waste without a postseason bid.
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