15 Overrated Players on ESPN's NBA Rank

ESPN's NBA Rank series has been a popular topic of discussion on Twitter since the ratings began to be announced to the public.

The ranking system rated every NBA player from No. 500 to No. 1, and each player was revealed with his ranking and average score, as voted on by the panel of 91 experts from ESPN and the TrueHoop Network.

Those experts were asked to rank the players on a scale of 0-to-10 in terms of "the current quality of each player."

This slideshow will be the first of a two-part series, and the follow-up will run through a list of those players most underrated in the consensus ranking.

For now, let's take a look at those whose rankings seem too high.

Kelenna Azubuike, SG/SF

NBARank: 284, 3.44

Before: T.J. Ford, 285, 3.44

After: Reggie Williams, 283, 3.45

Azubuike's last nine games in the NBA came during the 2009-10 season, and they were his only action during that specific campaign.

Those must've been an impressive nine games to elevate him into almost the middle of the pack for a list that's based off of "current quality," right?

Wrong.

He averaged 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot 67.9 percent from the foul line for an up-tempo Golden State Warriors team.

Back in March, Azubuike was told he needed another surgery on his knee, as the first operation turned out to be a botched one.

Jordan Hill, PF/C

NBARank: 240, 3.96

Before: Steve Blake, 241, 3.96

After: Jason Maxiell, 239, 3.96

Despite Hill coming in at the 240th spot, his consensus rating from the voters was identical to the players both before and after him.

After being drafted eighth overall in 2009 by New York, ahead of Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan, Hill now finds himself in Houston and is still struggling to find a consistent role at the next level.

An undersized big man coming out of the draft, Hill was billed as a rebounding machine, but he hasn't been able to stay on the floor long enough to do anything of sizable impact.

Given how limited his contributions have been and the fact that he's already 24, it's hard to justify his spot in the top 50 percent of the talent pool in the league.

Ricky Rubio, PG

NBARank: 204, 4.33

Before: Paul George, 205, 4.32

After: Ed Davis, 203, 4.33

Again, this is where my questioning the true definition of "current quality" comes strongly into play, as Rubio has demonstrated absolutely nothing that would be predictive of immediate success at the NBA level.

After he finally agreed to join Minnesota prior to the upcoming campaign, expectations are volatile as to what many think he'll be able to do in his rookie season for the Timberwolves.

He looked absolutely terrible during his recent play at the Eurobasket tournament, and although he played second fiddle behind Jose Calderon for Spain's squad, he showed nothing that would indicate he'd find success against bigger, more physical competition stateside.

Robin Lopez, C

NBARank: 163, 4.73

Before: John Salmons, 164, 4.68 

After: Corey Maggette, 162, 4.73

Frankly, Robin Lopez may be the most overrated player of any of the 500 named in this compilation.

After having the starteing job handed to him on a silver platter in Phoenix last season, Lopez looked underwhelming in every sense of the word, and in no way, shape or form did he ever resemble anything like a starting center in the NBA.

Lopez's placement on this list is absolutely laughable, and even undrafted project Garret Siler wound up playing ahead of him at times down the stretch of the regular season, and it's impossible to project Lopez sustaining manageable value in the desert or anywhere else as anything more than a big man off the bench.

Mike Dunleavy, SF

NBARank: 141, 4.97

Before: Kyrie Irving, 140, 4.99

After: Rudy Fernandez, 142, 4.97

For a player who has missed 100 games over the last three seasons, I have a terribly tough time imagining Dunleavy as the league's 141st best player.

He's rated just behind a guy in Irving who has yet to take the floor, and ahead of a guy who has done more waffling between whether he wants to stay in the NBA or return to Europe than Brett Favre did about his retirement from the NFL.

It's fairly amazing that Dunleavy still gets this much appreciation considering his lack of impact felt in a game, and if we're going off of "current quality," what exactly has he done to consider his spot appropriate?

Richard Jefferson, SF

NBARank: 130, 5.12

Before: Chuck Hayes, 131, 5.08

After: Kirk Hinrich, 129, 5.13

Jefferson hasn't looked good since he arrived in San Antonio, so when he re-signed with the club prior to the 2010-11 season, it raised several eyebrows around the league.

After back-to-back seasons in Milwaukee where he averaged about 20 points per game, Jefferson put up just 12.3 in 2009-10 and then took another step back last season when he registered just 11 points per game.

His style of play has always been rooted in his ability to score, and seeing as how he's done fairly little of that recently, it's hard to put a lot of stock into why he's grouped in the top 130.

Jefferson's percentages from the field shot up from where they previously stood, but that's a direct result of him taking less shots than he had prior.

Tyler Hansbrough, PF

NBARank: 122, 5.20 

Before: Tyrus Thomas, 123, 5.19

After: Vince Carter, 121, 5.21

Hansbrough exerts a plethora of energy on the floor and will always give you everything he's got for the time he's on the court, but is that enough to qualify him as a top 125 player?

I'm not sold that on having him over (or ahead of) Jeff Green (124), J.J. Hickson (125) or Greg Monroe (132), and that's solely using other big men as direct comparisons.

Hickson, who averaged 16.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game after the All-Star break last season, is one player who I'd take over Hansbrough on every single occasion.

Psycho T has played in just 99 of a possible 164 games over his two-year career, and I'm going to need far more consistency from him in order to believe that he's properly rated in his current slot.

Kenyon Martin, PF

NBARank: 102, 5.54

Before: Taj Gibson, 103, 5.54

After: DeMar DeRozan, 101, 5.60

Obviously Martin wouldn't have even been included in this project had he signed in China prior to the August 15 cutoff date, but his late agreement abroad was enough of a window for him to climb to a ranking that has no merit.

Martin has missed a combined 74 games over the last three seasons, and he simply hasn't been the same player that he had previously shown to be earlier in his career.

He wasn't going to draw a ton of interest on the open market after playing in just 48 games and averaging 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds, and I'd take both DeRozan and Gibson ahead of Martin on any team right now.

Kendrick Perkins, C

NBARank: 95, 5.67

Before: Roy Hibbert, 96, 5.67

After: Darren Collison, 94, 5.68

Perkins might be one of the most over-hyped players in recent memory, because despite all of the intangibles he brings to the team, his actual skill set leaves much to be desired.

He's a sound presence in the middle and the definition of an enforcer, but he has absolutely no offensive game unless it's directly beneath the bucket, and his inclination to rack up fouls and limit his contributions in a single contest really hurts his overall value.

Most were expecting a lot more from him after he joined Oklahoma City, but he didn't quite have the impact in the initial part of his tenure with the Thunder that some may have been hoping to see.

The choice to rank him ahead of Hibbert is disappointing to say the least.

J.J. Barea, PG

NBARank: 92, 5.69 

Before: O.J. Mayo, 93, 5.68

After: George Hill, 91, 5.69

There's no doubt in my mind that Barea's rank would not be this high had he not been with the Mavericks last season.

After proving to be an integral piece to the puzzle during the Mavs' magical postseason run, Barea was catapulted into the national spotlight and really got himself noticed heading into an offseason where he'll be a free agent.

There's a lot to like about the energy Barea can instantly provide to any game, but I'm not sold that he's a better player than Mayo (93) or Wes Matthews (100). So, perhaps the voters were slightly swayed by a memorable postseason.

Anderson Varejao, PF/C

NBARank: 85, 5.86

Before: Marcin Gortat, 86, 5.86

After: Thaddeus Young, 84, 5.86

Varejao graded out with identical scores as Gortat and Young, which is truthfully one of the greatest injustices that anyone could ever do to either player.

The NBA's best flopper gets far more credit than he actually deserves, and on a team that's looking to build a championship caliber roster, Varejao is no better than the seventh or eighth man in the rotation.

His contract is embarrassing for Cleveland, and the club's long-term commitment to him is something I might not ever fully understand.

I'd barely put him in the top 100.

Marcus Camby, C

NBARank: 74, 6.00

Before: Wilson Chandler, 75, 5.98

After: Jameer Nelson, 73, 6.00

Camby is a great veteran defender who has made his impact felt in the league for an extended period of time, but is he really in the upper echelon of talent in the league at this stage?

He wasn't the same at the defensive end last season as he had illustrated in recent campaigns, and after only playing in 59 games at age 37, what does it say about his ability to stay healthy for the long term?

This seeding feels more like a lifetime achievement award than an indication of his actual on-court contributions, and that's been a frightening pattern throughout this process.

Tyson Chandler, C

NBARank: 37, 7.21

Before: Steph Curry, 38, 7.18

After: Danny Granger, 36, 7.26

This is the same guy that almost everybody was ready to write off before he was dealt to Dallas.

While there's no doubting that Chandler appeared to be the critical "missing link" for the Mavericks given his obvious impact on the game, it's hard to imagine him as a top 40 player given his track record.

Prior to last season, Chandler hadn't played in over 70 games since 2007-08, and he looked largely unmotivated during his stints in both New Orleans and Charlotte.

I'm going to have to see more of the "new" Chandler before I can drink the Kool-Aid on this particular ranking, and it's worth noting that Chandler's (arguably) best season came when he was playing for a new contract.

Joakim Noah, C

NBARank: 29, 7.47

Before: Andrew Bynum, 30, 7.45

After: Tony Parker, 28, 7.47

Noah has done a great job for himself as someone who many had doubts about upon being drafted out of Florida, but this one feels a tad on the high side.

While there is certainly something to be said about Noah's ability to deliver consistently to his Chicago club, to rank him as a top 30 player in the NBA is really making a bold statement.

I like Noah's progression and evolution, and I think that he stands to improve going forward, but as a player who has yet to play in a full compliment of regular season games, it's going to take a larger sample size for me to declare Noah that good.

Blake Griffin, PF

NBARank: 10, 8.78

Before: Pau Gasol, 11, 8.53

After: Deron Williams, 9, 8.98

Really? After just one season in the league, Griffin as a top 10 player?

I'm not buying it.

I've written several times on how enamored I was with Griffin last season, and his outstanding play on the hardwood surpassed some very lofty expectations which were created as a result of his mega hype, but to call him a top 10 player right now is just a little bit premature.

We've all seen what he can do with a basketball in his hands, and his highlight-reel dunks are certainly fun to watch, but as a big man who does absolutely nothing at the defensive end and shoots 64.2 percent from the foul line, there are areas of his game that need to be worked on.

I wouldn't put him ahead or above anyone who was rated from No. 11-15, and again, the "current quality" judgement comes into play here, as voters were clearly impressed with his unbelievable rookie season.

Assuming he remains healthy, Griffin should certainly become a top 10 player in the league sooner rather than later, but after just one season?

I disagree.