Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
NBA's most under-rated players
With the NBA season nearly upon us, I thought I'd start getting us ready.
First up, I've put together a list of the 5 most under-rated players in the league. Needless to say, they're all going to be white guys, because even the 2-time reigning MVP gets very little respect (see the latest internet polls and comments from the last 2 seasons as proof). While it could be said that EVERY white player in the league is under-rated (which is NOT true, some of them really suck), I'm limiting myself to just the 5 most deserving of more recognition. This is probably going to be harder than I thought...
#5. Wally Szczerbiak, small forward, Boston Celtics: One of the candidates for the Bill Schroeder award for most hated athlete for no reason, Wally World isn't as large as it should be. Limited for much of his career by the antics of the "Big Ticket" Kevin Garnett, Wally has managed to make the All-Star team once, but has the talent to be a perennial member. Wally can put the ball in the basket with anyone in the league, as evidenced by the fact that he is a career 50% shooter from the floor and 40% from 3-point range. In his first year with the Celtics last season, Wally instantly made Paul Pierce good again by putting a second scorer on the floor to stretch opposing defense... of course, Pierce got all the credit and the All Star nod.
#4. Mike Miller, guard/forward, Memphis Grizzlies: Good enough to start at point guard, shooting guard, or small forward for many teams, Mike has done all three and flourished at various times in his career for the Grizzlies. Last year Mike took his game to another level, making him into one of the toughest matchups in the league. Incredibly versatile, he can post up, shoot the three (over 40% last year), and pass the ball (he led the Grizzlies in assists 9 times last season). He's never had an All-Star nod, but he did receive the back-handed compliment of the 6th Man of the Year Award last season.
#3. Andrei Kirilenko, small/power forward, Utah Jazz: AK47 should be a household name, with shoe commercials all over the TV and posters adorning walls, and jerseys worn by hordes of fans. Instead, he's mostly the best player in the NBA to almost never be hyped. Andrei, despite being only 6'9" has been arguably the most dominant shot blocker in the NBA since entering the league in'01-'02. He led the NBA in total blocks last season despite only playing in 69 games. The year before, he ranked number one in blocked shots, averaging 3.32 blocks per game, and so on, and so on. Andrei also routinely ranks among the league's leaders in steals. As one of the league's elite defensive players, he can guard anyone from a 2-guard to a center. In addition to his defensive exploits, Andrei is coming off a season where he averaged better than 15 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds a game.
In putting up those numbers, he became just the 4th player in NBA history, and first since 1993-94, to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ blocks in a single season, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Lanier, and David Robinson.
#2. Chris Kaman, center, Los Angeles Clippers: Unknown to most NBA fans, and perhaps completely unknown to everyone else, Chris was statistically the 3rd best starting center in the NBA last year behind only Shaq and Yao Ming, averaging nearly 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Shockingly, there was no outcry of outrage when he was left off the All Star team, nor when he wasn't even considered for the US National team. Despite his numbers, Chris is still considered to be "on the verge" of being a top-5 center... so I guess the facts lie. Putting up steadily improving numbers each year he's been in the league despite having much of the offense run through teammate Elton Brand, Chris joined elite company last season (his third) when he and Brand each had a 20-20 night against Minnesota (Chris finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds).
Chris is so under-appreciated, on his NBA player page one of his video highlights is of Shawn Marion dunking on him. Jeez!
#1. Troy Murphy, power forward, Golden State Warriors: Troy is possibly the best player in the league to never have earned an all-NBA mention or All Star game invitation, but playing in small-market Golden State can only be part of the reason. Would you believe that he is one of only three players in the NBA to average double-digits in points and rebounding in three of the last four years? It's true! He missed most of '03-'04 with an injury or it would likely have been four years in a row!
The other two guys who have done it? Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.
Maybe as impressive as those numbers he put up is the way in which he did it: on a team with chucking guards Baron Davis and Jason Richardson jacking it up every time they touch it. Perhaps not too surprising, the sweet-shooting and rugged Murphy didn't get invited to try out for the National team either.
Honorable mention
Steve Nash: the 2-time reigning MVP isn't among the leagues highest paid 30 players! Clowns like Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, and Brian Grant are, though. The only white guy? Dirk, tied for number 17. I guess a few million doesn't get what it used to.
Kirk Hinrich: the best young point guard in the league.
Mehmet Okur: since moving to Utah has become one of the best young big men in the league.
With the NBA season nearly upon us, I thought I'd start getting us ready.
First up, I've put together a list of the 5 most under-rated players in the league. Needless to say, they're all going to be white guys, because even the 2-time reigning MVP gets very little respect (see the latest internet polls and comments from the last 2 seasons as proof). While it could be said that EVERY white player in the league is under-rated (which is NOT true, some of them really suck), I'm limiting myself to just the 5 most deserving of more recognition. This is probably going to be harder than I thought...
#5. Wally Szczerbiak, small forward, Boston Celtics: One of the candidates for the Bill Schroeder award for most hated athlete for no reason, Wally World isn't as large as it should be. Limited for much of his career by the antics of the "Big Ticket" Kevin Garnett, Wally has managed to make the All-Star team once, but has the talent to be a perennial member. Wally can put the ball in the basket with anyone in the league, as evidenced by the fact that he is a career 50% shooter from the floor and 40% from 3-point range. In his first year with the Celtics last season, Wally instantly made Paul Pierce good again by putting a second scorer on the floor to stretch opposing defense... of course, Pierce got all the credit and the All Star nod.
#4. Mike Miller, guard/forward, Memphis Grizzlies: Good enough to start at point guard, shooting guard, or small forward for many teams, Mike has done all three and flourished at various times in his career for the Grizzlies. Last year Mike took his game to another level, making him into one of the toughest matchups in the league. Incredibly versatile, he can post up, shoot the three (over 40% last year), and pass the ball (he led the Grizzlies in assists 9 times last season). He's never had an All-Star nod, but he did receive the back-handed compliment of the 6th Man of the Year Award last season.
#3. Andrei Kirilenko, small/power forward, Utah Jazz: AK47 should be a household name, with shoe commercials all over the TV and posters adorning walls, and jerseys worn by hordes of fans. Instead, he's mostly the best player in the NBA to almost never be hyped. Andrei, despite being only 6'9" has been arguably the most dominant shot blocker in the NBA since entering the league in'01-'02. He led the NBA in total blocks last season despite only playing in 69 games. The year before, he ranked number one in blocked shots, averaging 3.32 blocks per game, and so on, and so on. Andrei also routinely ranks among the league's leaders in steals. As one of the league's elite defensive players, he can guard anyone from a 2-guard to a center. In addition to his defensive exploits, Andrei is coming off a season where he averaged better than 15 points, 4 assists, and 8 rebounds a game.
In putting up those numbers, he became just the 4th player in NBA history, and first since 1993-94, to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ blocks in a single season, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Lanier, and David Robinson.
#2. Chris Kaman, center, Los Angeles Clippers: Unknown to most NBA fans, and perhaps completely unknown to everyone else, Chris was statistically the 3rd best starting center in the NBA last year behind only Shaq and Yao Ming, averaging nearly 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Shockingly, there was no outcry of outrage when he was left off the All Star team, nor when he wasn't even considered for the US National team. Despite his numbers, Chris is still considered to be "on the verge" of being a top-5 center... so I guess the facts lie. Putting up steadily improving numbers each year he's been in the league despite having much of the offense run through teammate Elton Brand, Chris joined elite company last season (his third) when he and Brand each had a 20-20 night against Minnesota (Chris finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds).
Chris is so under-appreciated, on his NBA player page one of his video highlights is of Shawn Marion dunking on him. Jeez!
#1. Troy Murphy, power forward, Golden State Warriors: Troy is possibly the best player in the league to never have earned an all-NBA mention or All Star game invitation, but playing in small-market Golden State can only be part of the reason. Would you believe that he is one of only three players in the NBA to average double-digits in points and rebounding in three of the last four years? It's true! He missed most of '03-'04 with an injury or it would likely have been four years in a row!
The other two guys who have done it? Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.
Maybe as impressive as those numbers he put up is the way in which he did it: on a team with chucking guards Baron Davis and Jason Richardson jacking it up every time they touch it. Perhaps not too surprising, the sweet-shooting and rugged Murphy didn't get invited to try out for the National team either.
Honorable mention
Steve Nash: the 2-time reigning MVP isn't among the leagues highest paid 30 players! Clowns like Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, and Brian Grant are, though. The only white guy? Dirk, tied for number 17. I guess a few million doesn't get what it used to.
Kirk Hinrich: the best young point guard in the league.
Mehmet Okur: since moving to Utah has become one of the best young big men in the league.
