most underrated nba players of the 2000s most underrated nba players of the 2000s

For years now, Jrue Holiday has been widely regarded as the most underrated player in NBA. He became the first Russian player selected in the first round and made the all-rookie team in his first year. 5 pick in the 2001 draft, Richardson was expected to be one of the most impactful shooting guards in the NBA and he was certainly underappreciated in his time. Wallace helped to revolutionize the power forward position forever with his ability to spread the floor and shoot the ball He could play any role that a team needed him to. We need to focus on exactly one year of Eltons career that solidifies his place on this list without a thought. Jermaine does that by propelling himself to All-Star status with Indiana. Landers mens soccer closes out the season with a penalty-kick loss to Florida Tech. And while many fans will remember the Clippers for continuously being one of the dumpster fires of NBA teams, alongside Sacramento, Minnesota, and others, those other teams have had moments in the spotlight that are remembered fondly. Career Stats: 13.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.6 BPG. George Hill . That should be considered common sense considering NBA players peak from 25-30 years old. 3. The Top NBA Players Of All Time. Brandon Roy is one of the biggest what-ifs in NBA history and the little we did get to see of his career left us as NBA fans wanting so much more. This is the plight of DeMar DeRozanhes criminally underrated, and probably will be for his entire career. In every season in which he started over 60 games for one of his 9 NBA teams, he earned at least 6.0 APG. Here are the 10 most underrated NBA players of the entire 2000s. Latrell Sprewell was a great player. At 34 years of age, Cassell had his best year averaging 19-3-7, helping the downtrodden Minnesota franchise propel itself to #1 in the Western Conference Standings. He was named an NBA All-Star in 2004 after averaging 21.7 points and a career-best 5.0 rebounds a game. Finley was a no-nonsense small forward that was the perfect complement beside Dirk Nowitzki, had multiple seasons averaging above 20-5-5 per game, and capped his career off with a championship on the 2007 San Antonio Spurs. The players listed here may be relatively unknown, underappreciated, or underrated in terms of not making the elite lists of other football raters. He was a tough forward who played hard-nosed defense and never backed down from any challenge. He peaked in 2007 when he averaged 26.7 PPG on 46.5% shooting. Career Stats: 13.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.6 BPG. During his time in the NBA, Rasheed Wallace received a bad reputation as its resident bad boy. Career Stats: 12.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG. Sure. Basketball Time Machine The little brother. Anyways. #4 of 165. Career Stats: 19.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG. He found the end zone in three different decades. In an era littered with talented point guards, Baron Davis was among the most exciting to watch play. He helped lead the Magic to a Finals berth in 2009 by being a versatile scorer next to the dominant Howard. Ilgauskas wasnt the strongest in the post but he made up for it with a beautiful 6to 8-foot jumper that he had a beautiful touch on and was nearly automatic. With talk of which NBA players are the most underrated right making the rounds on social media this week, we thought it would be a good time to come up with our own All-Underrated Team for the . Career Stats: 17.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Career Achievements: 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection. He was a two-way mastermind who had a knack for coming through in a games biggest moments that earned him the nickname Mr. By signing up, you agree to the our terms and our Privacy Policy agreement. 10. Gary Trent Jr. is easily one of the most exciting and underrated players in the NBA today, starting with a Toronto Raptor and ending with one. But how many of those players make their first all-star team at 34 years old? His 2000s were spent with the Utah Jazz, playing alongside Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. He began a stretch of six straight seasons in which he averaged at least 21 points a game. In 2002, ONeal won the NBAs Most Improved Player award by averaging 17.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. Alex Novick, NBA.com Global Editions (): Quick, name the only player other than David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon to average at least two . For some reason, as time has gone on, fans refer to Zydrunas Ilgauskas as one of those garbage players that LeBron James dragged to the NBA Finals early in his career. Top 5 most underrated NBA players so far this season: PG - Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers. 25. Jason Terry: 1066.71 TPA. Required fields are marked *. 1) Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He would improve his scoring over the next few seasons, boosting his scoring to a career-high 23.2 PPG during the 2006 season. And make it not as a lifetime achievement award or an injury replacement, but during what would be a 2nd Team All-NBA season? Despite sharing the court with Ray Allen early on, Redd carved his own path and should be revered for his unbelievable scoring at his peak. I will say it here and now. Forget the role in the fight. We started the decade with Lakers championships and ended with Lakers championships, and yet you can rightfully argue that Tim Duncan was the most important player of the ten years. He had a sweet jumper and smooth release that he could knock down from anywhere in front of half-court. Lewis retired with the Miami Heat in 2014, one year after adding an NBA championship to his already impressive resume. Wallaces presence propelled Detroit to an NBA championship where Wallace averaged 13.0 PPG and 7.8 RPG on the playoff run. 50 Most Underrated NBA Players of All Time. He would have a few more All-Star seasons with Indiana but after the 2004 brawl in Detroit, the damage had been done to his stance within the league. Ilgauskas deserves so much more respect than modern-day fans give him. While you probably wouldnt be able to get away with that nickname in the NBA today, it still earns him an easy placement on this list. Sacramento picked Pedrag Stojakovi at the 1996 NBA rookie draft while still playing in Greece. Finally, as with fellow Pacer Ron Artest, ONeal was heavily involved in the Malice at the Palace punishments and suspensions, so the NBA isnt jumping at the opportunity to push Jermaine into the mainstream hivemind. He blew past defenders and glided through the air and threw down rim-rocking dunks with brutal authority. The sample size doesn't include the '87 playoffs because McHale was playing on a broken foot. Here is our list of 12 of the most underrated players in the NBA today. Dating back to his time with the Pelicans, he was an All-Star level . From there, he developed his offensive game and defensively got more aggressive. In fact, Kirilenko was born in Izhevsk, where the weapon was first manufactured. Photo: Paul Popper. For those of us that remember ONeal at his peak, we remember an undersized two-way beast for the Indiana Pacers who helped them nearly capture a championship in his heyday. Right off the bat, you can tell Rashard Lewis is highly underrated simply by his lack of accolades to his name. Teams: Charlotte Hornets (1998-2000), Miami Heat (2000-01), Cleveland Cavaliers (2001-03), Boston Celtics (2003-06), Minnesota Timberwolves (2006-07), Miami Heat . Expectations are high for every player in the league, and the overrated label . Fat Lever (#14) was Russell Westbrook before Westbrook. He was the first NBA player to bring in the big balls dance celebration, injuring his groin. Davis can be credited with sparking the We Believe Warriors to an upset win over the No. Scotty Bags. All details in the privacy policy. Bibby made the All-Rookie Team in 1999, averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.5 APG for the Vancouver Grizzlies. NFL NBA Megan Anderson Atlanta Hawks Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics Arsenal F.C. O'Neal had a strong inside scoring game, was very active on the offensive boards, and was a capable shot-blocker. As a two-way player and one of the best athletes to ever play the game, Richardson was a gem in his prime. He averaged 24-6-3 on a Pacers team that was seen as among the top teams in the NBA and potentially a future NBA champion. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports. And . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Enter Sam Cassell. Right off the bat, you can tell Rashard Lewis is highly underrated simply by his lack of accolades to his name. Richardson was drafted by the Clippers and had his best season in 2004 with the team averaging 17.2 PPG. Redd fell behind Ray Allen on the depth chart and barely appeared during his rookie season but came on strong in his sophomore campaign. Still, ONeal was a franchise centerpiece to a team that consistently made the postseason, so he deserves his spot on this list. Roy would begin to experience his downfall by 2011, just his 5th season in the league. That season he averaged 16.2 PPG and it was clear that the Pistons had their championship point guard. Besides the obvious suspension from the Malice incident, Jermaine didnt reach a higher level because of a lack of real playoff success and a subpar field goal percentage for a big man. Underrated? Corey Maggette was the player version of the Los Angeles Lakers/Los Angeles Clippers relationship in that he was the Walmart version of Kobe Bryant. Others, like Vince Carter and Joe Johnson, are still kicking around the league, but young fans are probably unaware of just how dominant they used to be. Miller also had an All-Star season with the Pacers in 2003 where he averaged 13.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG. Like many on this list, the 2003-04 season was the best of Rons career. His only other individual awards were a 2004 All-Star selection after averaging 16-8-3 with 2 steals and 3 blocks. Alex Novick, NBA.com Global Editions (): Quick, name the only player other than David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon to average at least two blocks . We dont even have to look at career averages or anything. In nine of his last ten NBA seasons, James has scored at least 2,000 points. Career Stats: 19.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Career Achievements: 1x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection. He was also a big reason the Cavaliers were able to make the 2007 NBA Finals, being LeBron James favorite option on offense. Just 3 seasons later, he would become a 20.0 PPG scorer and an automatic 40.0% shooter from deep. An . The NBA has done an unfortunately great job of sweeping Jermaine ONeals career under the rug after his role in the infamous Malice At The Palace. Shareef could never take that next step up to consistent superstardom, and despite forming a talented trio alongside Glenn Robinson and Jason Terry, the Hawks never sniffed the playoffs. He was also a big reason the Cavaliers were able to make the 2007 NBA Finals, being LeBron James favorite option on offense. Unfortunately for Christie, what should have been a fruitful career as a spot-up shooter quickly ended due to a litany of injuries. He epitomized, you dont know what youve got till its gone.. That was the year Richardson became a solid 3-point shooter, as he nailed 38.4% of his threes. The 2000s-era NBA was one of the more bizarre representations of basketball one could imagine. At his peak, he became one of the most prolific scorers in the league and ignited the spirit of the game back in the City Of Milwaukee. Now, I could go up to as many as 25 maybe 30 players that are forgotten stars from the 2000's but i'm only going to focus on 12, enjoy. Career Stats: 16.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG, Career Achievements: 2x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection. He was so good that Pacers fans couldrealistically argue that he was the best big man in the league. The 2000s were filled with incredible defenders, lights-out shooters, amazing ball handlers, solid secondary stars, and bench players who were elite at their jobs.