Without a doubt, the current NBA landscape has some of the most exciting players in league history. Almost every player has some form of offensive talent, and the free-scoring style of play has led to extreme excitement for fans and media alike. Whether old-school fans love it or not, there haven’t been better scoring displays than what we have had over the last few seasons.
Notably, some star players are adored by their fans for being able to make spectacular plays on a nightly basis. Whether these guys pull off spectacular dunks, drain three-pointers, or awe the crowd with dribble moves, it’s truly a great era for NBA basketball. The talent and skill of modern players are at an all-time high, even if rules and lack of aggression benefit offensive players. By the same token, there are also some star players who have been overrated by many fans in the league who might be blinded by exciting plays and offensive showcases.
It can be also the case that overrated players receive an unnecessary amount of attention. These players are also overrated when it comes to the amount of money they make, the minutes they get, or the praise that is often not backed by results. Without further ado, here are the ten most overrated players in the NBA right now.
10. Trae Young
2022-23 Season Statistics: 27.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 9.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
How could a player averaging at least 27 PPG and 9 APG be overrated? That is the conundrum that is Trae Young. Young is a spectacular offensive player when it comes to getting buckets and creating shots for others, but his high usage rate does not make the team instantly better. So far, the Atlanta Hawks stand with a 19-22 record, which is good for 9th in the East. Young could be another example of a star player putting up big numbers on a bad team.
Trae made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but he could not do enough to make the NBA Finals and has not led the team deep into the playoffs since then. Young takes a lot of shots (20.8 FGA) as a point guard, does not shoot a high percentage (42.2% FG, 31.4% 3-PT FG), and has averaged 4.1 turnovers per game over his career. Young is talented enough to put up numbers, but he is overrated because his production has not led to enough team wins. The fact that Atlanta also had Luka Doncic in their grasp in the 2018 Draft but took Trae Young instead does not help the point guard’s case either.
9. Deandre Ayton
2022-23 Season Statistics: 17.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Deandre Ayton is supposed to be having the best season of his career at 24 years old. After becoming “untouchable” on the Suns’ roster following the 2021 season, Ayton has not managed to make his game more complete and has been in trade rumors ever since. This season, the center is putting up solid numbers, but he has not been able to make the Suns a better team than they were two years ago.
Ayton’s contract situation has not looked good at all, and it has clearly been weighing on the player. The center has not improved over the last two years and is making max money despite putting up stagnant production. Ayton is still a very solid center at scoring and rebounding, but more was expected from him after making the All-Rookie Team in his first season and averaging 18.2 PPG in his second season.
8. Ben Simmons
2022-23 Season Statistics: 7.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Ben Simmons used to be a budding superstar, but since the 2021 season, he has become one of the most overrated players in the NBA. The Australian national has one of the most unique skill sets in the world when considering his rebounding, playmaking, and defensive abilities as a 6’10” point guard. Very few players can do what Simmons can do every night.
But Simmons gets away with being nonchalant in his behavior and unwillingness to dominate the game when he has all skill and size to do so. The former 76ers star is averaging a “triple-single,” and while he might get passes because he is coming off a severe back injury, excuses for him might stem from the fact that Simmons is overprotected. He has not developed a consistent jumper since coming into the league, and his numbers continue to go down. The fact that Simmons was supposed to be the second coming of LeBron James shows that he is one of the most overrated players in the NBA right now.
7. Draymond Green
2022-23 Season Statistics: 7.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
To most in the NBA media and fanbase, Draymond Green is an overrated player. While his style of play is more suited to a winning team, thanks to his hustle and defense, he lacks any real impact on a team that has no offensive talent. In other words, Draymond probably does not build the cache he currently has as a team leader and vocal intimidator on any other team than the Golden State Warriors.
Green is only averaging 7.7 PPG on 31.9% shooting from three this season, typical numbers from a player who has not been an offensive threat since the 2016 season. Green can’t shoot, and his value has decreased considerably since he punched out Jordan Poole in practice. As long as Draymond has Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back in full form, his deficiencies will be hidden. But Draymond is not beloved by the franchise, fans, or players as much anymore, and that means his status right now is that of an overrated player who is slowly entering the final years of his career.
6. John Collins
2022-23 Season Statistics: 13.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.4 BPG
There will always be John Collins supporters out there who believe the forward will become an All-Star in the NBA one day. Unfortunately, that day seems to be far away because Collins might be an overrated prospect because he hasn’t combined enough skills to add to his extreme athleticism. After making the All-Rookie Team in 2018, Collins reached his peak in 2020 when he averaged 21.6 PPG, but his numbers have decreased every season since then.
Collins began showing signs of becoming a solid three-point shooter in the 2020 season when he nailed 40.1% of his threes, but he is not a player who can create his own offense and is shooting a putrid 23.1% from three this year. Specifically, Collins does not have the impact of an All-Star player, which means his big contract could be nothing else than misdirected praise and hope that he can be Trae Young’s running partner. The fact that Collins has been in trade rumors over the past three seasons proves that he could be an overrated starting power forward.
5. Tobias Harris
2022-23 Season Statistics: 16.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG
It should not be his fault that he is making max money, but everybody knows that Tobias Harris is overpaid for what he brings to the court. The 76ers signed Tobias Harris to a monster max deal immediately after losing Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat in free agency a few years ago. Of course, Philadelphia did not want to lose their core group, so they were ultimately forced to re-sign Harris.
Unfortunately, even as a third option, Harris has not proven that he has what it takes to guide a team to the Promised Land. As a third option who is not particularly impactful on defense, over $37 million in salary clearly indicates that Harris is an overrated player. So far this season, Harris is averaging 16.4 PPG, which is decent but certainly not the max contract player. Philadelphia has underachieved over the last few seasons, and while the blame should be spread around fairly, Harris is one of the major faults for that disappointment.
4. Kristaps Porzingis
2022-23 Season Statistics: 22.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG
Kristaps Porzingis used to be known as “The Unicorn” for the way he could move on the court, space the floor, and play lockdown interior defense. But those days are long gone, and the injuries he suffered in the 2018 season might have completely derailed the big man’s career. After making the 2018 All-Star Team and missing the entire 2019 season with an injury, Porzingis has basically fallen off the map.
It is not his fault that the big man has not been consistently healthy, as he has played under 60 games per season since 2017. But even when on the court in the limited game time he has had, the big man had negligible impact. He was poor with the Dallas Mavericks, to the point where fans were begging the franchise to trade him for Luka Doncic’s sake. Now with Washington, the Latvian has not prevented the Wizards from falling out of a playoff spot despite making over $33 million.
3. Kyle Lowry
2022-23 Season Statistics: 13.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Former NBA champion Kyle Lowry was supposed to be a key contributor for the Miami Heat last year, but he has not performed. There were also reports that Eric Spoelstra was unimpressed with the point guard’s physical shape. Most importantly, the Heat are having a difficult season, and Lowry could be made the sacrificial lamb if things don’t pick up for the team.
Lowry is averaging 13.1 PPG and 5.6 APG this season, decent but unspectacular numbers for a point guard who is nearing 37 years of age and making over $28 million per season. But Lowry seems to be in his final years in the NBA, and Miami might want to pull the plug on him as the season progresses. Unfortunately, considering Lowry’s massive contract and what was expected of him, the point guard has become one of the most overrated players in the NBA, as he just does not impact the game like an All-Star anymore.
2. Patrick Beverley
2022-23 Season Statistics: 5.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Patrick Beverley is a player that some fans love to hate or plain love. No matter what you think about him, the guard is an overrated player. The Lakers made a shocking decision to trade their most valuable young player Talen Horton-Tucker for a 34-year-old point guard that can’t score or be a primary playmaker. Perhaps most importantly, Beverley is an average three-point shooter who is only nailing 33.% of his outside shots.
But Beverley has done a great job in creating a notion that he is an elite perimeter defender by the way he gets under opponents’ skins. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite true that Beverley locks players down. It is hilarious to remember when former MVP Russell Westbrook once questioned what people saw in Beverley, and he might have been right. Pat Bev does hustle for loose balls, and he will always have his teammates’ backs, which is commendable, but he is not an impact player, and the Lakers certainly lost the deal to bring the point guard on board.
1. Rudy Gobert
2022-23 Season Statistics: 14.0 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.4 BPG
Rudy Gobert is the most overrated player in the NBA. How could that be when the Frenchman has won 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards and made 6 All-Defensive Teams by the age of 30? Rudy has tremendous size and length at 7’1” and 258 lbs, but there is no denying he lacks the refinement of other elite centers in the NBA.
Gobert does not have the best hands, has zero post moves, and seems to shrink against other top-tier big men. Rudy has benefited greatly from playing in an era where defense is minimal, and his size has helped him be effective on defense enough to garner attention. But Gobert could not get the job done in Utah alongside Donovan Mitchell and was traded to Minnesota, where he continues to underwhelm. Rudy Gobert is great at using his length to bother shots around the rim, but his impact on winning teams is nowhere to be seen, and the Timberwolves might have gotten swindled in the deal to bring him on board.
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