The Clippers have always been the runt of LA. In his best season in 2005/06 with Sacramento, Bibby helped the team make the playoffs, which is . From there, he developed his offensive game and defensively got more aggressive. By his fourth season with the Bucks, Allen was gone and Redd was a starter. The Top 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Of The 1960s, The Top 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Of The 1970s, The Top 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Of The 1980s, The Top 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Of The 1990s, The Best NBA Player From Every Team In The 2010s. He spent 3 seasons with the team and helped them transition to the City of New Orleans. 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. His best seasons come while playing for teams that arent popular or mainstream. People are bound to take notice of him soon after his impressive season with the Raptors. One last point on Cassell that bumps him higher on this list. Davis can be credited with sparking the We Believe Warriors to an upset win over the No. 32 in Touchdown Wire list, Big Ten 2023 Football Power Rankings Too Soon, ASU Footballs Kenny Dillingham hopes QB room structure will push players, Oregon Football Recruitment: Nyckoles Harbor and Ducks Update, Big 12 Conference Tees 2023 Schedule Release, Know the Foe: Virginia Tech Footballs 2023 Away Opponents, Denver Broncos meet again with Michigan Footballs Jim Harbaugh. Forget the role in the fight. Here are the 10 most underrated NBA players of the entire 2000s. He had a smooth lefty jumper that was as good as anyones in the game when he was on point. Struggling with bone spurs, and ankle surgery, he left the NBA after the 2006-07 season. By looking at individual statistics, team impact, and skills during their era; we have compiled a ranked list of the best stars who went underappreciated during their time. That needs to begin to change after you read this piece. 8. Alex Novick, NBA.com Global Editions (): Quick, name the only player other than David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon to average at least two blocks . 32786 posts. Tracy McGrady was born on May 24, 1979 in Bartow, Florida, USA. For the first few seasons of his NBA career, Billups bounced around until he found a home with the Detroit Pistons in 2003. 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: 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 tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee after playing just 33 games. Landers mens soccer closes out the season with a penalty-kick loss to Florida Tech. As we entered the 2000s, NBA fans were left with the question of who was going to take over the league after Michael Jordan left Chicago. The 2000s-era NBA was one of the more bizarre representations of basketball one could imagine. View Profile View Forum Posts He could force his way into the paint like a running back hitting the hole in the NFL and either finish at the rim easily or find the open man for an easier opportunity. Many superstars surfaced at this time but perhaps none bigger than Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers who led them to 3 straight titles at the beginning of the decade. Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. I will say it here and now. As one of the original stretch forwards in the game, Lewis used both his size and shooting ability to become a scoring machine. With Indiana, Jackson was part of a tough crew featuring Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal that was also involved in the Malice at the Palace. The draw of Finley was his consistency and availability. To narrow down the list to 10 underrated players in the whole decade is about as tough as it gets. The following season in 2002-03, he was one of the best seasons of the decade for ANY player. During the 2000s, at various times, he was up against the likes of 15 time all-star Tim Duncan, 15 time all-star Kevin Garnett, 14 time all-star Dirk Nowitzki, 10 time all-star Carmelo Anthony, 6 time all-star Pau Gasol, 6 time all-star Amar'e Stoudemire (yes, he got the nod as a forward), 5 time all-star Chris Webber. During his 3rd season in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miller led the NBA in assists with 10.9 APG to go with 16.5 PPG and 1.6 SPG. Forgive and forget and put Jermaine ONeal in the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame. McCollum voted most underrated player since 2000. Roy was destined to be a star from his first season in the NBA. 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But when we focus on his game, we can see that he was overlooked for his talent, with many casual fans not understanding that at points in the 2000s, Ron Artest was seen as one of the top NBA players in the league. Miller would go on to play 5 more seasons with Sacramento. In every season in which he started over 60 games for one of his 9 NBA teams, he earned at least 6.0 APG. Luckily for this list, his two all-star appearances occurred within the decade when he made the cut in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons. For some reason, ONeal was vilified relentlessly for his role in the brawl and his reputation has taken years to recover. All the most overrated players in the NBA will be featured here to choose from. 10. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He was a scorer, plain and simple. During his time in the NBA, Rasheed Wallace received a bad reputation as its resident bad boy. He was an entertaining player, scorer, and consistent all-star-level talent in the 90s. He was also one of the better offensive rebounders in basketball and led the league in that stat in the 2004-05 season with 299 offensive rebounds. 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. Due to the emergence of other superstars like Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, LeBron James, and Tracy McGrady, many other solid players who had massive success in the decade have flown under the radar as time has gone on. He doubled as the leagues premier perimeter defenderwinning the Defensive Player of the Year Awardhaving a rare combination of strength, size, and speed that allowed him to keep up with quicker, smaller guards; and be a physical presence to stop bigger small-forward bruiser type scorers. Here's a ranking of the NBA's top teammate duos throughout league history. Jason Terry: 1066.71 TPA. Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. The problem with most underrated NBA lists is too many of the players are, well, overrated. Playing for a middling Milwaukee Bucks squad throughout the 2000s, he led the team and was a fantastic all-around scorer. 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. Alex Novick, NBA.com Global Editions (): Quick, name the only player other than David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon to average at least two . That could not be further from the truth as Ilgauskas was a solid two-way big man who helped LeBron James adapt to the NBA. Jabbar was from the very beginning of his career being named the 1969-1970 rookie year, Abdul-Jabbar was a 5x MVP, 9x All-Star, 9x All-NBA, and 8x All-Defensive selection in the 1970s with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers; moreover, he averaged 28+ points, 14+ rebounds, and 5+ assists per game and led the Bucks to their first NBA title, winning Finals MVP in . Scotty Bags. Defensive teamsala the Championship Detroit Pistonsthat dominated to the point the NBA had to change the rules to speed up the game, which helped a dopey-haired small, white Canadian point guard pick up back-to-back MVPs. Unfortunately, his fantastic rookie campaign was lost in history behind a similar scoring guard in Allen Iverson, but it was easy to see the skill and talent Shareef possessed. Im Still Ballin. ONeal is an excellent example of the circumstances most players on these lists go through during their careers. Roy was a special talent on offense confirmed by some of the greats such as Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant. The 2000s was an awe-inspiring time to grow up as an NBA fan and witness these real-life superheroes hit the court every single night. And . Roy was destined to be a star from his first season in the NBA. He found the end zone in three different decades. He epitomized, you dont know what youve got till its gone.. His mid-range game and three-ball were impeccable as well. The 2005-06 campaign. His best season came in 2003-04, Peja averaged a career-high 24.2 PPG on 48.0% shooting overall and 43.3% from three. During his All-Star seasons with Portland, Wallace was a double-digit scorer and rebounder while being a force to be reckoned with on defense. Career Achievements: 1x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection. Here are the 10 most underrated stars during the 2000s. 1969-1971 . Maggette had his best seasons during the 2004, 2005, and 2008 seasons. Usually millions of dollars. His best season came in 2002 after being traded to Atlanta. Basketball is one of the most loved sports worldwide. From 2001-2007 ONeal made six straight All-Star games while averaging a stellar 20-10 with 2 blocks per game. 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. 12. Not a chance. Lofton was the first player in NFL history to accumulate 14,000 receiving yards. Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports, Career Stats: 18.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Career Achievements: 1x Rookie of the Year, 3x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection. Elton Brand was a special big man on offense and on the boards, and he was one of the most underappreciated players during his time. Milwaukee took Redd with the 43rd overall pick and the former Buckeye would go on to play 11 years with the franchise. He would lead the league in steals once more in 2007 with the Warriors with 2.1 SPG. Roy would begin to experience his downfall by 2011, just his 5th season in the league. Billups finished his career a 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Team selection, and a 3x All-Defensive Team selection. With the NBA season approaching fast, there are a few players who haven't gotten the credit they deserve. Theres not much else to say about Maggatte. You can't go wrong by picking Ariza here, mainly because actual NBA players back it up.Trevor Ariza possessed such a valuable skillset that even as late as the 2021-22 season with the Lakers, fans were claiming he was the missing piece that would allow them to ascend to playoff contention. NBA underrated performers are one of the more challenging lists to rank. Sure. O'Neal also won the Most Improved Player of the Year Award that same year. 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. Fans have a tendency to overlook certain players, and that effect is amplified as years and decades pass. Miller was as good as it gets running an NBA offense and he was one heck of a playmaker. And Pascal Siakam continues to have one of the league's more underrated individual campaigns (perhaps because Toronto had . 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. Michael Jordan and Karl Malone greet each other before Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 1, 1997, at the United Center. Your email address will not be published. In 2002, ONeal won the NBAs Most Improved Player award by averaging 17.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. When coming into the league, there were no expectations for Michael Redd having been the 43rd pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. One of the most valuable roleplayers in the early part of the decade, Doug Christie, was a deadeye shooter that brought it at an all-defensive level on the other end. 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. Even Basketball-Reference.com doesnt give the man a prayer. Andrei Kirilenko was a prototype of what the modern-day NBA landscape now values above all else; versatility. It is borderline insanity that Miller was never even honored with an All-Star selection and for that, he is the 3rd most underrated player of the 200s decade. He would become an All-Star once more in 2005 averaging 16.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. He made the All-Star game and was selected to the All NBA-Third Team. In his first season in Los Angeles, he made his first All-Star Team. As the all-time and single-season leader in technical fouls, how could he not? DeRozan may be cementing his status as the best player in franchise history in front of our eyes, but say he belongs in the MVP conversation and most NBA fans will laugh at you. Wallaces impact was truly measured when he was acquired by the Detroit Pistons midway through the 2004 season. Averaging 16.0 PPG, he is one of the most recognizable offensive players for the Clippers over the last 20 years. He could rebound the ball well at 610 tall and his passing and court vision were a perfect recipe for success with how much those Kings teams liked to run. His three hasn't been falling . Ronald Koeman of the Netherlands lines up before the UEFA Euro 88 Group 2 match between England and the Netherlands at the Rheinstadion on June 15, 1988 in Dsseldorf, West Germany. In an era littered with talented point guards, Baron Davis was among the most exciting to watch play. Milwaukee took Redd with the 43 rd overall pick and the former Buckeye would go on to play 11 years with the franchise. I have never seen a Finals MVP and a more impactful point guard be overlooked in NBA history more than Chauncey Billups. Even though he never made an All-Star Team, Bibby certainly played like one and he was a major reason the Kings were a problem in the West.