Ranking The 10 Most Overrated Players In The NBA

Top 10 Most Overrated Player In The NBA For 2012-2013

The 2012-2013 NBA season is about to begin and a number of teams have a number of talented players on their rosters including the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks.

On some of these teams are players who are among the most athletic in the league and offer excitement for fans with their offensive capabilities and yet often ignored are their flaws.

Names that come to mind are Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are Chris Paul, Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs who aren’t the most exciting players, yet are fundamentally sound with very little weaknesses.

Teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Hornets that reached with first round selections recently one team has traded said player, one was just drafted in 2012 and the other is entering his fourth season.

After failing to make a big splash during the off-season the Dallas Mavericks have surrounded their best player Dirk Nowitzki with a number of role players including Elton Brand, O.J. Mayo, Chris Kaman, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Darren Collison.

This brings up a great question and that is which 10 players are the most overrated in the NBA? Here’s a look at who made the list for the 2012-2013 season.

No.10 Danny Granger

Danny Granger will be entering his eighth season with the Indiana Pacers and during that time he’s become a capable scorer averaging 18.2 points per game. In 2008-2009 he set a career high by averaging 25.8 points.

Including that season he has struggled with inefficiency and last season shot a career low of 41.6 percent from the field. The result of that has been a decreasing scoring, though his three-point shooting has not been affected.

Yet, he is among the most overrated players in the NBA because with his athleticism he is only decent on the glass, an average defensive player and a poor passer.

No.9 Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo is one of the more overrated players in the NBA and yet it has nothing to do with being inefficient as his career field goal percentage is at 48.1 percent. He is also a tremendous defensive player and rebounds extremely well for a point guard.

What will make an impact on him is that Ray Allen is now gone as he signed with the Miami Heat in the off-season. Avery Bradley is out for a while recovering from injury and the only two threats from beyond the arc now for the Boston Celtics are Paul Pierce who shoots 36.9 percent and Jason Terry 38 percent.

His biggest flaws are that he turns the ball over as he averaged 3.6 in 2011-2012, gambles at times on defense, does not have a good jump shot and for a point guard he’s terrible from the free throw line only shooting 61.9 percent for his career.

No.8 Dirk Nowitzki

There is one thing that Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki has done throughout his career and that is score the basketball from anywhere on the court except for in the low-post. He has a patented step back jumper that can’t be defended, he can hit the three-pointer and if fouled he’s an excellent free throw shooter, which has helped him to a career average of 22.9 points.

Yet, he still has been one of the most overrated players in the NBA. The reason is because he doesn’t rebound well for a 7-footer and in 2011-2012 averaged 6.8 rebounds which was the lowest for him since his second year in 1999-2000.

He primarily has the ball in the high-post or on the perimeter though he is not a ball handler or passer and on defense he is below average.

No.7 Rudy Gay

In 2006 Rudy Gay the eighth overall selection in the draft of the Houston Rockets and power forward Stromile Swift got traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for small forward Shane Battier. The trade worked out well for both teams.

Gay is a high flyer and has become a solider scorer and he’s above average on the glass.

Even though he can jump out of the gym he is still overrated. He’s not efficient from the field, below average from beyond the arc, depending where he catches the ball it will not come out and he doesn’t use his 7'3" wing span to his advantage on defense.

No.6 Blake Griffin

In 2009 Blake Griffin was the obvious choice for the no.1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for the Los Angeles Clippers. He did not play during the regular season as he injured his knee after a dunk in the last preseason game and missed the entire season.

Since coming back from the injury he has shown that it has not had an effect on his leaping ability. He does get most of his points from inside the paint or gets fouled which sends him to the free throw line. His rebounding on both ends of the floor is another strength he possesses.

Griffin is overrated because he’s limited offensively, a poor free throw shooter, flops and is not even close to being a good defensive player.

No.5 Brandon Jennings

In a shocking move Brandon Jennings instead of playing one year of college basketball decided he was good enough to play professionally overseas. After playing one season he entered the NBA draft and got taken with the 10th pick in 2009 by the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a rookie he showcased that he can score the basketball when he scored 55 points against the Golden State Warriors and he also takes care of the basketball.

What makes him overrated is that as a point guard he looks for his shot first and only shoots 39.3 percent from the field. He also takes a lot of three-pointers and after his rookie season he struggled with that too.

The 5.7 assists per game in his three seasons reflects his mentality.

No.4 Anthony Davis

It is ridiculous how much hype Anthony Davis got while at the University of Kentucky. His numbers were good for a freshman at 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 4.7 blocks on 62.3 percent shooting and 70.9 percent from the free throw line.

He got taken no.1 overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets and as a rookie he will block a number of shots and show glimpses of why he got taken so high.

What the issue is that he lacks strength to defend power forwards and center, his offensive skills are still a work in progress and because of his ability to block shots he’s more than likely going to wind up in foul trouble. It will likely take him three-to-four years to develop into a consistent player on both ends of the floor.

No.3 John Wall

John Wall will miss the start of the regular season for the Washington Wizards due to an injury. He is entering his third season in the league after being taken with the no.1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft and yet illustrates an example of a player leaving college too early after playing just one year at the University of Kentucky.

He is a decent scorer and very good at finding his open teammates, which is why he’s averaged 8.2 assists and he’s also a good rebounder.

Why he’s overrated is because he has yet to show a consistent jumper and to succeed as a point guard he needs to improve his range to where defenses respect his three-point shooting and in 2011-2012 he only made three three-pointers.

No.2 Dwight Howard

Shaquille O’Neal made this statement about the best centers in the NBA “I'm going to go with Brook Lopez and Andrew Bynum because they play with their back to the basket." It was another shot at one of the Los Angeles Lakers newest additions to the lineup Dwight Howard.

Howard can jump out of the gym, run the floor, he’s excellent on either end of the floor on the glass and is a great defensive player.

Yet, his game has severe limitations which is why O’Neal is partly right when he makes his claim and makes him overrated. Lopez and Bynum there’s no question are better post players while Howard is much like Blake Griffin and earns his points in the paint. He is also a poor free throw shooter.

No.1 Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks is the most overrated player in the NBA heading into the start of the 2012-2013 season. He’s a great scorer and yet he illustrates the perfect example of a player who is content with being one-dimensional.

He has the size and strength to become a very good defensive player and with the attention teams place on him when he gets the ball he can take games over with his passing. Yet, that has not happened and in his career he averages 3.1 assists.

So far the most he’s ever averaged in a season is 3.8 and the biggest question mark has been his lack of leadership. He’s been to the playoffs nine times and eight of those years either the Denver Nuggets or Knicks got bounced out in the first round.

The only time which Anthony got out of the first round came in 2008-2009 and that was because of the leadership and play of Chauncey Billups.

Only question left will he ever expand his game and become a leader? Right now it doesn't look likely.