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Most underrated NBA players ever?

5K views 56 replies 32 participants last post by  bruindre 
#1 ·
Some that come to mind:

Adrian Dantley-

Hes top 15 in the NBA's all time scoring list in terms of points per game.

Reggie Theus-

The guy gets no love. In my opinion he is one of the most underrated players in league history.

Reggie Theus- He is the definiton of underrated. He was solid and he rarley sat out NBA games because of injury. He was a 2 time NBA all star but his teams leading scorer 6 times. He is overlooked often because he had bad luck when it came to playing for losing teams. He played on some really really bad teams. Heres a shocker for guys who doesnt know who Reggie Theus is. He scored more points than hall of famers Isiah Thomas,Bob McAdoo, and many others. He has more assists than hall of famers Jerry West,Larry Bird,Walt Frazier, and many others

there are only four players among the top 40 all-time scorers and top 20 all-time assists leaders: Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Isiah Thomas ....... and Reggie Theus.

Career stats:18.6 ppg 4.7 apg 1.2 spg 3.3 rpg and he shot a pretty solid 47%

Sidney Moncrief-One of the games best defenders of all time. He was more of an explosive scorer than his 15 per night stats showed.The guy is Two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Four-time All-NBA First Team, Five-time NBA All-Defensive Team, and a Five-time All-Star but yet hardley anybody knows who he is.

Walt Frazier-A top 5 point guard of all time in my opinion. Because he was such a great scorer and playmaker people overlook the fact that he was a top notch defender as well. He led the Knicks too two well earned NBA titles. He owned Jerry west in the 1970 NBA finals.

Maurice Stokes anyone? He was just a monster in the game, he could score,rebound,and dish out assists at will. Injuries cut his career short but before that he was a top 5 NBA player in his time. I remember Bobby Wanzer who was a three-time All-NBA guard say "If things had worked out differently, Maurice would have become one of the top 10 players of all time"

Mark Aguirre-What an explosive scorer this man was. He was 25 ppg scorer until he got traded to the Pistons where he sacrificed his amazing scoring numbers to win a championship.

Andrew Toney-Was overshadowed because he had Moses Malone and Julius Erving on his team, and for a little while Charles Barkely. In my opinion he is one of the most underrated clutch performers in NBA history.

Sam Cassell is one of the most underrated players of all time.


This guy has ALWAYS been a winner.

In his rookie season/Sophmore season with Houston he won 2 NBA championships. Sure he was brought into a good situation playing with Hakeem Olajuwon and company but he played a major role in there championship runs. not only did he bring instanty energy and effiency off the bench he hit some MAJOR clutch shots in the playoffs and NBA finals. Remember the back breaking shot he hit against New York in the finals? He came up huge for Houston. I am actually going to go out on the limb and say Houston would NOT have beat New York in 94 to win the title without Cassell on the roster. So he won 2 championships with the Rockets.

Gets traded to Phoenix in the Barkley deal. Then journeys to Dallas. I am not going to go into depth about his play there because 1. I dont know to much about it. 2. He only spent less than 30 games with Dallas and Phoenix combined. He ddint play enough games there to make an impact.

1996 comes around Sam Cassell is a Net. He gets traded mid season didnt really have time to adjust so the Nets miss the playoffs by a few games. 1997 rolls around Sam Cassell gets a chance to play a full se the ason with this team and he takes them to a seed in the playoffs. He led a bad team to the playoffs and a 2nd place seed in his division. That is amazing considering the players he had around him. Not forget to mention a coach who isnt very good. John Calipari is a pretty bad coach. That team was full with underachievers like Keith Van Horn,Kerry Kittles, Chris Catling,Jayson Williams, ect.

Sure he lost to the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs but who doesnt lose to the Bulls?

NJ ships him over to Milwaukee. The year before he arrived they made the playoffs. However, it was during the shortened season and they were only 28-22.

They get Cassell he takes them to the playoffs and keeps them with the tough Indiana Pacers for 5 games.

The very next season. His first full season as a Buck he takes them to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the great 76ers team that went on to beat the Lakers in game 1 of the NBA finals.

Anyways he takes them to the Eastern conference finals and pushes the 76ers to 7 games. You can make the case that Ray Allen was the leader of this team but if you watched the finals you would know why I am saying this. Sam Cassell is the only reason the Bucks pushed the 76ers the first 7 games. He hit 5-6 huge 4th quarter shots just in that series alone.

They miss the playoffs the next season. They come back strong then to lose to the eventual almost champ NJ Nets. Again Cassell is the reason they gave the Nets a tough first round series.


Gets shipped over to Minnesota. Before he arrived the Timerwolves have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for 7-8 straight seasons! His FIRST season as a Timerwolve he not only leads them to the best record in the Western Conference. He takes them all the way to the Western Conference finals. Keep in mind the Wolves were always getting the early ticket in the playoffs. And this guy takes them to Finals his first season?

That my friends is amazing.

Now he signs with the LA Clippers. A team who before he arrived has been one of the worst NBA franchises of all time. They had not made the playoffs in over a decade. Cassell shows and and all of a sudden the Clippers start winning games. They go from one of the worst teams in league history to having a top 6 seed in the tough Western Conference. He is the main reason for the Clippers steller season I am not jumping on the Elton Brand bandwagon I stick by my opinion that it is Sam Cassell that is the reason for this teams success.

My main point for this entire posts was to show that not only has Cassell always been a winner. He has led every team he has ever played for to a top seed. Its NOT a coincidence that when he arrived in NJ the horrible Nets make the playoffs. Its NOT a coincidence he led the previous Bucks team who had not made the playoffs the previous season before he arrived to the Eastern Conference finals. It is NOT a coincidence that he led a Minnesota team who has never been out of the first round of the playoffs to the Western conference finals and the best record in the league in his first season with the team.

It is NOT a coincidence that he is leading the Clippers team who has not sniffed the playoffs in ages to a top 6 seed in the West.

It is a shame this guy has only made one All star team his entire career. He has led some huge turnarounds in the NBA.

Sam Cassell one of the most underrated NBA players in HISTORY.


Other Notable guys:

Bernard King
Nate Archibald
Artis Gilmore
Dennis Johnson
 
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#2 ·
I don't underrate Cassell. His team is always surprised overachieved.

I compare him to Jordan.
 
#4 ·
John Havlicek. I think this topic has been discussed on the NBA History forum.
 
#5 ·
John Havlicek. I think this topic has been discussed on the NBA History forum.
This site has a history forum?

Sweet.
 
#6 ·
#9 ·
Chris Mullin -- Forgotten. Super-efficient 26 ppg scorer, selfless, excellent passer.

Anthony Mason -- Terrific defender, good rebounder and passer.

Rasheed Wallace -- Elite defender, but people will bring up Gerald Wallace before him in the discussions.

Shawn Bradley -- Definitely not the garbage many people make him out to be. Was an imposing interior presence in his prime.

Buck Williams -- Excellent defender. Guarded everyone from Charles Barkley to Ralph Sampson.
 
#16 ·
if we are talking about underrated in the united states, i cant believe people left off Drazen. That dude would have done even more than he did if not for the accident.



and..............ya'll forget about Alex English.... you cant put Dantley on that list and leave off English... thats for damn sure
 
#17 ·
Good call on English.

One of the best scorers in NBA history period.
 
#19 ·
Thuloid said:
Detlef Schrempf. Very good player for a long time, 3 time All-Star, 2 time 6th man of the year.
Ooh...good one! When Schrempf was a Pacer, he really whupped some butt. How about Maurice Cheeks? He is far more respected within the NBA community that outside of it. I remember reading an article about ten years ago asking NBA players if they had to play one game that decided the fate of the world, who would they want as their point-guard. A lot of hall-of-famers said Mo Cheeks.
 
#20 ·
Thuloid said:
Detlef Schrempf. Very good player for a long time, 3 time All-Star, 2 time 6th man of the year.

I love Detlef Schrempf. One of the hardest working role players ever.

Otis Thorpe is also under rated, same mould as Schrempf but a tier below all-star level.

I agree whole heartedly with Chris Mullin, this guy was a scoring machine who was smart all around.
Kevin Johnson too, if it wasnt for the injury we would be comparing point guards today to Kevin Johnson, John Stockton and Magic Johnson... 3 different types of PGs that excelled.
 
#21 ·
1 Penny said:
I love Detlef Schrempf. One of the hardest working role players ever.

Otis Thorpe is also under rated, same mould as Schrempf but a tier below all-star level...
When Detlef was in Indiana, he wasn't a role-player. He was the best all-around player on the team and one of the best in the NBA.
 
#23 ·
I agree w/ some of the names being mentioned: Buck Williams, Alex English, Bernard King, Chris Mullin.
 
#24 ·
Michael Jordan. A few people have the nerve to drop him to #2 or #3 in their "GOAT" lists (even though they likely never saw 75% of the players they list play) when it's not even close. Then people continue to insult Jordan by comparing him to wannabes like Lebron, Kobe, and Wade.
 
#26 ·
Jeff Hornacek. Both in Phoenix and in Utah (although he got some love there). For me one of the greatest shooters of all time.

Also of course (since I'm a Utah fan) Adrian Dantley (just check his stats).

Perhaps also Rickey Green (because noone remembers him). He was a 1-time All-Star, 3 times in TOP6 assists and steals in NBA, first PG of Utah Jazz for many years. And the precedesor of John Stockton.
 
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