My 10 Most Underrated Players in NBA History
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- A list of my choices for the most underrated players of all time, and a breakdown of why the players are on the list.
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The game of Basketball has been my passion since I was 5 years old. I grew up as a kid watching my dad's recorded VHS tapes of playoff games through the 70s and 80s, and collected all the Basketball cards. Something about the game and what it represents just hooked me from a very young age.
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I post videos every week on NBA history, predictions, hypothetical scenarios and current NBA topics.
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#NBA #Underrated #Lakers - Sport
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Who’s on your "Most Underrated” list?
ALSO, apologies for the big delay between uploads. Was enjoying a vacation of sorts while I visited family. Now I’m back on the grind, and expect more frequent uploads in the near future.
Pete marvich
And Brandon Roy
I have not watched the video yet, but I have Mark Price, Deron Williams, Derek Harper, Mark Aguirre, Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Adrian Dantley, Alex English, Maurice Cheeks, and Michael Cooper.
One more person I have is Steve Kerr
@@damonsonnier34 Alex English isn't underrated bruh 💀🤣
I feel like Damian Lillard will have a similar legacy to Clyde Drexler. Both were great players but weren't good enough to be the best at their positions. Plus having very similar playstyles to the actual best players at those positions (Jordan and Curry) makes it more likely for them to be overshadowed or overlooked in history as a lesser version of the other player they are compared to. Kinda ironic that they both played for the Blazers.
Wow You hit it on the nail with those points
Faxxx
U spittin 📠 fr
In my humble opinion, I think Dame could have been just as good as Curry (legacy wise) if he had better teammates. Skill wise, I think they're equals, Dame finishes at the rim better, a better clutch performer, a better distributor. While Steph takes the edge in 3 pt shooting, handles, off-ball shooting, and steals.
Rebounding, on-ball defense are equal.
But starting a team, I might pick Dame just because of the fact that I've seen him take over games by himself in the playoffs with no Klay, no Draymond, or KD to rely on. Again, just my opinion.
@@demappless agreed
I want to mention anotuer great overlooked legend: Dennis Johnson, he won a finals MVP and 2 more championships with Bird as the defensive specialist
Great defensively minded point guard.
Bird mentioned he was the smartest player he ever played with.
@@jonispaha2845 L
@@jonispaha2845 Huge L
And the least “flashy Player” ever !
I believe there is 3 types of “underrated player” in the NBA (assuming we are talking about superstar level):
The Alex English type: superstar with big numbers and impact but who didn’t win a title on his prime.
The James Worthy/Kevin McHale type: a legit superstar who was overshadowed by an even greater player on his team.
The George Mikan type: every superstar who played on the 40’s and 50’s (and even in the 60’s).
Great stuff, as always.
Legend u mean George Mikan Has a drill named after him that every basketball player has to do growing up to get comfortable around the rim. All the greats have done it
There’s also players that just didn’t get the media attention or did but in a negative way.
Another Type: The defensive specialist. Some great defensive players just get overlooked fir just not being flashy and as popular as offensive players. This includes a ton of great defensive guards mentioned in the video and not mentioned in the video is some under-sided defensive gods like Ron Artest, Ben Wallace, and Wes Unseld.
Good definitions
A little caveat for the George Mikan type: every superstar player before the 80s that isnt Wilt or Bill Russell
I think Moses the most underrated ever dude dominated the rebounds and was an elite scorer has 3 MVPs and 1 Championship
ratio then
@@llg34sll L
easliy he’s criminally underrated, he beat Magic and Kareem lakers to go to the finals with the rockets and one a chip with philly the first year he got there and beat the lakers again in the finals, plus he has multiple mvps
Moses Malone>David robinson
Agree. For me Moses is the 6th best big man ever.
In the same vein of Worthy, Kevin McHale is kinda underrated, because he also got overshadowed by a Top 10 player on his own team. McHale is probably only behind Olajuwon, when it comes to post skills. Barkley himself said, that he was the best player he ever played against (on both sides of the court). He unfortunately sometimes gets lost on the all-time PF list, because that list is loaded.
He was also pivotal in the game where the guys from Cheers played Gary's Old Town Tavern.
This. Not to mention that there A few playoffs series where he outplayed Larry Bird. McHale is uncomfortable underrated
post skills belongs to #1 Hakeem #2 McHale
no one can argue about it
Robert Parish is even more underrated. The Celtics couldn’t have won in the 80’s without him. He did the dirty work protecting the rim against Kareem, Moses, etc and was a great rebounder and scorer. He was nearly as good as McHale yet people act like he was just a glorified role player that got to play with other greats.
Tim duncan on the block is nothing?
Kudos for mentioning Sidney Moncrief! The story goes that he was so good the NBA had to create The Defensive Player Of The Year reward so it could be given to him. He is one of the major reasons the reward was born atleast.
I wrote an essay about Moncrief onto a gaming forum when I got his card in NBA 2K21. A real essay in which I went through his career and how he just few years ago got into HOF. How he was one major reason for the DPOY to be created and all that. I got several likes from people who don't play basketball games or even watch basketball.
At least is two different words. It isn’t spelled together. But yeah Moncrief is slept on.
I would use sir sid in my nba 2k black top all the time
@@blowc1612 bruh 😐
@@gswonlocks I’m not your bruh
That's pretty cool man. Do you have a link to what you wrote?
Pistol Pete is underrated because if a 3pt line existed he'd be in discussion for the literal goat conversation. According to investigations he would have averaged 13 3-pointers a game and averaged 57 points per game. Without the 3-point line he scored 68 points on Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor.
Pistol Pete shot like 50+ fgs a game lol
If Steve Nash shot that many times a game he would've averaged 60ppg lmao 🤣
@@BiasFreeTV Plus his defensive rep isn't exactly up to par.
When Elgin Baylor came into the league he was considered an absolute freak of nature, the NBA had never seen a wing anywhere near as athletic as him
Shawn Marion is one of mine. Insane defender that made the Phoenix Suns work and eventually an NBA champion.
I agree. In his era, he and AK-47 were truly overlooked for their all-around excellence, particularly their versatility and defense. The Matrix's defense got overshadowed by being on a team full of mediocre-at-best teammates on that end, and the obvious bias (still during his time) towards the shot blockers. For a guy was the size of Pippen, he rebounded like a 90's PF and shot efficiently (overshadowed by his weird shooting stroke). And like Pippen, he was the perfect complement to his MVP-winning teammate who would have seen no where near the same level of success without him. Like Kirilenko, Marion could thrive in any era, especially now as a stretch-4 or even stretch-5.
amar'e was even better
@@mike04574 , aside from inside scoring, in what ways was Amar'e better than Marion? Defense? Passing? Rebounding? Clutch? Distance shooting?
@@mickeylee2624 greater all around player and probably higher on most people's all time list. dude was a top 5 player in the league at one point
@@mike04574, I don't care what "most people" allegedly think. I want to hear your specific points as to what made Stoudemire a "greater all around player" than Marion. On face value, Marion had very few contemporaries who were as effective in the "all-around" department.
What specific qualities or metrics would you use to arrive at that conclusion?
For starters, I think that it would be fair to compare the first 10 seasons (regular season and playoffs) of each player's career (10th season being the last year Amar'e was a good player). In doing so, raw numbers wise, Marion was clearly superior in rebounding (despite Amar'e's size/positional advantage), passing, defense (way more steals but also comparable in blocks despite his wing-ish position making him less likely to block a ton of shots), and 3-point/FT shooting while being far less turnover- and foul-prone as well as being far more durable (far fewer games missed and playing more minutes per game). Amar'e was better in scoring and 2-point shooting percentage, but that's about it.
In terms of advanced metrics, Marion had higher Win-Share per 48 minutes (this accounts for the difference in Amar'e averaging ~10% less minutes per game), VORP, Offensive Box Plus/Minus, Defensive BPM, and overall BPM.
In terms of the eyeball test, Amar'e was incorrectly portrayed as a leading franchise player, but outside of 3 strong scoring seasons, he was in reality a strong secondary offensive player. In contrast, Marion was the ultimate complementary two-way star (particularly seasons 2-8) who was criminally-underrated in terms of relatively low number of All-NBA's, All-Star appearances, and lack of All-Defensive Teams. Being shut-out of the All-Defensive Team was partly because of the media misattributing the Suns' general bad rep of mediocre defense (no thanks to Nash and Amar'e). However, Marion was a versatile and effective defender who deserved to be on multiple All-Defensive 1st/2nd teams as he literally kept the Suns from completely falling apart on that end.
If I had to choose an eleventh player on this list I would defenitly say nate "tiny" archibald
Leading the league in PPG and APG in the same season is crazy on it's own but a well rounded 34PPG and 11APG is just stupid considering he was only 6'1
Because Many Royals/Kings legends get slept on. If it wasn’t for Robertson winning in Milwaukee or all of his triple doubles, he would also be forgotten.
And he was only around 150 lbs doing what he did 🤯
Dude had the entire offence to himself, he was sort of like harden a few years ago, harden averaged 29 and 11 and nearly won both in the same year if he had averaged 2 more points.
@@GameChanger-xi4iy Exactly. People these days think he was a plumber because he was only 6’9 and he played in the 70s but even though he was undersized he played against guys like Kareem and Wilt and even though they were clearly better than him he was still able to hold his own and in Kareem’s case win a finals against him despite giving up around 4-5 inches and 20+ lbs to some of the giants.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Nice list as always. I would also consider the guys like Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning, Pete Maravich, Nate Thurmond, Walt Bellamy, Artis Gilmore, Dennis Johnson, Elton Brand
Watching Michael Cooper in a lot of those classic games you could tell just how much of an impact player he was with his energy and tenacity on both ends of the floor
Tenacity. Great word for describing a dogged defensive specialist. Original 3 and D. One of few core Lakers for all 5 rings in the 1980s
Mark Price is a really good choice. Was probably just as good as Stockton on offense. People below the age of 35 don't realize how good that cavs team was, and they gave MJ and the bulls all they wanted, with a great Brad Daughtery, and really good Larry Lance and Craig Ehlo
yes but too many injuries to stay relevant for multiple years and Price was not good enough especially defensively to be on the Zeke, Stockton tier
It Nance lol and don’t forget Ron Harper
But there are a lot of point guards like that from that same era. Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway were also great, great point guards, but yes, the argument for Isiah over Stockton is that Stockton was replaceable with 3 or 4 other pg's for most of his prime.
@@reuvenroslynesq8954 that is such nonsense. Who are the three or four pgs who could replace stocktons offense AND defense?
@@Neo5GT If you're going for individual seasons, there were years when Price, Kevin Johnson, or Hardaway were better - that's all I'm saying. For comparison, there was a year from 1980-1989 where any PG was better than Johnson. Isiah might've had a better finals
Michael cooper is very slept on. Had defense and could shoot the 3. Would lock your best player down from the 1-4
Exactly... and he kinda played in the wrong era tbh. Nowadays, if you're not looking for a Superstar Free Agent, then a 3 and D type of player is exactly what you want. Cooper would get HUGE contracts in todays game
@@jonnyarnett FACT'S. keep up the good work!!!
Bird mentioned Cooper was the best defender he’d ever encountered.
@@jonnyarnett i didn't know that there was "wrong era" 😂
Only Dr.J could really get around Coop
I feel like Joe Dumars is also solidly underrated
Most definitely, key part of those Bad Boys Pistons.
Excited for any Jonny video: here’s to hoping Sam Jones is on the list
He was in my original 35, and honestly, I may put him in my 10 next week. lol. Really tough to narrow the list down
I always thought he was overated imo
Sam was the shooter on those early Boston teams. I think he has about 8 rings
@@kidtristan4073 🤨
@@robertprice5343 10... 10 rings
Ben Wallace is so slept on even though he retired not that long ago. One of the greatest, if not the greatest defender of all time. Without him Pistons wouldnt be even close to winning a championship and being superior on the east.
Hard to be underrated when the league voted you as DPOY 4 straight years. Duncan should have won one of those years, as I think he or Pippen is the greatest defender to not ever win a DPOY. The dude was absolute sh!t on offense, so it's hard to put him too high on any list. Also, the pistons still had a title contending team after he left. One of the greatest defenders of all time though, no doubt about it
Slept on by who?
If there's a Piston who's slept on, it's Joe Dumars
Ben’s a 4 time DPOTY, a hall of famer, and is consistently mentioned as an time great. I’m not sure she’s slept on at all. In my opinion, he’s closer to being overrated than underrated. If you’re looking for underrated Pistons, it’s Dumars.
He's not slept on. If anything he's a little overrated. He was only good on defense.
Excellent list. Dantley and Moncrief were huge. I would add Mitch Richmond who’s career would be remembered very differently if he was never traded from Golden State to Sacramento
Two very good picks.
Pretty sure Mitch forced that trade fwiw. I went to U of Arkansas and I hear you on Moncrief. Little known fact: Moncrief finished ahead of either Bird or Magic (can't remember which) for Player of the Year voting on college.
I would throw Tim Hardaway's name out there. Great PG with killer crossover. I like the list but wouldn't say Moses was underrated. He's the 6th greatest center of all time in most people's books ( behind Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Shaq and Hakeem) + is top 15-20 player of all time. Same goes for Elgin. 5th greatest SF of all time
( behind LeBron, Bird, Durant, Dr.J) and top 20 player of all time.
Those two aren't underrated for sure.
@@markomeker7789Moses Malone is very underrated. He is without doubt a 20 player of all time. But no one talks about him
This is a very respectable list. If a player on your list isn't on here, it's only because there's so many underrated players in nba history
I would put Alonzo Mourning on the list. Most of the time people over look him as one of the great centers of the 1990's. He was a 7 time all star and 2 time defensive player of the year. He doesn't rank high on all time stats lists because injuries and illness cut his prime years shorter than his peers, but in the mid 90's he was very much in the same ballpark as Hakeem, Shaq, Ewing, Robinson, etc. In that golden age of Centers, Mourning was a 20 point 10 rebounds threat on offense and the only center that was better on defense was Dikembe Mutombo, who couldn't score like Zo. In general, people forget how good those mid to late 90's Heat teams.
Agreed. I kinda makes him Phillip Rivers like tho
Growing up as a Knicks fan, he was clearly better than Ewing in the late 90s. The 2000 Knicks despite being an 8 seed were a much more complete teams than the #1 seeded Heat. It was clear the Heat had the 2 best players in the series but the combo of Houston, Sprewell, Ewing, Camby, and Rice was very, very tough.
His highschool was a mile from my house. Knew him when he was scrawny. Right before he went to Gtown. Indian river highschool
Man Zo wouldn't back down from anything and like Motumbo would go to contest anything in the paint no matter how many times got dunked on
Moses Malone gotta be the most under rated ever. This man was a legit superstar and a top 25 player ever and no one talks about him. I wish I was around to see him play.
And people today say Moses Malone was a bad defender SMFH
@@liamm6208 he was decent not a liabity either. His peak was also great compare to other hof centers and took the rockets to the finals how horrible they were and one of the reasons why Philly beat the Lakers in 1983
I rank Moses as #12 all time.
Jordan
Jabbar
James
Russell
Bird
Johnson
Chamberlain
Duncan
West
Robertson
Olajuwan
Moses
Shaq
Moses brought fear to his opponents. He was relentless to the offensive glass. His quickness,strength capped by work ethic. Malone could shoot, defensively underrated as well.
@@teofemo7000 ya. I remember someone saying he was a blackhole on offense lmao
Dominique Wilkins. He was overshadowed by Jordan during his prime years. The fact that he played on small market teams didn't help. He was roughly equal to Kevin Durant. Had he played for the Knicks or Lakers, he'd be considered a legend.
He's considered a legend now, but I get what you are saying
"Roughly equal to Kevin Durant" how?
@@BlueGrovyle I think he means as far as a dominant and unstoppable scorer goes. Their play styles are definitely kinda different. Durant doesn't have the finishing ability Wilkins did, but he is a better shooter
Nate Thurmond is even more underrated than Malone. Guys like us always remind people how great Moses was. But everyone forgets Thurmond altogether because he's not Russel or Wilt.
Fr. Kareem also said he was strongest and gave him problems
Similar to Wes Unseld
Nate had a quadruple double as well.
Good one. defensive center in the Russell to Mutumbo lineage
Love your list. Three players come to mind. Elvin Hayes,Dennis Johnson and Walt Frazier. I think the 70’s don’t get recognized enough for all the greatness of the era. Frazier was a two time champion and Hayes was the best power forward of his time. With exception of Tim Duncan, Elvin is Definitely top 5 at the position. Shout out to Bobby Dandridge. Another very underrated player who just made the Hall of Fame.
Great points
@Fries wilt played in part of the 70s...so did Kareem...oscar...dr j....havlicek...r Barry....jerry west.....baylor briefly...
@Fries true....i think you will agree though that Alot of great players were on NBA rosters in the 70s especially after the merger...
A couple of clowns on the internet born in the 1990s said the 70s was a weak era so everyone believes it now ...which of course is not true....look how many of the top 75 guys all time played in all or part of the 70s...
Not to mention alot of other studds from the era some mentioned here today were present
@Fries good points...i went to several live NBA games in the entire ten year period and it was always a good crowd sometimes sellouts in buffalo and anywhere I went...the NBA and NHL had huge followings in certain parts of the country...they went from 14 teams to 17 in 1970 then the jazz joined then the 4 a b a teams came aboard...22 teams by 1980....when people say magic and bird saved the NBA its another fallacy hyped by the internet...they certainly renewed interest but the NBA still had a huge following before they arrived just as the NHL did
Great points
It's a wonder to me how opponents got any rebounds at all against Moses & Barkley during the short time that they played together. Dantley & Karl having more seasons as a duo is also a big "what if" scenario.
I'd go w/ Alvin Robertson since he wasn't even included in the '84 draft documentary. Mainly due to him being falsely accused of a serious crime at the time of its release. He's one of only four players in league history to officially record a quadruple-double, and the only one to do so w/ steals as a category. He also holds the record for most steals in a season & highest career spg. A 3x steals champ, 6x All-Defense, 4x All-Star, 1x All-NBA, & 1x DPOY. The race for the steals title was fierce back then against fellow '84 draftees MJ & Stockton.
Great list. I’d like to mention Andrew Toney
Yes, the Boston Strangler.
Fantastic video! Another person that's respectively underrated is John Havlicek. I agree with everyone on your list!
You sure so right...havlicek was a complete player...a stud
when you said Dantley was an underrated scorer you really meant it, he averaged 30 ppg four seasons straight, let that sink in, everyone going nuts that curry averaged 30 ppg this season yet Dantley did it 4 seasons straight and this was the first time I have heard of him. I honestly cant wrap my head around how he did all that and isnt talked about nearly as much
Well times have changed drastically. And I'm willing to bet had KD not joined the Warriors in 2016 curry might've done the same thing. Also the defenses that curry goes against are insane. He has 3 guys on him at all times. But it's hard to compare different generations. But that is really impressive to say the least
@@heyyy6068 Thanks for being fair, and not comparing era's
I seriously hate when people over exaggerate or discredit specific era's
Way too many factors to take into consideration. Technology, Medical Science, Money and the league was totally different.
I mean even little things, I actually own a Pair or Chuck Taylors and a pair of Jordan 11's
Chuck Taylors will destroy your ankles, they're nothing but cloth no arch support they're like socks with rubber soles.
Wrap your head around this: There is no way Dantley is 6'5". I know this because he sat behind me at a Rockets-Jazz game in January 1986. He was injured and DNP, but midway through the 4th quarter of a poorly attended game he and an NBA-quality lady took their seats one row back and 3-4 seats to my right. My season seats were on the floor, six rows behind the basket, and he caught my eye when walking up to our section. My buddy and I looked at each other and agreed this was clearly the low-post genius himself. But as he drew closer, his lack of height became obvious. I'd seen him play on the tube, and thought he was undersized for an NBA forward. When the game was over, I made it a point to get as close as possible to him and had my buddy lay back to check my 5'10" height against Dantley's. His observation, combined with my estimation the top of my head was above shoulders led me to conclude he was NOT his listed height, but closer to two inches less. If anything, this makes his accomplishments that much more amazing.
Dennis Johnson. I know he wasn't the "star" on the Celtics team but he had to guard the stars in Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson to win the championships. He just did what was need with no fan fare. Great career at Seattle and Suns prior to his green glory also.
As a Celtics fan living in Phoenix az I can tell you DJ was legit
Excellent one. DJs basketball intuition was second to none
Great List...and a long one to choose from, Earl Monroe, Bernard King, Alvin Robertson, the list goes on forever, but it's interesting to look back on forgotten players who had a big impact.
Alvin Robertson is a really good one. I feel like the other 2 get some love for their NY exploits but Robertson gets pretty much none
Mark was the baby face assassin...
I feel like Alvin Robinson is one of the most underrated players in nba history. He had the only quadruple double with steals, he’s the shortest player to get a quadruple double, he won a dpoy as a guard, wan an mip, was an Allstar, made an all nba team, averages the most steal per game ever, etc, and yet no one talks abt him.
good call, he was great.
Great Vid! Some great players that could have made this list are Mitch Richmond, Alex English, Elvin Hayes, Dave Cowens, Bob Lanier, and Artis Gilmore
I was gonna mention alex English as well, i like the other names you’ve put here. Would also add J Kidd, Havlecik, R. Barry, and a bunch of ABA guys who don’t get enough credit
@@Jackson33miller those are also great names. There are so many great ABA players that get lost in history
@@henrypope4225 yup it’s crazy the amount of talent the league has had over the course of its history…the amount of talent right now has never been higher, gonna be a lot of people from this era who will become underrated with the passage of time (i.e. Aldridge, Griffin, Gasol brothers, John Wall, Paul George, etc.)
Dave Cowens and Alex English are so underrated
I agree with all but Mitch Richmond. Great scorer, but I actually think he is overrated. I have never thought he should be in the Hall, as Barkley said it is the HOF, not the Hall of the really good. He didn't do any winning, and the greatest ones do. He was on a team with Chris Mullins and Tim Hardaway, and still couldn't do anything in the playoffs. If he was that great, he would have won more with that team
Wow Jonny, I like this video. Very good choices for your underrated players list. There's a lot of underrated and under appreciated players of all time that it can be hard to choose. I like the players you mentioned and know most of their histories. However, the one player that sticks to me the most that can also be in the conversation for underrated is Joe Dumars. Dumars was 1989 finals MVP and 1990 finals had a good performance that was forgotten that his father passed away during his finals run. Dumars was an All NBA Second team, Third team, and 4 time All Defensive team. Also, Joe Dumars has a sportsmanship award named after him. Fun fact: Dumars was highly considered to be picked for the 1992 Dream Team but was not chosen probably because it would have even caused a huge uproar that Isiah Thomas would have been snubbed by his own Pistons teammate for the Olympics. I don't know if you would agree but for the longest time as a fan, I feel that Joe Dumars got backlash because of his time playing with the bad boys and everyone thought he was a dirty player like his teammates were which was not the case. Anyways, I love the video. Keep it 💯 bro!
Great list!
I'd have included Hakeem Olajuwon who was snubbed from the top 10 lists of multiple sports networks when in reality he was more like a top 5 all time.
Olajuwon is the greatest center and greatest defender the game has ever seen. He's regularly looked past as his stats and accolades such as championships, MVP and DPOY awards aren't as crazy as some and also because he was not nearly as marketable as Shaq, Wilt, Kareem or Bill.
Although his peak was insane during the back to back championship run he was just a freak competitor from the get go leading his Rockets to the finals in only his 2nd season knocking out the showtime Lakers to get there.
Had MJ not retired the Bulls may have made the finals only to lose to the team they struggled with the most, the Rockets.
I truly believe he was the greatest center of all time.
His dominance was wasn't even logical and his numbers were abnormal.
@@Earl_TheSquirrel wilt chamberlain,shaq,kareem and bill laughing in the corner
@@andrewgilmet5105 Hakeem clears.
@@andrewgilmet5105 no they wouldn't. The fuck you talking about. Even Shaq, himself, gives praise to Hakeem and admits he was the better player.
Trying to say he's overlooked because he wasn't marketable like Bill Russell is a hoot.
That being said, you have named the 5 centers who, in my opinion, have a legitimate claim to being the greatest centers who ever played - Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Shaq, and Hakeem.
I love the entire list but especially Sidney Moncrief. If I played basketball, I’d want to play defense like Moncrief.
He was much better at defense than Jordan. Jordan had skills, but gamble way too much. That helps the stat line and made opponents look bad,, but is less effective than just in your face man defense. Moncrief was a monster in that regard.
Can’t believe you remembered the legend that is Dolph Schayes. Thank you.
That's right in the vault, together with Arizin.
Cousy is way less underrated than them luckily.
Username checks out. 😆
Happy birthday Baylor:) glad you brought so much to this game and is one of the greatest players of all time, thank you sir.
The man with 1000 move's. That was his nickname😁
West and Baylor did all around crazy stuff on the court
Great list, was a very interesting one.
Some of my faves may have just been in the wrong time. Paul Westphal, Walter Davis, Alex English, Dan Issel and Bobby Jones.
I'll call them the "All underrated team"
Excellent list
Westphal & "the greyhound" ABSOLUTELY. Those Denver guys were underrated. Fat Lever was underrated also. That's an excellent All Underrated Team you have
Bobby Jones is my all time 6th man...8 straight all defensive team..
1 of only 4 players ever to manage 2 stl 2 blks. For a season...." the secretary of defense "
Did know that about Dantley. That streak is James Harden-esque. Me not knowing that, for sure some others also don't, proves he's underrated.
You got that backwards Dantley esque.
@@icemike1 AS I SAID, i did not know that about Dantley. So obviously I would reference a fact that I already know. Zzzz
Been a fan for 50+ years and didn't remember the 4 30+ seasons. I do remember him as a great scorer though. I think I underrated him.
Dantley and English are similar
@@dusk6159 i don't think so
Great list I would add Bob Pettit. Probably the third best player of his era behind Wilt and Russell
He was dominating back in the day, sadly he gets overshadowed by the other main things going on.
@Fries yes
Shoutout to you Jonny!🔥🔥🔥 Amazing content, great knowledge, and awesome production! Keep up the work!👍
Truly grateful to have found your channel, I'm a relatively new basketball fan and your videos have helped expand my basketball knowledge and gain more appreciation for the sport. Big up
I would put CLyde Drexler, Alonzo Mourning, and Tim Hardaway on the underrated list.
Willis Reed? Pardon the ignorance, but when looking up awards and accolades, Willis Reed ridiculously sticks out and is never talked about.
2 Rings, 2 Finals MVPs, Regular Season MVP, 7x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive Team, Rookie of the Year, and an All-Star MVP. I think he only played in 8 full seasons as well. The other 2 seasons were 19 games and 11 games, respectively.
It's before my time, but I heard he slowed Wilt Chamberlain down a lot too. Not sure if that is true or not.
I really love your list. I also love that you remembered Mark Price. Those Cleveland teams were stacked! I'm curious if Bobby Jones was on your list of 35? A very selfless player and great defender.
Really good list. Although many of these players are remembered fondly it’s great to see them as headline billing for once. I do think Chris Webber is appreciated precisely as much as he should and that you say. He is remembered as roughly the forth best PF of that era, exactly as he should be.
i always have very high respect & admiration for the content you're making Jonny. the underrated series you're making is basically giving the proper respect to those NBA legends who are not widely recognized. kodus!
Brilliant video! A lot of the players from the 50s, 60s and 70s are looked down upon or are totally forgotten when legacy is discussed in the NBA. It is the reason I have Wilt on my mount Rushmore in equal footing with Karim, Michael and Lebron. The competition was always steep and to have the achievements some of them had is a testament to their ability.
Laimbeer is underrated because he's only known for his toughness. 4-time all star, lead the league in boards, was one of the few great shooting big men pre Dirk
Laimbeer was a center hitting 3s back in the day... Good passer and good rebounder... Only casual fans say he's only a dirty player
He and Isiah were underrated due to the extreme hate that some “fans” had for them as the leaders of the Pistons/Bad Boys. To hear them tell it, all they did is injure and maim their opponents and had no real talent to speak of. So intense is this hatred that they defend Karl Malone’s infamous brutal hard foul on Isiah as being just another physical play.
@@cycleoflife565 To be fair, they just say that it's comeuppance and the stuff of what the Pistons did, not justifying.
Just like Robert Parish's retaliation.
Laimbeer was stretching it from the five back in the day though, he only lacked the more consistent three that Ilgauskas had to be, with Isiah, a full pick and roll-chemistry menace duo like Lebron and Big Z.
Joe Dumars is also underrated. Isiah gets all the credit for those rings but it was clearly a big 3.
@Arizona Fire Ent They love to hate on Laimbeer people are Stupid!
You don’t ever miss on your takes Jonny 💯💯💯 been subscribed for awhile!
Alex English is underrated. He was the NBA's most leading scorer during the 1980s and retired as the seventh-leading scorer with 25,613 points. So smooth and a deadly shooter.
Always with the great content jonny , keep it up ❤️
So much history happened in the 62 season
One of the most underrated players ever was MARQUES JOHNSON, SF, - : 5-time All-Star and 3-time ALL-NBA (Made 1st team once and 2nd team twice). During the late 1970's to early 1980's, Johnson was considered one of top forwards in the game along with Bird and Dr.J. Averaged 20ppg and 7 rpg during his career. Also had a fantastic college career at UCLA. Should be in the HOF. Here are some other underrated players:
KEVIN JOHNSON, PG - 17.9 ppg and 9.1 apg. Made 3 All-Star games and 5 All-NBA teams. Certainly good enough for HOF but is not getting in for various scandals.
WALT BELLAMY, C - 20.1ppg, 13.7 rpg. 4-time All-Star. He is in the HOF but most fans today have no idea who he was.
OTIS BIRDSONG, SG - 4-time All-Star. Injuries hampered his career quite a bit.
GUS WILLIAMS, PG - Had 4 seasons of 20 ppg or more. Made 2 All-Star teams and 2 All-NBA teams.
TOM CHAMBERS, PF - 4 time All-Star, 2 time All-NBA. Had 5 seasons of 20ppg or more.
SHAWN KEMP. Everyone knows what a great dunker he was. But he was one of the best forwards in the game during his prime. Made 6 - All-Star teams and 3 - All-NBA teams (the other forwards to make those teams during that time were Pippen, Barkley and Karl Malone).Was also a better than average defender.
JEFF MALONE, SG - 6 times averaged 20ppg or more.
MARK AGUIRRE, SF - In his prime (8 years with Dallas), he averaged 24.6 ppg. Made 3 All-Star teams. Won two titles with the Pistons in his early 30's.
WALTER DAVIS, SG. 6 - time All-Star. 2 time All-NBA team. Averaged 20ppg or more 6 times. One of the best jump shooters of all time. Shot 51% for his career.
SHAWN MARION, SF-PF. 4-time All-Star and 2 time All-NBA. just an excellent all-around player. Don't forget his defense on LeBron in the 2011 Finals.
LARRY NANCE, PF. 3 time All-Star. 3 time All Defensive team.
MARK PRICE, PG. 4 time All-Star, 4 time All-NBA. He should be in the HOF. One of the best point guards of his time. There are so many other overlooked players that had really good careers. Too many to list here.
Finally I see a Walter Davis sighting.
I'm proud to say that I knew all the players in this video, and most of them, pretty well. And part of my NBA past knowledge is because of Jonny Arnett. (I'm 23 for age context) So I very much enjoy my knowledge of the 60s and 70s and 80s. It's awesome because I can have a conversation with a kid born in 2010, or my grandpa 😂
I feel like Dave Cowens and Willis Reed are underrated. Their career were short, but they dominated when they were healthy.
Dave and Reed and also Bobby Jones, Thurmond, Unseld, Cousy.
Yes
@@dusk6159 amen
I just wrote up Cowens as my pick. As a 6'9" center with excellent skills, he excelled against more athletically gifted and physically taller centers. His no quit attitude put him on the next level. The kind of player who changed a team dynamic all by himself.
Make a “Top 6th Man of All Time” list
Hondo and Bobby Jones on fire.
Andrew Toney Boston Strangler.
That's a great list. Can always count on Johnny to give a well thought out and researched list. (I agree with another comment that McHale probably belongs on this list.)
As always Jonny... another great video! This channel should have a million subscribers. Is James Worthy really underrated though? I might've had Bernard King on my list. Couldn't agree more on Elgin Baylor. What a monster he was! In today's game, he'd be the most hyped player in history.
Moses, Sidney, and McAdoo never get talked bout. Thank you fo putting them in your top 10 most underrated
Yes...and calvin Murphy and Adrian dantley
If the refs never screwed the kings, Jordan’s Bulls would be the only team to ever 3peat in the modern era.
No doubt. The Lakers got very lucky beating the blazers as well, as they had the Lakers beat, and then Rasheed choked the game away...as he has also admitted to
Lakers are the greatest franchise of all time. Watch your mouth.
@@mrmacho41 hahahaha...triggered much? He's just saying what everyone already knows. And I would say it's very close between them and the celtics, not a given. Who has the most victories head to head in the finals? Enough said. Also, no team in league history has been helped by the league more than the lakers, outside of them not letting CP3 go there. They also have a history of having some of the best players flock to them, because of their location, and the the market they are in. But no need in getting but sore over it
@@mrmacho41 but be honest tho
@@mrmacho41 and one of the more lucky ones when it comes to refs
Cool list, but the two people who always make my all Underrated team is Nate Thurmond and Chauncey Billups.
Rudy Gay To Me Is Underrated Especially In His Prime
And another person I think who also underrated is TJ Warren
Great video, learning more about these legends is rewarding.
Thank you for this. There are so many talented and overlooked NBA players. Most of the discussions about NBA history are centered around 5 or 6 guys lol.
You could arguably put Kevin Johnson on this list because he averaged 20-10 for almost 10 seasons.
Marques Johnson..mark Aguirre's Bernard king...dan issel
Another banger 🙏
I do hope that underrated scores like mark Aguirre bernard king and alex English make the list
About Mark Aguirre, Michael Finley is a huge scorer and assassin, even star and maker of a Big 3 and duo. But got naturally overshadowed.
He was a Playoffs beast in the early 2000s.
Jerry Stackhouse, Dan Issel, Gervin kind of (more than Pistol Pete).
Beautifully made list. I believe I even saw Fat Lever in the intro! Well done, sir
John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Bob Petit, Walt Frazier, Dave Debusschere and Willis Reed are more underrated than most of these guys.
Facts these youngsters don't know how good they were
Not Hondo or even Reed and Walt.
Cowens (Bobby Jones too), Pettit and Debusschere for sure.
Rick Barry and (in a lesser type of career and player) Eaton are for sure underrated, I bet not even in the list they were mentioned.
being chosen for the NBA top 50 in 1996 (as all these guys were) actually means they are not underrated, doesn't it?
@@ericeiserloh8170 It's a theme of public opinion too (and knowledge/awareness first of all of course), one can't help it snd there's not even one to blame or anything of course.
are you gonna make a goat series vid for hakeem olajuwon jonny?
Elgin Baylor averaged 38/19/5 in 1961-1962 playing only on weekend games while serving in the ARMY and barely training with the team. This man was a walking bucket and a all time great on the boards. Truly a Laker legend and he really deserved his ring for whathe has done for the team
Career 43% shooter
43% shooter plus he’s statistically the biggest loser in nba history. Dude had the opportunity to win the finals 10 times and couldn’t even get one win
@@billmorrison9068 Bill Russell was a seven footer who shot under 43% for his career. He was an offensive liability. He only won all those rings because that Celtics team was stacked and there were also only 8 to 10 teams in that era. Unfair comparison.
That’s a great list. I really appreciate the love for Elgin Baylor as you mentioned, he is vastly overlooked and forgotten about and I don’t know how. He’s in my top 15 all time.
I lived in Chapel Hill when James Worthy was at UNC and saw him play many times. He was silky smooth and quick for a player of his size and strength.
Excellent list !!! I do think Bernard (who?) King deserves to be on the list. At his peak, he was ferocious!
Before I watch the video, how is it NOT Moses freaking Malone?
Exactly what I was thinking 😄👌
To me he is number 1
People have been saying he’s underrated for years. He’s one of the go to options for underrated players. But with everyone recognizing how good he was he became less underrated.
Moses is definitely not one of the main ones.
Great list. Love to see Sidney get some love. Some of those had insane percentages in a league where defense was taken seriously. Very impressive.
I'm at the Chicago-Charlotte game in 98 in your into. Playoff game. My dad bought 2 tickets nose bleed. Saw 2 of his co workers sitting behind the Bulls bench. start of the 2nd half my brother an I (I'm 6 years old, my brother is 9) are able to sit behind the Chicago bench, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Tony Kukoc, luc longley, phil jackson. Not sure we spoke much but our dad gave us the camera to take pictures while he kept the binoculars. Incredible experience, very impactful for my life. MJ is the Goat
For me one of the most underrated players ever is Sam Jones from the 60s Celtics. A member of ten championship teams and for a good portion of them he was either the leading scorer in the finals for his team or one of the top. When discussing great players people instantly jump to Oscar, Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Magic, etc but I never hear anyone bring up Jones. It’s a real shame.
Russell gets too much credit for those teams. Bet your average fan can't name one other player from the 60s Celtics.
@@nicholasschroeder3678Off the top of my head, here are the other guys I can name who were on the Russell squads.
Sam Jones
John Havlicek
Bob Cousy
K.C. Jones
Tom Heinsohn
Bill Sharman
Satch Sanders
Don Nelson
Bailey Howell
Wayne Embry
Jim Barnes
@@romanramirez7847 But you're not an average fan. Cousy and Sharman are big names, but their careers were winding down as Russell's rose. Heinson was a great player, but lesser known. The players I know of are Havlicek and the two Joneses. I've kind of revised my opinion of Russell: along with Jordan, to my mind, the two greatest ever, ahead of Chamberlain, Jabbar, and others, because along with their court skills they had superior leadership skills which made their teams win. That said, Russell had everything going for him: a great organization, coach, and many great supporting players throughout his career. That shouldn't be held against him--he made the most of it--but I still think he gets a bit two much credit for all the rings. If you look at greats like Jordan, Jabbar, and Chamberlain, they won championships only when they had the right supporting cast and coaching. Russell had all the elements in place from start to finish.
Alvin roberston is also an underrated great as he was one of the besr perimeter defenders in the 80s and he won the dpoy award in 87' i think. He also has a quad-double
Great research, awesome summation. Hard to argue your list. Harder still to believe Worthy & Malone made this list, I would of substituted Alex English & Gary Payton, for them. But that said, you're the best. Truly love & appreciate your work...still hard for me to understand how any truly knowledgeable NBA fan can overlook Malone & Wothy's career resumes. Thanks again.
BRO!!!!! JONNY!!!! How could you not add Mitch Richmond to that list. Dude was one of the more dominant players of the 90s that no one talks about anymore. Dominique Wilkins may be the most criminally underrated dude. If MJ hadn't existed, Dominique might have been the most exciting player in the NBA of that era. You've also got Dennis Johnson as well - who led Seattle to a ring in 1979 BEFORE being a part of those Celtics teams of the 80s. Also, I know the drugs did him in, but David "Skywalker" Thompson should be remembered more. The guy was amazing in the 70s. Bernard King is another guy - especially coming back from the horrible injury to once again become an elite players, very inspirational. Since you mentioned Mark Price, who was one of my favorite PGs of the 90s, here's another underrated one: Tim Hardaway. Also one of the most underrated PG's was Fat Lever. Another one of my underrated guys would be Glen Rice who constantly averaged over 20 a game for most of his career and shot 40% from the three for his career. I can keep going too. Don't forget Chris Webber's running mate Peja Stojakovic as well. Another guy would be Lou Hudson - go look at his stats in his prime, it's a wonder that you probably never even heard of him. Marques Johnson also just may have been the first point forward and he also coined that phrase and averaged 21pts a game for his career. Alex English, Chris Mullin, Artis Gilmore, Elvin Hayes, Hal Greer, Bob Pettit, World B. Free, Mark Aguirre, Kevin Johnson, Joe Dumars, Chauncey Billups, Sam Jones, Antawn Jamison,....all those guys are not talked about and remembered as fondly as they should be.
another underrated legend is nate "tiny" archibald
Petition for another follow up video titled
"10 More Underrated NBA players
In NBA History".
^^^^
Great list. I agree with all of the selections. If there is an active player to be considered I would include Andre Iguodala... we often forget his 76ers awesome years!
Loving this one thanks for sharing very information blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
he didn't have great stats, but when i was growing up, my favorite guy to watch was Robert Pack. super explosive energy guy that dunked all over dudes but was only 6ft 2in.
Man, that guy was fun. Haven’t heard anyone bring him up in a while. He was a really nice spark in that 94 upset over the 1st seeded Sonics. Such an iconic series
@@jonnyarnett glad you appreciated the Pack-Man too!
I'm glad James was Worthy enough to make this list I honestly didn't know he was that big 6'9 Wow
Hes 6'10
Im a Celtics fan who hates the lakers but big game James was legit... Met him in 94 and he was friendly... Definitely a legend
@@arizonaFIREent thats so cool only Legend I ever met was Walt Clyde Frazier
Kareem's championship teams were distinguished by revolutionary, power forward-sized point guards (Oscar Robertson; Magic Johnson) and behind-the-scenes snipers at small forward. James Worthy got love here but Bob Dandrige and Jamaal Wilkes deserve the same. They are very underrated. Both in the Hall of Fame but still...
The funny thing is more people know about Brian Scalabrine than most people in the video
Great video, heck of a fine list!
I LOVE this list! McAdoo, Cooper, Malone, Moncrief, and Dantley are severely underrated. I would replace Webber with Alex English, Dolph Schayes with Artis Gilmore, and Mark Price with Calvin Murphy. Then there’s World B Free, Tiny Archibald, Bernard King, Connie Hawkins. So many get lost in the shuffle.
Webber is probably one of the Top 5 most underrated players ever
He was All-NBA 1st team over Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Rasheed Wallace, etc.
He led Sacramento to the #1 seed over those guys as well
@@munir9527 Agree to disagree, respectfully. He never did much for me. But I'm an old head and I think it's only natural that we make these arguments from the vantage point of our own square.
Great list
Look at the stats, highlights and how he dominated Kareem (or Alcindor) in college - Elvin Hayes is on the Mt Rushmore of power forwards.
Other underrated greats:
Joe Dumars
Jack Sikma
Nate Thurmond
Dave Debuschere
Ron Harper
Wes Unseld
Dennis Johnson
Alvin Robertson
Bob Lanier
Funnily enough, Hayes was one of the obnoxious guys like Kyrie and Rick Barry lol
Him and Unseld are underrated though.
@@dusk6159 yes
Bib lanier was a beast
I was thinking Cooper when I started watching thank you love the content and Moses Wilt the stilt for life
Great list. Love it that you've Moncrief, I loved him even when he was in college. I've would suggest Bob Lanier as being underrated. He was awesome.
That Lakers team was absolutely loaded...and probably the greatest team of all time. Got two players on this list. Shows you how great Bird and McHale were to be able to beat them.
Robert Parrish, Bill Walton, Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge also had a lot to do with that! And Cornbread. Man I loved that rivalry.
Dame oddly enough feels like the Clyde Drexler of PG’s
Such A good video. Thank you for making these.
Your content is amazing. You always try to be concise and fair with your assessments of differing nba players. I love learning about basketball's history of players.
Nice video as always. By the way, what's your opinion about Prime Andrei Kirilenko?
Kirilenko was a nice player, but should be nowhere near this list. He stayed hurt too much
@@PhoenixAscending Prime Kirilenko* (2003-2007) was one of the most complete players ever, he could do literally everyrhing
I consider tmac underrated. If you think about it, you never here him mentioned on any list but in his prime, I haven't seen too many thst were as gifted as a scorer as him.
He played like a 6-8 Allen Iverson IMO!
And Kobe has stated that TMac was his toughest opponent.
@@cycleoflife565 Did you hear the story of Kobe playing tmac 1v1 at the Olympics. Kobe said tmac was talking crap to everyone that he was better than Kobe so they played 1on1.
Kobe said tmac was by far more athletically/physically gifted than he was at bball but Kobe wanted it more.
Said he beat tmac going to 11 by 1's, beat him 11-1. Second game tmac said he was having trouble with his back or something.
That story proved to me that Kobe Bryant had the Michael Jordan "it" factor that Phil Jackson was talking about.
Phil said like Michael, Kobe had "it"
But Michael had "it" times 10
@@MJIZZEL Nope. Never heard that story. Thanks for sharing.👍🏿
Thanks for showing Coop some love!