The Five Most Overrated NBA Legends of All Time
Throughout NBA history, there have been a huge number of basketball legends that have come and gone into the league which we have loved. Their personalities, memorable shots, and the fun they bring to the game are what makes us love them. However, there have also been many players that we associate greatness only with their personalities without looking at other necessary information. Today, I am going to describing MY OPINION on who the five most overrated players are.
5. Dominique Wilkins
Championships: 0
MVPs: 0
All-Star Selections: 9
All-NBA Selections: 7 (1 All-NBA First Team Selections)
Dominique Wilkins is known as one of the greatest dunkers of all-time. Nicknamed the “The Human Highlight Reel”, he produced many memorable dunks in his career. However, when it came to winning or producing great numbers, it wasn’t really there. Yet some enthusiasts place him as a top thirty NBA player of all-time above legends who have way better accomplishments than him. Wilkins was also known as a very high-usage but inefficient player and this would lead him to choke in the clutch and being a selfish teammate at times. I would say that Wilkins was more of a flashy player primarily than a leader or alpha dog on a championship-contending team. Unlike others on this list, Wilkins is one who can be argued one way or the other but I choose to put him as overrated.
4. Paul Pierce
Championships: 1
MVPs: 0
All-Star Selections: 10
All-NBA Selections: 4 (0 All-NBA First Team Selections)
Paul Pierce is one of those players who people think was ‘killer’ in the clutch but in reality, he wasn’t that great. Even if we look at his accomplishments, they really aren’t good. He is a one-time finals MVP and has made the All-NBA team a grand total of FOUR times. In addition, he has never even made the All-NBA First Team, showing how the basketball experts did not believe that he was a top-five NBA player in any year during his playing career. Yet, many people still rank him so high on their all-time small forwards even though his accomplishments show that he is not there. While some people say that you cannot only look at accomplishments to rate a player, I think they should still be the primary way to rating a player. The fact of the matter is that if you were an amazing NBA player, accolades should come automatically which Paul Pierce did not get.
3. Tracy McGrady
Championships: 0
MVPs: 0
All-Star Selections: 7
All-NBA Selections: 7 (2 All-NBA First Team Selections)
Tracy McGrady is a lot of peoples’ favorite player of all-time and I mean A LOT of people have him as their favorite player of all time. His explosiveness and all-around entertaining playing style are what drew a lot of people to idolize him. However, when it came to winning or really gaining accolades, T-Mac did not really fulfill neither of these. For starters, Tracy McGrady has never made it past the first round of the NBA playoffs as the leader of his team. This includes his time in Houston, Orlando, and Toronto. A lot of people argue that T-Mac has always had not-so-great supporting casts, but this is just an excuse. The truth is that if you think you are a great NBA player, you should be able to lead a team to wins no matter how terrible your teammates are which is what T-Mac wasn’t able to do. I think Tracy McGrady was a great player but you cannot properly compare him to the all-time greats in terms of who was the better player.
2. Wilt Chamberlain
Championships: 2
MVPs: 4
All-Star Selections: 13
All-NBA Selections: 10 (7 All-NBA First Team Selections)
When looking at Wilt Chamberlain’s accomplishments most people call him overrated only due to his ridiculous stats and how he could never match them in today’s game. I do not believe in this argument because his stats were still insane in the NBA back in the ’60s. However, I think Wilt is overrated when people call him a winner. The fact is that Wilt only won two championships and while that may be an adequate amount to some, I think that it isn’t. If Wilt was the best player in his generation, better than Russell, Robertson, etc. than he surely would’ve won more. Even some current-day stars have more rings than him such as LeBron or Curry and they are playing in a much more difficult league due to there being more teams currently. Wilt was also known as a selfish teammate who would get mad at his teammates if they didn’t pass the ball or get him an assist, which certainly does not help his case.
- Kobe Bryant
Championships: 5
MVPs: 1
All-Star Selections: 18
All-NBA Selections: 15 (11 All-NBA First Team Selections)
For those of you who have already read about overrated players, you knew that Kobe was going to be number one. Obviously, Kobe is a fan favorite around the world but the fact is that he is soooo overrated. Without Shaq, Kobe would’ve just been another superstar that struggled to win championships (cough KD). Yet, I always see online rankings where Kobe is ranked higher than Shaq and even LeBron. No, Kobe isn’t even a top ten player of all time! His MVP season wasn’t even that impressive and I believe it should have gone to Chris Paul but because of the huge market in Los Angeles, Kobe won the MVP. Everyone always says Kobe is the definition of ‘clutch’ but in what way. Kobe has a disgusting 31.3% (36/115 FG) in the final 24 seconds of a game when given the opportunity to take the lead. I’m sorry Kobe fans but you cannot tell me that a player who has these numbers is a top-three player of all time.
