The 12 Players Who Deserve More Respect in the NBA Today

Feb 17, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Team Giannis forward Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder (13) reacts during the 2019 NBA All-Star Game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

We almost left Smart off because his intangibles are whispered among the Boston faithful with the same reverence as Larry Bird Budweiser anecdotes and Kevin McHale’s up-and-under move. Smart’s so lionized for what he brings to the team outside of a box score, that to call him unappreciated would be borderline dishonest. After a while, Shamrock-clad fans spoiled by their NFL team tweet so much about what he does for the team, he’s no longer unappreciated.

But Smart has improved the one area of his game that pigeonholed him since he came out of Oklahoma State as a less-than-desirable prospect in this new age of the NBA: his shooting. If you can’t hit a jumper, particularly one behind the 3-point arc, you’re dead in the water in today’s game. This goes double for perimeter players like Smart. Except, after never shooting better than 33.5 percent in his first four seasons—including sub-30 percent postings in 2016 and 2017, Smart is right around league average, 35.9 percent, on a solid 4.4 3-point attempts per game. While Boston has struggled to defend at times this year, he’s also No. 1 in defensive real plus-minus (DRPM) among point guards.

“Who?” That was the answer when I brought up Morris (pictured above) to an NBA diehard, and I wasn’t surprised. We had to put both Nuggets in this spot because they’ve been the most low-key No. 1 seed in the top Conference for way longer than most fans realize—only falling back to No. 2 after Golden State’s DeMarcus Cousins destruction heading into the break. Their lofty record came despite some onerous injuries to Paul Millsap, Will Barton, Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris, which has forced their backup backcourt to step to the fold. Second-year guard Monte Morris, as well as Malik Beasley, have stepped in and relegated Isaiah Thomas—their splashy summer pick-up—basically unplayable so far this season, even if he is now healthy. Both have been that good.

Sure, it helps that both play with the best passing big in NBA history (more on him later), but Morris is shooting above 40 percent from 3-point territory, an elite level. He’s also No. 10 (as of this writing) in offensive real plus-minus (ORPM) for point guards, ahead of scoring all-stars Russell Westbrook, D’Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons. And the man never turns the ball over, with the top assist-to-turnover ratio in the entire Association.

Monte’s teammate, the 22-year-old Florida State alum, Beasley, is only flirting with a 50-40-90 season, and not the Meyers Leonard garbage-time kind. He’s connecting on 50.3 percent from the field, and an incredible 43.3 percent from beyond the arc on 4.8 three attempts per game. He’s only connecting on 88.6 from the charity stripe, so he’s not yet in the 50-40-90 club, but holy hell at 24.1 minutes per game, his efficiency is far from some anomalous segment to the season. The third-year wing is really good, which is why Mike Malone is starting him. The Nuggets are still the second seed in the West and both Morris and Beasley are a big reason why.

We almost didn’t include Toronto’s spin-crazy forward, but Toronto’s championship hopes likely hinge on his ability to knock down a 3-pointer in the corner. That relevance to a legit title contender nudged him past Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie (see our honorable mentions at the end), despite Dinwiddie’s superior given name. Siakam’s every national columnist’s favorite player to gush in an effort to prove how knowledgeable they are about the game; he’s the sexy pick for young up-and-comer. This has no bearing on Pascal’s game, which—like the only other Pascal we know, Blaise Pascal—features a precocity (even if he’s considered ancient, at 24, in a league of one-and-done standouts) and well-roundedness not often found in a third-year rotation player.

But there’s a lot to love, particularly the fact he can capably guard 1-4 and even play small-ball center if he’s going against a Joel Embiid or Al Horford. He’s proved a deft secondary ball handler, which lets Toronto coach Nick Nurse try all sorts of lineups, knowing he can capably initiate the offense. Siakam’s No. 22 in the whole NBA in RPM, and he’s the only one sporting the same number for offensive and defensive plus-minus, a nod to his versatility and multifaceted game. Whether he can knock down open 3-pointers in high-pressure playoff games remains the one thing we haven’t seen him do, but even with everyone’s favorite blogger lauding his attributes, he’s a real talent. His exclusion from the All-Star game proves he’s unappreciated because no one outside of (maybe) Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry is a bigger factor why Toronto sits at the No. 2 seed in the East. He easily earned our Most Improved Player honors before the break. 

He’s underrated and unappreciated. Indiana’s efficient dynamo off the bench should win Six Man of the Year, which is probably why he wasn’t extended an invitation to Charlotte for All-Star. The Pacers, despite being down Victor Oladipo, are the No. 3 seed in the East, which is why we’ve got two of their players on this list. Not even the fans in Indiana seem to know how good they are (the Pacers are around the third most popular basketball team in the state, and that’s being generous).

Sabonis’ steadiness off the bench buttresses their one-game lead over Boston and Philly at the midway point of the season, but really the two-thirds mark, since there are only around 35 games left for most teams. That’s right, the stacked Boston and Philly lineups are a game behind an injury-depleted Pacers team missing their star. Sabonis’ double-doubles might come against a lot of second units, but he’s pretty much automatic in the restricted area, and boasts a myriad of little shuffle maneuvers as a rim roller that make him nearly impossible to stymie. The Pacers and Thunder both won the Paul George trade, but not just because Oladipo became an All-NBA guard.

Another lefty from Indiana, Thad continues to impress as an under-the-radar big who can stretch the floor and defend. Outside of Corey Joseph, he’s got the best on-off net rating on Indiana as of the All-Star break, and he’s been on the floor for over 300 more minutes. He’s also No. 5 in the whole NBA among power forwards in Real Plus-Minus Wins, ahead of Sabonis.

But, unlike Domantas’ elite offensive game, Young doesn’t do anything at a spectacular level. He’s not the defender that Myles Turner has become, and he’s not the scorer and facilitator Sabonis has turned into. He’s an 11-year vet who has averaged over 13 points per 36 minutes in every year of his career. He’s an OK rebounder and has stretched his range out to the arc—where he’s shooting a respectable 35.6 percent from deep, though he needs to take more of them. Young might be boring, but he’s an effective boring, and that’s as unappreciated as it in a league where having a brand is more important than having a brain.

The consensus best defensive big man in the NBA didn’t make the All-Star team, but remains practically a lock for an All-NBA squad. That’s how fans, players, and even coaches treat defense. After everyone’s favorite sleeper pick in the West stumbled out of the gate, the Jazz have since rebounded and Gobert is the biggest reason why. Utah is now sixth in the West and a couple games away from hosting a first-round playoff series. They’re again a top 5 defense, and Gobert remains the fulcrum at the rim. But after getting outplayed by the Rockets’ spread-the-floor attack last spring matched up against P.J. Tucker, Gobert has gotten a lot more confident jumping out at perimeter players, despite his lack of comparative mobility. (Look no further than how Utah bamboozled visiting Golden State in December by having Gobert leave Draymond Green to act as a defensive rover against the Warriors’ four other threats to score.)

Fans, analysts, GMs, and coaches all severely underestimate defense on the whole, so it makes sense Gobert would be unappreciated. That said, the frothing masses staked out at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, are so incredibly insecure about it, it almost negates how unappreciated Gobert is on a national level. The locals are so obsequious about Gobert  (especially their beat writers), it’s hard not to cancel out how overlooked he remains outside of Utah. But Salt Lake City is a drop in the lake compared to how overlooked Gobert remains simply because he’s a defender first and foremost, the least sexy thing in a league that prides itself on its sexiness. 

The Bucks have the league’s top record and a net rating that’s among the best we’ve seen over the last few years. They’re legit, as is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP candidacy. But unlike the other top teams in each conference, Milwaukee’s also got the widest gulf between their first option, Giannis, and their second, third, and fourth options—a fellow All-Star, Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and Eric Bledsoe. While Bledsoe’s disappearing act in last year’s playoff series against the Celtics still remains fresh in our memories, he’s been excellent under the tutelage of coach Mike Budenholzer. (Bud might be the real catalyst for Milwaukee’s charge to the top spot in the East; he’s the rare coach that adds real value.)

The top five point guards in real plus-minus (RPM) are James Harden, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, and then Bledsoe, followed by Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday. That’s rarified company, especially considering he’s been a subpar 3-point shooter this season (32.1 percent). He’s been dishing the ball around, though, and when he snakes past the perimeter defense along the arc, he’s connecting on an incredible 60 percent on 2-pointers. That, along with increased defense effort, which waned so badly against Terry Rozier last spring, and Bledsoe is now serially underappreciated, especially with so many players playing well for Milwaukee.

Contract year Nikola Vucevic might be a thing. And maybe you’re not keen on a big who can’t defend the rim as well as other starting centers, but Vuc has progressed nicely as a center who can stretch the floor and score in a multitude of ways. There’s a small list of 20 and 10 guys this season, and only Karl-Anthony Towns shoots the three at a higher efficiency than Vucevic. Except, Towns might be the best offensive center we’ve ever seen. While the 3-point shooting’s all well and good, it’s how Vucevic helps this year’s still-horrible Magic that’s truly stunning.

The Magic give up 8 points more per 100 possessions when Vucevic sits, and outscore opponents by 3 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. That 11-point net rating swing might look rather paltry, but morphs to gargantuan when you look at the personnel around Vuce—D.J. Augustin and Evan Fournier in the backcourt—even if they’re in the inferior conference. Most good teams could could use Vucevic, and teams on the cusp certainly can. He’s gonna get a nice contract this summer and don’t be surprised if it’s a max deal for a team that missed out on the All-NBA studs (Vuc might be one of them this season if he can get the Magic into the playoffs).

Here’s a possible MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award winner. No big deal, since no one has pulled that award double win since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994. George is putting up career-high scoring numbers on career-high efficiency while acting as the best wing defender in the Association. While everyone knows who PG-13 is, and his ascendant season has started to get the profile treatment, his MVP contributions on a team with Russell Westbrook are bound to be unappreciated. But let’s look closer at the numbers because they’re astounding.

He’s attempting 9.3 3-pointers per game (!) and knocking down better than 40 percent of them. That’s edging into Steph territory. The slinky wing averages almost eight boards and a league-best 2.3 steals per game, too. He’s routinely taking the opponent’s best player and holding his own, while scoring almost 29 points per game on the other end, trailing only the one-man wrecking crew of James Harden in scoring per game. PG’s the only non-center or power forward in the top-10 for DRPM, which is part of why he’s in the running for DPOY. On top of that, it’s hard to differentiate his 2018 season from Durant’s 2016 season (his last in OKC). The craziest stat buttressing George’s MVP case remains his on-off numbers, which appear made up when you first look at them. The Thunder are outscored by 11.2 points per 100 possessions when George sits, which would be the absolute worst differential in the league (Cleveland is at the bottom right now at minus-11.0). However, when George plays, they outscore opponents by 10.4 points per 100 possessions, which would be better than Milwaukee’s league best plus 9.6 net rating. So, in terms of point differential at least, George makes the Thunder the best team in the NBA when he plays, and they’re the worst team in the league when he sits.

Lordy, we’re winded just regurgitating those numbers. The man might go down as the most unappreciated MVP candidate in history (unless he actually wins it).

While not as wide a gulf as George’s on-off numbers for the Thunder, Lillard is the only thing preventing the No. 4 team in the West from falling into lottery territory. The Blazers give up 6.7 points more per 100 possessions when he sits, and outscore opponents by 6.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. He’s also played more minutes than anyone else on the team.

He only trails MVPs Harden and Curry in offensive real plus-minus this season for point guards, and while he’s not a great defender, he’s a leader. The Blazers could have backslid into lottery territory after getting swept in the first round against the Pelicans last year, but as Zach Lowe detailed for ESPN, Lillard’s leadership shepherded them past that shock and into another top record in the loaded conference. You can’t claim Lillard only dazzles in the regular season after his season-ending shot against the Rockets a few years back, but because he plays in the Pacific Northwest and because there are so many other loaded teams in the West, including the one stationed in his hometown of Oakland, it’s easy not to appreciate all that Dame does—including the illest rhymes ever recorded by an NBA player.

If you participate in NBA Twitter, then you’re guffawing at this last selection. But most basketball fans don’t spend all day scrolling through 280-character missives sold as the new public square. They’re too busy interacting with people IRL. The same goes for most fans, who just watch the games and dabble in social media when their schedule permits. They don’t know that the white guy on the block in Denver is the greatest passing big in NBA history (pre-injury Arvydas Sabonis wasn’t in the NBA, and Bill Walton’s disfigured feet and ankles disqualify him). He just looks like a dude that might dominate a couple games at the YMCA or JCC before he goes out and gets sloshed at the local watering hole. The aw-shucks demeanor of The Joker (not to mention his pale pigment) goes a long way to explain his popularity among the excel crowd on Twitter, who revere Larry Brown’s guiding basketball principle without actually knowing the name Larry Brown.

But Jokic’s pass-happy attack, which spearheads Denver’s offense like no big has before, inspires an ebullience among his teammates that’s missing among the other top stars in today’s game (a pre-KD Warriors team comes close). There’s no way Monte Morris and Malik Beasley even make this list without Jokic’s game giving them the opportunity to shine. That’s the type of teammate anyone would want. So much so, it’s important Jokic swallows his tendency to look for the pass first if he’s going to make another leap into the top tier of the NBA, if he’s not already at that level. Such is the power of his passing. His wizardry comes off as a gut feeling more than a stat, which is why you have to really watch him to appreciate what he does. Not many fans are tuning into the Nuggets on Mountain Time, especially with the Warriors and Lakers tipping off shortly after. But, if you do find the time, you’ll be forced to appreciate Jokic, just like the hubris-drenched hoards on NBA Twitter. We promise he’s worth it.

Honorable Mentions: Josh Richardson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Danny Green, Joe Ingles, De’Aaron Fox, Tobias Harris, LaMarcus Aldridge