Let's get into the most recent decade of NBA action, the 2010s. Dominated by a series of superteams, many of the top talents in the league flew under the radar, unable to make any noise by picking up playoff wins or championships. Let's be honest; it was mostly because, not once but twice, two of the top-5 players in the league decided to join forces. Besides the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors, though, there were 28 teams to worry about, each with some memorable players—and some who are forgotten. So who were the most underrated NBA players of the 2010s?
The Most Underrated NBA Players of the 2010s
12. Trevor Ariza
You can't go wrong by picking Ariza here, mainly because actual NBA players back it up. Trevor Ariza possessed such a valuable skillset that even as late as the 2021-22 season with the Lakers, fans were claiming he was the missing piece that would allow them to ascend to playoff contention. They'd eventually miss the playoffs.
After picking up a championship ring playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game during the playoff run, most importantly, he shot 50% from behind the three-point line. This netted him a 5-year 33 million, dollar contract from the Houston Rockets to begin the decade. Ariza quickly got starter minutes and excelled in the role, upping his points per game average to 15 in 36 minutes per game.
You'll read a lot in this article about how the NBA game quickly changed over the decade. The three-point shot became a staple, and point-forward types became key ball handlers for contending teams. Consider not only Lebron James; but also Paul George, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard. This put a premium price on players with Ariza's skillset, namely the ability to shoot the ball and defend at a high level. Affectionately named “3-and-D” players, Ariza was one of the best, so he earns a spot on this list.
11. David Lee
He was an interior post presence that good score the ball, softer touch than those of their fellow bigs, and a lack of defense that gave up buckets at nearly the same rate he scored them.
Joking aside, Lee picked up a lot of accolades during his career. An all-star for the first time in 2009-10, he averaged a 20-12 for a 29-53 New York Knicks team. Lee became an unrestricted free agent after his career year, and the Knicks cashed him in by trading him for Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf, and a second-round pick and signed him to a 6-year $80 million deal.
Now, if anyone ever tries to tell you how David Lee was one of the best players in the league, read those traded players' names again and reconsider. While underrated, as time has chugged along more and more, it's been found he was more of a talented empty stats player. If your career-defining move was being benched for Draymond Green, then having the team you played for go on to excel because they're playing you less, it doesn't look good on your resume.
10. Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson can be summed up perfectly in one sentence. The poor mans Kevin Love. Anderson made a name for himself by being one of the most sought-after players over the decade, being paired alongside a litany of dominant big men, and shooting 3s to his heart's content. Right on the cusp of the era-defining shift to the deep ball, Anderson was the heart of the matter as the best floor-stretching deep shot from the power forward position. He didn't possess many other marketable skills, no defense, and little rebounding, but boy, could he shoot.
He was the Most Improved Player in 2011-12, his only career accomplishment. But he made his mark by helping usher in the 3-pt shooting that took over the NBA. He led the league in 3-pt attempts and makes in 2011-12, with 422 threes attempted and 166 made—the fit beside the dominant Dwight Howard, who averaged 23-14 that season, was nothing short of perfect. Hopping around to different teams over his career, Ryan Anderson did what he did best, shoot. In Orlando, he spaced the floor for Dwight. In New Orleans, he spaced the floor for Anthony Davis. In Houston, he spaced the floor for James Harden. I mean, you get the idea, he spaced the floor. And that was valuable and underrated, which earns him a spot on this list.
9. Gerald Henderson
Did I surprise you with a name you've never heard of? I don't blame you. Henderson spent much of his short career, only playing from 2010-2017, on the incredibly bad Charlotte Bobcats. But still, there's one play I remember more than any other.
Gerald Henderson averaged over 15ppg for the Bobcats. He had an athleticism that allowed him to soar for dunks and improved his jump shooting every single season. However, injuries played a significant role, and he had to sit out after a third consecutive surgery on his hip eventually didn't go as planned. With a comeback in his mind, he then proceeded to tear his Achilles in a pickup game at Golden State.
We're throwing Gerald Henderson because he's a good injury what-if, and was an underrated player that made the disgustingly poor Bobcats somewhat fun to watch.
8. Roy Hibbert
Roy Hibbert was so dominant from 2011-2014 that by 2017, at 30 years of age, he was out of the league. You may think I'm crazy, but Hibbert is the perfect player to show the quick evolution of the league. From the first space-and-pace team playing Chris Bosh at the center position—this was insane at the time, whereas today, Bosh would only play center—to the Golden State Warriors playing the 6 foot 6 inch Draymond Green at the center and the lineup being so good it picked up the nickname “The Death Lineup.”
Hibbert is the namesake behind articles like these. His career finished unremarkably, but if you were there, you remember how much of a frenzy this one man caused. It's barely recognized in his statistics and accomplishments, although he did pick up two all-star team selections in 2011-12 and 2013-14, alongside a second-team All-Defensive team. He didn't lead the league in blocks, he didn't have outstanding rebounding numbers for a 7ft center, and he couldn't even crack 50% shooting for his career as someone who only shot within 3ft. So you're probably wondering why is he on this list?
One word: Verticality. Hibberts greatest skill was simply jumping straight up.
The Indiana Pacers were the thorn in Miami's side during their time dominating the Eastern Conference. And Roy Hibbert was a large part of that. The 7'2″ center allowed the Indiana Pacers to play an aggressive level of perimeter defense. With Roy Hibbert manning the middle, the Pacers led the league in defensive efficiency in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Hibbert posted 22 points per game against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, so the man could score, but one playoff series, and one player, changed everything. Who was that player?
7.Pero Antić
The perimeter shooting big disrupted the defense of Indiana by forcing Hibbert to the perimeter to guard him and allowed the upstart Hawks to take the superior Pacers team to seven games. After this, Hibbert's dominance was done.
We see this today with the modern version of the Hibbert experiment, Rudy Gobert. Gobert is a multi-time Defensive Player of the Year, but both himself and his team struggle when Gobert is forced to play defense on perimeter players. The game's evolution ended Roy Hibbert's career, but we still get to see the story unfold with the modern-day Hibbert, Rudy Gobert.
6. Mike Conley
Mike Conley might be the only player in the history of the NBA who would have been remembered more fondly if he hadn't made the all-star game in 2020-21. Before the selection, he was the go-to answer for “Best Player Never to Make an All-Star Game.” And as the old saying goes, if you aren't first, you're last. Now Conley is no longer eligible for the top spot on that list.
But he makes this one! Mike Conley was one of the best point guards to play with during the 2010s. He was a leader and played the right way, with no focus on individual statistics or accolades. He consistently pushed out 15-17 point seasons, with a couple of outlier 20ppg and 13ppg seasons thrown in there. Unfortunately, he never made an All-NBA team in a deep, guard-dominated league, and despite being a well-recognized defensive terror, never picked up an All-Defensive team selection.
Conley was a massive reason the Grizzlies made their 2013 Western Conference Finals run alongside another player featured on this list. He was consistently good. Not great, not bad, just good. He's still offering his services for a 2022-23 Jazz team that, so far, has defined expectations. A large part of that is Conley's ability to competently run an NBA-caliber offense, an underrated aspect of the game today. We'll see if he has anything more up his sleeve before he retires.
5. Goran Dragic
Let's take it back to 2010, the very start of the decade, ideally setting up this article by introducing one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Goran exploded into the public eye by helping the Phoenix Suns sweep their longtime rival, the San Antonio Spurs, by submitting a completely out-of-nowhere 4th quarter-scoring performance that had fans thinking, wait, what?
Up 2-0 in the series, the Spurs realized Game 3 was a must-win. Going into the 4th quarter, with the Spurs up one, 72-71, in front of their home crowd, you would assume the experience and stature would let them take home the win. That is until Goran Dragic happened. The 18 minutes per game backup guard set fire to the hopes and dreams of Spurs fans with a 23-point fourth quarter. Just to remind you, the man's average points per game was SEVEN.
Goran Dragic also has the honor of making the 2013-14 All-NBA third team despite not being selected as an all-star that season. He also picked up the Most Improved Player award as consolation. He averaged 20-3-6 for the 48-34 Suns, who would not make the playoffs that season despite their record. While individual accomplishment-wise, this was his best season; he did make an all-star game in 2017-18 after being traded to the Miami Heat. That season he averaged 17-4-5, down from his career highs, but offering a veteran guard presence on an above-average Heat team.
Lastly, Goran capped off the decade by being an integral part of the Miami Heats 2020 Bubble Run to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, he sat the last four games out due to an injury, but he can claim he's played in an NBA Finals after suiting up for the series' first game. Over the playoffs, he averaged 20-4-5, and while it was still a longshot bet that Miami would topple the Lebron-led Lakers, once Goran went down, all hope was lost.
4. Al Jefferson
Al Jefferson was a great player to watch if you were from the 1980s. He played like a traditional post-player in a league that completely went away from his style of play, yet he still made it work over a fruitful career.
While his most notable accomplishment in the history of the NBA was being good enough for the Bostons Celtics that they were able to trade him (and other assets) for Kevin Garnett, which eventually nabbed his old team an NBA title, you can't hold this against him. In fact, I'm actually giving him credit for it.
His best season came in 2013-14, after being traded from the Utah Jazz to the Charlotte Hornets (at the time, named the Bobcats). He averaged 22-11 for the 43-39 Charlotte Bobcats, a 22-game improvement over the previous season. What did this accomplish for the Bobcats? The pleasure of being absolutely decimated by the Lebron-led Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
The most exciting aspect of Jefferson's game was hearing the announcer speak about his game after a particularly skilled post-up. It was a running reel of the same idioms; “That's classic NBA right there,” “You don't see such great post-up moves anymore,” “You don't see that in today's game anymore. Where did we go wrong?”, “Hey, maybe we went away from Al Jeffersons' game because the advance stats say it's a terrible plan of attack?”. Sorry, I slipped that last one in there myself. It's true, Jeffersons' game simply did not fit in the modern NBA game, and he was kind of a net negative on the court. Defensively he was terrible, and offensively he needed the offense set up entirely around him, allowing him to be a blackhole, waste 15 seconds deciphering the matchup, make an excellent move, and score ~50% of the time.
3. Joakim Noah
Let's discuss ascension into the top tier of the NBA. Not many players on this list can say they accomplished it, but Joakim Noah can.
Noah placed 4th in MVP voting in 2012-13. This may seem unbelievable because that might have been doing his season a disservice. Listen, I'm going to say something ridiculous. You may even laugh, but hear me out. This season was like the little brother year of what Nikola Jokic is accomplishing right now. He was like Jokic if you took away every offensive skill he possessed but exchanged it all for elite-level defense. Crazy, right?
But Noah was different. He averaged 5 assists a game in a league that had made a complete transition away from ever playing through a post player. Luckily, Noah wasn't a post-player. In fact, he had next to nothing that looked like discernable hoop skills that elite players possess. No dribble moves, a wack-looking jump shot, and a below-average ability to finish made up his game. But it worked. His tenacity, will, and ferocity was reminiscent of Kevin Garnett. He became the spiritual and emotional leader of a Chicago Bulls team that had just seen its MVP, Derrick Rose, sustain an injury that would impact him for the rest of his career. He picked up the Defensive Player of the Year award, made First Team All-NBA and First Team All-Defense, and helped usher in the thinking that big men could actually be useful when being the main cog in making the offense hum.
He barely lasted a decade in the NBA, running out of fumes by 2017 after the Knicks had given him a gigantic contract. Joakim let it be known that he got “too lit” while playing for New York, which contributed to the quick downfall of his career, but one season alone makes him an easy selection for this list.
2. Zach Randolph
Zach Randolph was a similar type of player to David Lee, except for some, uh, key differences in perception. But still, they both offered much of the same thing. Zach was a player that was branded two different ways at different points in his career. First, as a rookie with the notorious “Jailblazers,” he was cited for underage drinking and a DUI in his hometown of Marian, Indiana. This didn't help his image, nor the Trailblazers. Another infamous moment occurred during practice when an altercation made him punch teammate Ruben Patterson in the face. Finally, the group of friends Randolph was associated with didn't do anything to alter his reputation, finding themselves in heaps of legal trouble that was often connected to the NBA player.
However, his on-court play was phenomenal, as he became a persistent double-double threat as early as his third year. From 2004-2007, Randolph averaged a 20-10 on 46% shooting for Portland. It was largely empty calories on a bad team, though, as Portland never reached the playoffs.
But a new decade signals change for many people, which was the case for Zach Randolph. Finding a home in Memphis after playing one season for the Los Angeles Clippers, Randolph quickly became a fan favorite for his performances during the 2009-10 season. He played 81 or 82 games, averaged 20-12, and was awarded his first-ever all-star appearance. The following year, he put in a similar 20-12 season, and while he didn't make the all-star team (surprisingly?), he was selected as an All-NBA Third Teamer.
His team's best postseason came in 2013 when the “Grit and Grind” Grizzlies made it to the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. This was a great series to look into why Randolph never ascended any higher up the NBA's all-star pecking order, as he only managed to put up 11-12 on 30% shooting against a defensive juggernaut. This was a far cry from his incredible 22-9 series two years earlier when the eight-seeded Memphis Grizzlies shocked the #1-seeded Spurs in the first round.
All in all, Randolph was underrated, but his career is a perfect microcosm of a player that makes this list. A couple of career accolades, some seasons of team success with the inability to help a franchise ascend to the next level, and consistently high personal statistics. Nowhere near a lousy player, sometimes even great, but ultimately falling under the radar.
1. Luol Deng
Deng is most likely still fresh in the NBA conscience because of the absurd four-year 72 million dollar contract given to him by the Los Angeles Lakers. He would only play 57 games for the team, with the franchise eventually paying him to stay home. Maybe you remember him for his near-death experience after having a spinal tap operation that went wrong. The Chicago Bulls misdiagnosed the forward, telling him to get the spinal tap to test for meningitis and sending him in for the procedure that nearly ended his life. It was later found that he was suffering from the common flu. I don't blame you if these are your only recollections of Luol Deng, but it's appropriate you learn just how good he was over his NBA career.
Deng came in as a raw and athletic rookie but made an immediate impact, averaging 11 points in his rookie year. His All-Rookie First Team is the only All-League award besides his All-Defensive 2nd team, which is a travesty. Deng was a top-tier defender. He was tasked with guarding the opposing team's best perimeter player every night. Whether it was a bigger wing or a waterbug point guard, Deng gave it his all. This came alongside an exceptional offensive game, mixing in an improved outside shot and inside finishing that helped the Bulls become a contender in the early 2010s.
His two all-star seasons, in 2011-12 and 2012-13, came as he led the league in minutes played under Tom Thibideau. His best performance was probably the Eastern Conference Finals push by the 2010-11 Bulls when he averaged 17-7-2 while having the task of defending Lebron James. The Bulls would eventually fall 4-1, but Deng played well.
So don't remember Deng for getting that money while he could, or the injury that nearly ended his career, but for the incredible versatility and durability Deng provided the Bulls throughout a remarkable and underrated career.
