| 13 February 2009
And people love finding out who is underrated and who is overrated. Oh my god, nothing makes people happier than hearing who you think is overrated just so that they can compare it to who they think is overrated. We do it with actors, musicians, college athletes, professional athletes and members of your family. People love to debate who is overrated. People love to debate who is underrated. People love to debate whether or not it is overrated to call something overrated and if that in essence truly makes it underrated in some different paradigm.
And you guessed it; people LOVE LOVE LOVE lists of overrated and underrated things.
Now, I'm not necessarily criticizing this fact of human existence. Everybody thinks about it at some point and everybody has their personal feelings about the issue at hand. It has now become popular to disparage the process of listing overrated and underrated things. It has become chic to say that calling something overrated is in and of itself overrated and that it's a tired act. And maybe it is. But that doesn't mean that the person being so fashionable and ahead of the curve by hating this cultural practice doesn't like deciding what is overrated and underrated.
So, you probably think that I'm about to unveil a list of overrated and underrated players across the NBA spectrum to stir up controversy. Or maybe you think that I'm going to continue this article and tell you how moronic it is to judge things as overrated and/or underrated. Maybe I'm going to tell you what it is to rate something period. Honestly, I'm more confused than the Sicilian in The Princess Bride right now as I try to out-think you, the reader.
So what IS this article about?
Why, it's of course time for me to unveil the first annual winner of the Ben Wallace award. It's an award that is given to the worst good player in the league. What does that mean exactly? Well, they're not the worst players in the league. We'll leave that honor to the Mike James, Joel Anthony, and Beno Udrih category of players. These are guys that are actually good and contributing NBA players. They are too good to be in the bad group but not good enough to be widely accepted across the board as a player you definitely want for your team.
It's not exactly calling these guys overrated either (although, as I've stated earlier, there is probably nothing that the majority of the public would like to read more than calling these guys overrated). These guys were all perceived as good players at one time but actually aren't nearly as good as you would think towards helping the success of your team. They could easily be replaced at any time on their respective current rosters and it would probably make the team better or no worse. It has very little to do with these guys being rated properly or being overpaid. They're simply the worst good players of the league.
Now, there are quite a few players that deserve to be on this list and there are some guys that I couldn't go without mentioning. So in descending order, I'd like to give you the honorable mentions for this award, then the finalists, runner-up, and the overall winner.
Honorable Mention for the Ben Wallace Award
Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks - Couple of things keep him from being a finalist. One, it's tough to put a guy on this list without him being able to defend himself. With Redd out for the next 10 months with a pulled bald spot, it just doesn't seem correct to degrade him anymore. Plus, after his month of January, I don't even know that he qualifies anymore. Over the past two seasons, you could definitely see a steady decline in his play and effectiveness and it seemed like the big contract that he signed years ago was now a mistake by the Bucks. And the first two months of the season appeared to justify this idea of him no longer being a very good or effective player. But then January happened, he seemed to get back his lost step, and was torching the league. So for now, I'm willing to back off his candidacy for the Ben Wallace award because it may have been premature on my part.
Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls - Two years ago, Luol Deng looked like a guy who was ready to be the second option on a promising playoff team. Then last year hit and the Bulls finally had expectations to do something (i.e. - people stupidly picked this team to win the East). Deng shriveled up under expectations and contract negotiations and had the worst season of his career. But the Bulls still rewarded him with a five-year, $70 million contract. So how does he respond when he literally owes it to the Bulls and their fans that he isn't a mistake? He has had his worst season since he was a rookie and the second lowest PER of his career. I don't know what a PER is but that sounds bad, you know?
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder - Just kidding, Thunder fans! Just wanted to have a little fun at the perception that I hate Kevin Durant. I actually think he'll never approach consideration for this list if you can believe it.
Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers - I've never been a big fan of Elton Brand. I've always felt like he was constantly accruing empty stats over his years because he couldn't lead his team to wins. But I was always told that it wasn't his fault he was on bad teams (Bulls post Jordan, Clippers post inception) and that on a good team, he'd be able to lead to them to the playoffs consistently. Well, now he's on the Sixers, a playoff team from last year, and with him they're 13-16 on the season. Without him, they're 14-8. Now why would that be? Because he's a guy that puts up empty stats on bad teams. So why isn't he a finalist on this list? Well, the guy has been seriously injured for half the season so I can't kill him too much. But what I can do is give him honorable mention for the Ben Wallace award. So here he is.
Andris Biedrins, Golden State Warriors - I'm holding off on his candidacy here because there needs to be some more evidence (aka - more years). I seem to be alone with this thought/assertion but I don't think this guy is a very good basketball player. He's so young that I'm willing to give him a chance to blossom and show some basketball skill. But his numbers are more empty than substantial in my opinion and I think that we're all being fooled by the system and style of the team with the stats he puts up.
Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets - The guy's body is letting him down like the modern day Bill Walton. As frustrating as he is to basketball fans, we have to remember just how good this guy used to be and there was an 18-month period where he was arguably the best player in basketball. Now his knees are shot, his back is as reliable as a Mark Madsen three-pointer, and his tendons are more likely to snap than Ron Artest.
Richard Jefferson, Milwaukee Bucks - I still can't figure him out. Was he only good because Jason Kidd was brilliantly setting him up? Can he defend at all? Is he a deadeye mid-range shooter still? Can he be a number two option on a team that is full of number two options? I'm willing to hold off complete and utter chastization (made it up) with Jefferson. But I will not let it go without mentioning he has the worst tattoo in the league.
Ben Wallace, Cleveland Cavaliers - I mean, even though nobody outside of his entourage thinks he's a serviceable NBA player, it doesn't mean that he shouldn't get honorable mention for his own award. By the way, can you be a defensive and rebounding specialist if you don't rebound or defend all that well anymore?
Finalists
Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons - I don't know what we are supposed to do with Allen Iverson for the rest of his career. H e's still a really good scorer. But is he an efficient scorer anymore? Can he still be in a system that isn't fast-paced and handle not being the number one guy anymore? Can he prevent from giving up as many points on the court as he scores? How is his next contract situation going to go? Will he command eight figures? Does he deserve it? Does he even warrant the mid-level exception? Unfortunately, I think his days of being a good NBA player are behind us.
Ron Artest, Houston Rockets - He's regressed into his worst season as an NBA player, in my opinion. He's scoring his lowest point total in eight years. He's still turning the ball over 2.1 times per game, which doesn't sound like a lot until you realize he's the third option on the Rockets. He has the lowest steals average of his career. He's shooting 38.8% from the field. 38.8%!!! Are you kidding me? I would venture to say that it's harder to shoot 38% than 58% as an NBA player. You really have to be trying to miss. And he can't use the excuse of being in a new system because he's played for Adelman before.
Baron Davis, Los Angeles Clippers - Baron, I understand you being furious and frustrated because of Mike Dunleavy pretending to be a coach. I realize that you want to get him fired so you can lead the NBA in all-time coaches fired because a star didn't like him. I realize that you probably are on Jenny Craig and follow the instructions only you triple your amounts. It's the only way to keep your back fat, I know. But for the love of God, can you at least pretend like you give a shit on the basketball court? We don't even care if it's obvious that you're just pretending. Just pretend!
Runner-Up
Corey Maggette, Golden State Warriors - When your fans within the first two months of you being on this team have nicknamed you "Bad Porn" because there's going to be some scoring when you're on the court but nobody is going to be satisfied, I think it's safe to say that you were a top candidate to win the Ben Wallace award as the worst good player. And just Warriors fans don't have to want to drink their sorrows away after watching you, can you please attempt to not give up more points than you actually score just once this season? Thanks.
Winner of the Ben Wallace Award
Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets - In the words of the Two Bobs, I'd like to ask Tyson Chandler, "what would you say YOU DO here?" He's a shot blocker who doesn't block shots. He's a "great" rebounder who doesn't grab even nine per game (which you can get away with if you have loads of hype around you, Steve Nash as your point guard, and your name is Amare). He has 17 assists this season. There have been nine performances this season in which someone has matched or surpassed his season assists total. The next time he uses an offensive post move will be the first time.
So it begs me to ask this question again - Tyson, what do you do for the Hornets? You get paid $11 million to do what? Catch a few alley-oops from Chris Paul? If Chris Paul died tomorrow, would you ever score again?
Sorry Hornets fans, but Tyson Chandler is hands down the winner of the first annual Ben Wallace award. All hate mail can be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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