Underrating Players Creates Top Heavy Image and Hurts NBA Financially

Kevin Love (Minnesota), right* David Lee (Golden State)

Debates about who is the best player in any given sport have gone on and will go on forever.  Few people will ever see eye to eye with one another because we as fans see different things while watching the same game.  Part of the reason is because many fans still cannot separate their personal feelings about a players’ character from the statistical facts.

World-renowned sports outlet ESPN released a list consisting of what they thought to be the best players in the NBA, ranking each one without on court positions as a dividing factor.  As expected, the debates began.

The Top 10 consisted of Lebron James at the top followed by Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Derron Williams and finally Blake Griffin. 

The list breaking down into 3 categories, 5 guards, 4 forwards and 1 center.  Out of those Top 10 players, 8 are in the Top 5 statistically, based on position. So what is there to debate you ask, quite a bit actually.

Although it is clear that the list released was based primarily on stats, you have to wonder how Dirk Nowitzki, who no doubt deserves the accolades he receives for winning his first championship against a heavily favored Miami Heat, could be ranked #5 by ESPN when statistically is ranked #9 among forwards based on points, rebound and assist averages.  Secondly, Chris Paul, often-injured and often-considered one of the best point guards in the NBA, was ranked #4 by ESPN, but sits at #6 among guards statistically. 

So why were they ranked so high by ESPN?

Dirk’s ring surely helped out, and I’m in no way questioning his talent or performance during the playoffs and finals, however Blake Griffin and Kevin Love ranked above Dirk statistically but didn’t make the playoffs.  Am I trying to say that Blake Griffin (ranked #10 by ESPN) and Kevin Love (ranked #16 by ESPN) are better than Dirk, maybe, because after all, numbers don’t lie.  On the other hand, I would be out of my mind to say that the Clippers and Timberwolves were better teams than the Mavericks, as both teams finished the ’10-’11 season in the bottom 3 spots of the Western Conference, while the Mavericks went on to win the title.

In the case of Chris Paul, take Monta Ellis (#41 according to ESPN) for example.  Ellis, who ranks #5 amongst guards statistically and one spot ahead of Paul, averaged 9 more points, 1 less rebound and 4 less assists per game last season.  The major difference has nothing to do with these players’ talent, but the teams they play for.  New Orleans won 10 more regular season games than Golden State and also made the playoffs.  Both have been in the league for 6 years and their career averages are very similar.  But only one remains in the headlines, whether it is for rumors regarding trades or big wedding plans with celebrity guests.

But does popularity alone make Paul and Nowizki better than Griffin, Love and Ellis according to ESPN?

Subconsciously to many, yes it does.  Far fewer eyes have been laid on Ellis’ Golden State games and this is a major problem.  Exposure.  Whether it is the time allotted to teams during highlights on sports center or stories written about these types of underrated players, something needs to be done.  Not only does more exposure lead to a larger fan base for smaller teams, but also possibly larger TV deals for those small markets.  Increased television exposure could bring more money into the league, a continuing issue in the current NBA lockout discussions.

No one has ever doubted LeBron James’ talent when the Cavaliers went from doing poorly only winning 35 games, to becoming title contenders with a record of 50-32 and losing in the finals a mere 4 years after joining the team.  He was and still is considered one of the best players in the NBA by many because the fans and critics have an opportunity to watch him perform at such a high level night in and night out during nationally televised games. 

Blake Griffin became one of the most followed athletes in sports once his in-game high-flying slam dunks became nightly highlights and posted all over the internet.  Him winning the slam-dunk competition at this year’s All-Star game by jumping over a car in which his teammate passed him the ball through the sunroof, all while an entire church choir sang behind him and throwing down the dunk on his first attempt, basically cemented his fame in not only sports, but the entertainment industry as well.  A summer internship at FunnyorDie.com, a popular sketch comedy website, will only ad to his celebrity working along side Hollywood funny man Will Ferrell who has strong ties to the site. 

Is ESPN’s Top 500 list based on popularity?  In Blake Griffin’s case, the answer is no. 

Blake Griffin did in fact perform at a high level during his rookie season, resulting in him winning the rookie of the year award; but his Clippers team, as mentioned earlier, were terrible and only won 32 games.

So it basically comes down to this: 

“If a tree falls in the forest, and there’s nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Whether its through TV ads, shoe deals, communicating with fans on social media, discussing their personal life or sitting down for more interviews, people need to have access to more players performances besides the top 10 that are, although deserving, singled out and solely celebrated.

With more exposure we can begin considering players on losing teams such as Andrea Bargnani (ranked #81 by ESPN) from the Toronto Raptors who ranks 3^rd statistically among centers only behind Al Jefferson (ranked #52 by ESPN) and Dwight Howard (ranked #2 by ESPN), as some of the best in the league and not an after thought.  As talked about and celebrated a player as Andrew Bynum is, if he were a part of the Los Angeles Lakers, I have a hard time believing he would be such a house hold name while averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds as a center after 6 years in the league.

With more players being recognized for their talents instead of the team they play for, the NBA can only benefit from not having to rely on a minority of well-known players to keep the sport alive and exciting.