Most overhated active NBA players

NBA fans have a tendency to come to a hive-mind conclusion about certain players based on a number of criteria.

Whether it’s based on the player’s personality outside of the game or they have a bad stretch or season, we jump to conclusions about some of these players' careers without even looking at if what is being said is true.

Looking at a few of these players and discussing how they have garnered the reputation they have and why they’re more than just that.

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Despite being last season’s MVP and being the heavy frontrunner before getting injured this year, people will still deny Embiid’s greatness and position as one of the greatest modern bigs in the sport.

There are two main reasons that people question Embiid’s talent and those are free throws and the second round.

First, look at the free throws. It is true that Embiid has either led the league in free throw attempts or been top 3 for the last five years, however, this is more of a product of his game than anything else.

He has some of the best post movement and athleticism that we’ve seen since Shaquille and the only way teams without an elite defensive big can think to stop it is by fouling him.

The playoff performances are harder to excuse in his case, but this can be from having a constant double team on him in many of the series he has played in.

The scoring shutdown is definitely something he will have to overcome when the defense is at its peak, but this shouldn’t take away from the respect he deserves.

Karl Anthony-Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Towns has been nothing but a consistent scorer and elite shooter in his nine years with the Wolves. The 4-time All-Star gets a lot of flak for his lack of defense, especially in recent years.

One thing that these people will tend to forget is that it's hard to show out on defense when you are on the same team as someone like Rudy Gobert, who has been the league’s lead rim protector for nearly a decade.

Second, many come after Towns for saying that he is the best big-man shooter of all time but interestingly enough, he has the numbers to back it up.

He is often compared to Dirk Nowitzki, in which KAT takes the advantage of shooting a higher FG% (52.4% > 47.1%) and 3PT% (39.9% > 38.0%) on a similar volume.

Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

While his recent actions are not something to be praised, these events have given fans the idea that Green is and has been nothing but a scrub, which could not be further from the case.

Green has been the soul of the Warriors’ defense throughout their dynasty, and they would not have won multiple of their titles with another power forward in that position.

Standing at only 6-foot-4, Green plays defense on the level of a center and in ways that don’t show up in the box score. He has elite defensive and positioning IQ that allows him to protect the rim and the perimeter at an almost unreal level.

Fun Fact: if the GSW won the 2016 NBA Finals, Green would’ve most likely won the Finals MVP for his performance in the infamous Game 7 against the Cavs with 32 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists on 73% shooting.

Chris Vadnais is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cmv5562@psu.edu.