10 most overrated NBA players right now, including Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant led the Golden State Warriors to two championships and will be a Hall-of-Fame lock in the future; however, it is about right now. Durant still has the superstar label and ranks among the best NBA players in the league by several outlets, but he can’t carry the team on his back when it matters most in the playoffs. He has formed two “superteams” in Brooklyn and Phoenix, with none of them making the NBA Finals. Durant is a good player, but he’s not a superstar anymore.

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Can you really be overrated if everyone says you are overrated? Rudy Gobert was voted the most overrated NBA player by his peers during the 2023-’24 NBA regular season. Sure, Gobert’s defensive contributions are overrated in the sense that he can’t defend outside of the paint, but he did have a fairly good year. Yet, should Gobert be among the NBA’s best defenders or win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award? Several other players are way more rounded defensively, which makes Gobert’s main area of expertise a bit overrated.

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It almost feels unfair to place two Timberwolves on this list with the team on the rise, but Karl-Anthony Towns made it. After being drafted, Towns was crowned Minnesota’s savior but never leaped to the next level. In a year where Anthony Edwards has taken over, Towns still hasn’t taken that jump, despite people still thinking he can do it. The Timberwolves had a 14-6 record in games Towns did not play, which would actually be on pace for around the same amount of 56 wins.

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Poor Cade Cunnigham. Despite being stuck with the Detroit Pistons, Cunnigham made his way onto this list. Sure, the young guard was tasked with leading one of the worst teams in the NBA, but that’s the thing. Cunningham was Detroit’s leader and only won nine of the 61 games he played. Without Cunningham, the Pistons had a 5-15 record. The 22-year-old player only shot 44.9% from the field, and his potential as a franchise player should likely be moved aside.

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Kyle Kuzma’s stock boosted after he left the Los Angeles market, but he has never been a player who can lead a good team. Truthfully, Kuzma’s best role is that of the best player on an average or bad team, and people talk as if he has made a jump to the next level. Several fanbases and media labeled him an intriguing trade target at the NBA trade deadline. This comes as Kuzma ranks statistically as one of the worst defenders in the NBA.

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Julius Randle is regarded as one of the Knicks’ star players alongside Jalen Brunson, but what is the team really missing without him in the playoffs? New York is on the verge of beating the Joel Embiid-led Philadelphia 76ers as the second seed in the Eastern Conference despite Randle missing around 40 games. Randle is a good role player for a playoff team, but he cannot be in your top-2 best to win the NBA Finals. But, that’s what happens when a player competes in a big market. A player’s value is overrated.

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Klay Thompson returned from his two season-ending injuries, and people are simply expecting too much of him. Thompson’s defense isn’t what it used to be before the injuries, and he completely disappeared when it mattered for a second straight year. The shooting guard is a shell of his former self, and the thought that he could help lead the Golden State Warriors to another title was false hope. Thompson will be remembered as a great player one day, but right now, he shouldn’t be rated this highly.

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Dillon Brooks joined the Houston Rockets, which won 42 games over the last two years, and was part of a team that won 41 games this season. Yet, Brooks did not have a good season despite earning a contract for $80 million. The 28-year-old shot 42.8% from the field during the regular season and only scored 12.7 points per game. Brooks is highlighted and talked about as a good player who helped Houston launch itself into playoff contention, but the statistics haven’t backed that up.

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Jordan Poole averaged 17.4 points during the regular season, but his play didn’t equal the actual impact he had on the game. Poole struggled and only shot 41.3% from the floor despite having really high expectations. The shooting guard was frequently mentioned on social media as a player who could see a “James Harden-level” jump like he did in Houston, but it never truly happened. Poole’s play in the NBA Finals a few years ago has made his current playing status murky and overrated.

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Who is the most overrated NBA player right now? Bradley Beal is the top answer. Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns after being stuck in Washington for his entire career. The shooting guard was regarded as one of the most underrated stars in the NBA for a while, but those expectations rose entering Phoenix. For a player earning $50 million-plus over the next several years, Beal’s performance in the playoffs didn’t live up to any expectations after scoring 15 points or less in three of the four games.

Sure, Beal is the third option on the team, but he isn’t a star player. He was stuck in Washington for so long, and his numbers were naturally inflated and came back down before he left. Beal’s expectations as a star player make him overrated, and his play against the Timberwolves proves that fact.

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