There are plenty of great impact players who are relatively unknown, but underrated stars tend to be actually great players who are well known but maligned for 1-2 perceived deficiencies.

To be clear, I’m not talking about the best player who is generally underrated, but the star that has the biggest gulf between their ability and public perception of their ability. 4-5 years ago I would’ve said Harden and Draymond.

My candidates for most underrated today:

  1. Embiid

  2. Trae Young

  3. Gobert

In all cases, one or more apparent shortcomings have led folks to underrate their enormous impact: Embiid’s lack of playoff success, Trae’s defense, and Gobert’s offense