Debating subjective topics is inherent to the sports experience. No matter the venue, no matter the participants, somebody will have an opinion about it. Though most such observations are of the “grain of salt” variety, expert views can sometimes hold insight or weight beyond the norm.
Each year The Athletic tries to cultivate that kind of opinion with their annual NBA Player Survey. They ask various players targeted questions and compile the results.
This year the outlet is parsing out the results piecemeal. Today they published a list of players tabbed as overrated or underrated by their NBA peers [subscription required]. Three Trail Blazers made the lists.
Results in the underrated category were widely-spread. 31 players were named amid 151 votes cast. Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday finished in a four-way tie for second with 3.3% of the vote. Above him were Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, and Austin Reaves stood alongside Holiday in second place.
Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe also registered 1.3% of the vote farther down the list of underrated players.
The overrated category early only half of the votes, 81 total. The runaway winner was Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets with 12.3% of the vote. But Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija earned notice with a 3.7% finish, tied with Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, and Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam.
If it’s any consolation for Deni, a Doncic-Avdija-Barnes-Siakam quartet would make for one heck of a starting lineup.
