{"id":780493,"date":"2026-05-07T21:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/780493\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T21:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:28:02","slug":"whos-nbas-most-overrated-player-underrated-best-coach-anonymous-player-poll-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/780493\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s NBA\u2019s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach? Anonymous player poll results"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Lakers vs. Thunder<\/a> in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinal.<\/a><\/p>\n

How do NBA players feel about which of their peers is most underrated and most overrated?<\/p>\n

And what do they think when it comes to the league\u2019s head coaches?<\/p>\n

We asked them those questions, and more, for The Athletic\u2019s 2026 Anonymous NBA Player Poll.<\/p>\n

From late February to early April, our writers fanned out across North America, asking players a wide array of questions, ranging from individual awards to player movement to league issues. Our writers surveyed 161 players, a record high for this project, which is approximately one-third of the league\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n

As always, we granted the players anonymity to give them the freedom to answer honestly, without fear of reprisals from opponents, teammates or fans. For transparency and context, we\u2019ll tell you how many people responded to each topic.<\/p>\n

The Athletic has already released some of its results: players\u2019 opinions on the MVP debate<\/a>, the eventual title winner<\/a> and whether players would visit the White House if their team won the championship<\/a>. We\u2019ll continue to roll out the results in increments, giving each topic the full attention it deserves.<\/p>\n

(Editor\u2019s note: In some cases, combined percentages of all answers to a question will not add up to 100 percent, because individual percentages have been rounded up or down to the nearest tenth of a percentage point.)<\/p>\n

Most underrated player<\/p>\n

This question yielded a wide variety of answers, with 89 players receiving at least one vote. That is not unusual. In our poll last season, 75 players received at least one vote. The breadth of answers can be explained by the league\u2019s depth of talent, but it can also, perhaps, be explained by some respondents voting for their teammates.<\/p>\n

For the sake of this discussion, we\u2019re going to focus on the top six vote-getters (3.3 percent and up).<\/p>\n

Something that is crystal clear: Players believe the Boston Celtics\u2019 Derrick White still has not received his due respect. He is among the leaders here year in and year out. In 2024, he tied for the win<\/a> with the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s Jalen Williams. Last year, he finished second<\/a>, trailing only the Detroit Pistons\u2019 Cade Cunningham. And now, he\u2019s won again, tying with the Atlanta Hawks\u2019 Jalen Johnson.<\/p>\n

White is a winning player, earning an NBA title as a key contributor to the 2023-24 Celtics and a gold medal with the 2024 U.S. men\u2019s Olympic team. He has twice been named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, but he has never been named an All-Star or been named to an All-NBA team, though it\u2019s possible he could earn an All-NBA nod for his work this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, he\u2019s one of the most important players in the league,\u201d one player who voted for White said. \u201cJust doing it on both ends. I didn\u2019t know how much he had offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

White is one of three Celtics to finish in the top six this year, joining Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard. Their upper-tier finishes have something to do with the Celtics overcoming Jayson Tatum\u2019s absence for most of the season to defy expectations and finish with a 56-26 regular-season record.<\/p>\n

One of the players who voted for White said: “Everyone is trying to say Jaylen Brown is an MVP candidate. They’re wrong. White has actually been the biggest reason they’re so good this season. He does everything \u2014 offense, defense, leadership \u2014 for them.”<\/p>\n

Johnson was one of the league\u2019s breakout players this season, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. He avoided major injuries to play in 72 games, and his production improved, averaging career bests of 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, with a career-high 13 triple-doubles. Notably, he did not receive a single \u201cUnderrated\u201d vote last season, which may be explained by playing in only 36 games that year due to injuries.<\/p>\n

It will be interesting to see if his career arc can approximate the trajectory of Cunningham\u2019s, who was the top \u201cUnderrated\u201d vote-getter last season before leading the Pistons to the best record in the East and potentially in the top five for MVP voting. We\u2019re not saying that the Hawks will be the East\u2019s best team next season, but it\u2019s possible that Johnson could take a similar jump.<\/p>\n

Jrue Holiday of the Portland Trail Blazers is a staple of our most underrated lists, having finished as the top vote-getter in 2023<\/a>, the runner-up in 2024 and fifth last season. Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers has made another repeat appearance after he placed fourth last season.<\/p>\n

Most overrated player<\/p>\n

Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn earned his second All-Star nod this season and helped lead the Houston Rockets to the fifth seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. His stats of 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game and four triple-doubles are impressive.<\/p>\n

Why all the skepticism from his peers?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question that we cannot fully answer, but perhaps this comment from one of the players who voted for him sheds some light on things: \u201cHe’s crying every play. He’s talented, but, dude, just play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it is true that \u015eeng\u00fcn does not have a reputation as a particularly strong defender, with Amen Thompson and Tari Eason strongly defending on the perimeter, the Rockets finished the season sixth in defensive rating.<\/p>\n

The most overrated section of our annual player poll has emerged as the most controversial section. You may remember that point guard Tyrese Haliburton \u201cwon\u201d \u2014 or is it \u201clost\u201d? \u2014 this category last season, finishing with 14.4 percent of the vote, and then led the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals, where they took the Thunder to a Game 7. Haliburton\u2019s \u201cmost overrated\u201d votes seemed ridiculous after his postseason heroics.<\/p>\n

\u015eeng\u00fcn\u2019s Rockets were eliminated by the Lakers in their first-round series, meaning there will be no repeat revenge run in the playoffs like the one Haliburton had. Still, he\u2019s only 23 years old, with a developmental arc that bodes very well for the years to come.<\/p>\n

The second-place finishers this year, Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Trae Young of the Washington Wizards, are regulars in this category. Young finished first in 2023, and Gobert finished first in 2024. While Young is coming off an injury-riddled season (he played in just 15 games), Gobert was the anchor of a Timberwolves defense that finished the regular season eighth in defensive rating. Gobert averaged 10.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and he placed fourth<\/a> in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is done by a panel of 100 writers and broadcasters.<\/p>\n

It should be noted, however, that this question was once again one that players were least willing to answer, with 81 votes cast. To put that into perspective, although \u015eeng\u00fcn was the top vote-getter, he only received 10 votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was part of the group that said Tyrese Haliburton for most overrated, and what he did in the playoffs last year was unreal,\u201d one of this poll\u2019s non-voters told us. \u201cSo I’m not saying (who I think is overrated). We have a lot of really good players in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another player who was asked the question but declined to answer said: \u201cThat\u2019s one I would put my name on. I don\u2019t want to crush a guy silently. I ain\u2019t that type of guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which current coach, aside from your own, do you find the most impressive?<\/p>\n

More love here for the Celtics \u2014 specifically, Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics\u2019 ultra-competitive, no-nonsense fourth-year head coach.<\/p>\n

Because Tatum was expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season as he recovered from the Achilles tendon injury he suffered during the 2025 playoffs, and because the Celtics had traded away floor-spacing big man Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, the Celtics entered October expected to tumble down the standings. NBA.com\u2019s annual GM Survey<\/a> had league general managers predicting that Boston would finish eighth in the East.<\/p>\n

However, Boston defied all of those expectations, finishing second in the East with a 56-26 record. The Celtics also ranked second in offense<\/a> and fourth in defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One respondent said he voted for Mazzulla because of “his tenacity and the way that he fires his group up, the intensity that he coaches with.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that Thunder coach Mark Daigneault finished second. His defending-champion Thunder ended the season with the league\u2019s best record, 64-18. Last year, when we asked players to name the league\u2019s best coach, he won with 21.8 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

J.B. Bickerstaff placed third this year in the \u201cmost impressive\u201d coach vote, with 11.0 percent. His Pistons ended the regular season with home-court advantage in the East after going 60-22.<\/p>\n

Someone who voted for him said: \u201cJust what he\u2019s been able to do with what situations he\u2019s been in. In Cleveland, he shined. He got them to a certain level. For whatever reason, they didn\u2019t want him anymore. He moved over to Detroit, where nobody could figure that spot out, and turned it around to having the best team in the East.<\/p>\n

“He has a great rapport with his players<\/a>, gets on them. They take on his personality, which is tough-nosed. He\u2019s a great coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miami Heat\u2019s Erik Spoelstra, who doubles as USA Basketball\u2019s men\u2019s coach, continues to earn the players\u2019 respect. Someone who voted for him lauded \u201cthe culture he\u2019s built of winning and playing hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which current coach, aside from your own, do you find the least impressive?<\/p>\n

The biggest takeaway from these results is that tanking can have a negative downstream effect on the reputations of those teams\u2019 coaches. Those coaches get blamed for what, under any typical situation, would be considered baffling substitution patterns or, perhaps, a lack of organization, particularly on the defensive end.<\/p>\n

Brian Keefe is the Washington Wizards\u2019 coach, and his team finished the season with the league\u2019s worst record, 17-65, with losses in 26 of their last 27 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know who\u2019s coaching the Wizards, but whoever coaches the Wizards,\u201d one respondent said.<\/p>\n

The lowlight of the Wizards\u2019 season occurred on March 10, when the Heat\u2019s Bam Adebayo scored 83 points<\/a> in a 150-129 Heat victory. One of the players who voted for Keefe cited Adebayo\u2019s 83-point performance for his vote, saying, \u201cThey should all be out of the league for that.”<\/p>\n

It should be noted again that this survey was conducted during the regular season, before the coaching carousel started to turn. Since the end of the season, Doc Rivers was replaced in Milwaukee<\/a> with Taylor Jenkins, and Billy Donovan stepped down from his job with the Chicago Bulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Steve Kerr\u2019s Golden State Warriors future is in doubt. After 12 seasons as the Warriors\u2019 coach \u2014 with four NBA championships, a 604-353 regular-season record and 104-48 playoff record \u2014 Kerr might decide to exit.<\/p>\n

Historically, the former Team USA coach has been one of the most lauded in our player polls. So it was somewhat surprising that 6.0 percent of respondents voted for Kerr as \u201cleast impressive\u201d coach.<\/p>\n

This season, however, Golden State faced injuries to Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry and went 37-45. Kerr also faced criticism for Jonathan Kuminga falling out of the Warriors\u2019 rotation and not meeting expectations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I think he’s a great coach,\u201d one of the players who voted for Kerr said. \u201cI just thought the way he handled the Kuminga situation wasn’t very smart.”<\/p>\n

Who is the league\u2019s best defensive player?<\/b><\/p>\n

Was there any question that Victor Wembanyama would be players\u2019 top choice for the league\u2019s best defender?<\/p>\n

No. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that he only received 41.1 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to the league\u2019s second-best record, 62-20, and he led the league in blocks, with 3.1 per game. Oklahoma City\u2019s Chet Holmgren finished second among qualifiers in blocks, and Holmgren \u201conly\u201d averaged 1.9 blocks per game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s 7-6!\u201d said one of the players who voted for Wembanyama, who is officially listed at 7 feet 4<\/a>. \u201cHe just has the ability to cover up so many mistakes, including ones that he\u2019ll make. Just his ability to erase mistakes is extremely impressive where guys drive in the paint and see him and turn around and dribble out. Like, no one does that in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019ll drive in, and you\u2019ve kind of got a layup, and you see him, and you turn and go the other way. That\u2019s crazy. \u2026 You know what the ending is if you do it. You can\u2019t knock that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors received some love, too, finishing in a tie for fourth, with 4.0 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

One voter said of Barnes: \u201cAble to guard one through five, steals, full-court (pressure), protecting the rim. He can pretty much do everything on defense.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Lakers vs. Thunder in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Western Conference…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":780494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3119,3125,3124,3118,3127,3128,3139,3134,3129,3140,3136,1267,3142,3141,3135,3120,3130,3131,1260,3137,3122,1268,3121,3123,1721,3133,3143,3138,62,3126,67,132,68,3132,3117],"class_list":{"0":"post-780493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-atlanta-hawks","9":"tag-boston-celtics","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-charlotte-hornets","12":"tag-chicago-bulls","13":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","14":"tag-dallas-mavericks","15":"tag-denver-nuggets","16":"tag-detroit-pistons","17":"tag-golden-state-warriors","18":"tag-houston-rockets","19":"tag-indiana-pacers","20":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","21":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","22":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","23":"tag-miami-heat","24":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","25":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","26":"tag-nba","27":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","28":"tag-new-york-knicks","29":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","30":"tag-orlando-magic","31":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","32":"tag-phoenix-suns","33":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","34":"tag-sacramento-kings","35":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","36":"tag-sports","37":"tag-toronto-raptors","38":"tag-united-states","39":"tag-unitedstates","40":"tag-us","41":"tag-utah-jazz","42":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}