1. James Harden
Of course, James Harden isn’t underrated in the traditional sense. No player with seven All-Star appearances and an MVP trophy ever is.
Yet for everything he’s accomplished this decade and the gaudy numbers he’s produced in recent years, there’s a large section of NBA fandom that can’t get past the ethically questionable way in which he’s done it.
Aside from a slight 0.5 decrease in 2013-14, Harden has increased his scoring average every season of his career. This includes a whopping 38.5 points per game in 2019-20 one year after 36.1 a game, the highest single-season mark since Michael Jordan in 1986-87.
Only two players in NBA history have a scoring title and assists crown on their resume: Tiny Archibald and James Harden.
His 86 40-point games this decade far outpace the next player on the list, Kevin Durant with 51. Harden has the only 60-point triple-double in NBA history and his 378 made 3-pointers last year would have demolished the previous record in the absence of Stephen Curry.
Does Harden’s complete control of the basketball grow stale after a few dribbling exhibitions? Perhaps. Are his manipulative foul-drawing tactics frustrating for basketball purists? That could certainly be the case.
If those were the only factors behind Harden’s dominance, we’d see more players replicating it, and there’s a very good reason why we aren’t.
Twenty years from now, NBA fans won’t question Harden’s methods, even if they never result in a championship.
They’ll simply marvel at one of this generation’s greatest offensive weapons and a historic level of dominance that’s become the norm, and it’s time more people do that in the present as well before it’s no longer possible.