The 10 most underrated NBA players of the 2010s

10. Al Jefferson

Al Jefferson was of a previous era, the type that revolved around those with a similar 6’10”, 289-pound frame.

He was a low-post aficionado, blunt and bruising with the way he got into the paint, but nimble and ambidextrous in how he put the ball in the basket. For the early stages of the decade before the 3-point revolution, that was more than enough for Big Al to perform at a high level.

From 2010-15, Jefferson averaged 18.5 points on 49.8 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds per game. During that time he had the fifth-most double-doubles in the league and routinely gave some of the best big men constant issues with his array of moves down low.

His best season came in 2013-14, where he put up 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in his first season as a member of the Charlotte Hornets — then Bobcats.

Jefferson’s presence sparked a 22-game improvement and just the second postseason appearance in franchise history. Despite not making the All-Star Game, Jefferson was awarded a spot on the All-NBA third team, the only appearance on any of the three teams in his career.

It’s no coincidence that 2014-15 was Jefferson’s last playing over 30 minutes a night. It was the first championship season for the Golden State Warriors, a team that introduced the NBA to the style that made Jefferson obsolete.

For a time, though, Jefferson was a fan favorite in Charlotte and the subject of several articles that broke down some of the league’s most underrated. If not for a seismic shift in analytics, perhaps that love could’ve spread vibrantly across the league.