The 10 most underrated NBA players of the 2010s

3. Joakim Noah

A woeful two-year stint in New York coupled with the swift evolution of the game sunk Joakim Noah into irrelevancy, but it wasn’t long ago when his trademark hustle and effort were the talks of the NBA town.

At the start of the decade, Noah was the feisty and energetic big man, the defensive ace for the Chicago Bulls who filled in the gaps around his more talented teammates, namely Derrick Rose.

Once Rose went down, though, Noah was asked to do more at the offensive end. He obliged, but not without keeping his defensive intensity at the same maniacal level.

Noah wound up putting together impressive back-to-back seasons in 2013-14, doing nearly everything to keep Chicago above playoff water. He made his only two All-Star appearances with averages of 12.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

Additionally, Noah took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2014 and finished fourth in MVP voting that same year, an astounding finish for such a limited offensive player.

Before Nikola Jokic, Noah was facilitating at a level that hadn’t been seen in years. His 5.4 assists per game in 2013-14 is the ninth-highest mark for a center in NBA history.

Rose’s availability was in a constant state of flux. Luol Deng was traded during Noah’s MVP-caliber season. Yet Joakim pushed forward with a revolving door of floor generals, unable to let the Bulls get swept up in the sea of excuses nobody would’ve blamed them for drowning in.

Given the current state of the league and his position, it’d be difficult for Noah to rediscover that previous magic, especially considering the attrition on his 34-year-old body.

But what he can’t do now shouldn’t take away from what he was able to accomplish, where nobody could argue Noah didn’t empty the tank on a nightly basis independent of who stood beside him.