The league, the media, and the casual fans are guilty of chasing the flash and crowning players who are built for the spotlight. It’s always the same old narrative every NBA season, and more often than not, these players overshadow certain superstars quietly busy flying under the radar. 

What actually is an “underrated player” in the NBA? Simply, it is a term often used to describe a player whose performance and impact are not categorized high enough based on his production. The NBA is more notorious for this term because basketball is a five-on-five game, allowing any single player to make the deciding difference between a win or a loss on any given night. In other sports, like the NFL, where there are three facets to the game and so many moving parts, it becomes much harder to decide which player truly deserves the “underrated” designation. There are too many positions dependent on one another.

Think of the time Jason Terry and JJ Barea, a pair of bona fide role players during their time, combined to make an impact great enough that it helped the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Finals in six games over the Miami Heat. Or even the time Andre Igoudala’s two-way impact from Games 4-6 in the 2015 Finals helped welcome a title for the first time in 40 years in Golden State. Or the time Boston’s Cedric Maxwell averaged 23.7 points per game over the last three Finals games in 1981, delivering the Celtics their first championship since Bill Russell was in uniform.

All these are examples of unsuspecting players changing the flow and the result of games, despite the expectations upon them being far from what one would ask of a legitimate star.

EssentiallySports’ ranking of the top 10 most underrated players is based on a total body of work and is not just a review of this season alone. But before the list is presented, there are a few notes on our methodology.

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• Two-way impact: players who influence winning based on their production on both sides of the ball.
• Role difficulty and team context: players who maximize their role, delivering the most production based on what their team’s gameplan allows them to do.
• Consistency > flash: viral moments are minimally considered; it is all about those who demonstrate reliable impact over stretches and not short bursts.
• Media narrative: players going unnoticed when their production suggests they deserve to be discussed and celebrated more.

The Ranking

Top 10

10. Isaiah Stewart (Detroit Pistons): Stewart is not the first name one would think of when looking at the Pistons roster. He is not the second nor third, and such has been his entire career story: a career that has weathered the storm and has the Pistons sitting at the top as the best team in the Eastern Conference. Stewart is still mostly deployed as a bench player, but he is holding his own as a small-ball five or power forward on the roster. In today’s pace-and-space NBA, bigs who aren’t 7-footers with 30-foot range get dismissed. But Stewart is redefining the position with physicality, elite rim protection, and the willingness to set bone-crushing screens and rebound as if his life depends on it.

9. Isaiah Hartenstein (Oklahoma City Thunder): Before joining the Thunder, Hartenstein never quite appeared settled in other stops of his career, hardly staying beyond a couple of seasons with any team. Currently in his second year in OKC, he looks more than relaxed, having played 57 games in the 2024-25 season, starting 53 of them. It was only the second season in his career that he started above 10 games, which is absurd because he showed what he can do as a starter. Last year, Hartenstein posted a double-double, and as a part of the league’s best team, he is quietly posting a near double-double of 10.6 points and 9.7 rebounds this season. He is the perfect complement to All-Star big man Chet Holmgren and the Thunder’s switching defense — a traditional big man who can set screens, roll hard, and make the extra pass. Hartenstein is the poster boy of impact that doesn’t record on box scores.

8. Josh Hart (New York Knicks): Hart has been the Knicks’ heartbeat in the last four years. Yes, the franchise didn’t become a contender until it got Jalen Brunson. However, Hart has been the glue to the team and a huge reason why players like Brunson can thrive in the system. Fans always hop on the idea that Hart is just a role player, but if he is out of the Knicks’ roster, they won’t find another player like him who can be the culture carrier. Here’s a guy who’ll take an elbow to the nose and draw blood everywhere, getting the home crowd to get loud enough to take New York’s opponent mentally out of the game instantly. Now that’s impact.

7. Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons): At 23 years old, Thompson is already a defensive menace, while playing all over the floor for a surging Pistons squad. He has the two-way disruptor prototype and is one of the huge reasons the Pistons rank top five in defensive ratings this season. Thompson is not the most volume-productive player — his career average sits at just 9.7 PPG — but he more than makes up for that at the defensive end, averaging 1.9 steals per game.

6. Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans): Almost everything coming out of New Orleans doesn’t get into the spotlight —and that is the exact case with Murphy III. He is the most consistent performer on a team that’s had its share of injury drama and a poor run of form. New Orleans’ struggles have hidden him from national eyes, but anyone watching closely knows he’s a star in the making, and he is quietly becoming the Pelicans’ best hope. The franchise is second from bottom in the standings, looking good for a lottery pick, and this time, they may start to consider getting pieces that can thrive alongside Murphy III.

5. T.J. McConnell (Indiana Pacers): McConnell also finds himself on a struggling team, and it is absurd to begin to process that. The Pacers were one game away from winning the championship. However, that already looks like the distant past as the absence of Tyrese Haliburton has made matters rough. McConnell has created his niche as a bench player. Since his second year in the league, he has not started above eight games in a single season. He is not a heavy scorer and always gives 100% in the 17 mins average time he is on the floor. Don’t forget: he gave a historic Oklahoma City defense troubles on the biggest stage in the sport.

4. Christian Braun (Denver Nuggets): Braun had a breakout season in 2024-25 when he averaged 15.4 points per game, more than double what he averaged the season prior. He locked in a starting role on the roster and built on that this season before he was hit with an injury in mid-November. Braun won a title as a rookie and has only gotten better. His athleticism on the open floor and defensive versatility make him the perfect modern 3-and-D piece with upside. Denver’s system hides some of his individual shine as Jamal Murray is the main guard and deputy to Nikola Jokic. If he were the second option on a lottery team, he would be one of the best young guards in the league.

3. Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets): Averaging a career high in points per game, Amen Thompson looks settled in his third year as the Rockets’ primary guard. He has played and started all but one game this season, which has quenched all durability doubts that hung over his head. Thompson is largely underrated because the hype machine is still catching up to his production and because he is on a roster with Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, players who will take the spotlight before anybody else.

2. Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers): Team context matters a ton here. As the third option on his team, Reaves’ production mirrors a player who can quite easily be the first or second-best player on a title-contending team. There have been some stretches this season where Reaves was the best player on the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers. That is evident in the monster year he is having, averaging 25.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists on 50.8% shooting in 33.5 minutes. The undrafted kid from Oklahoma is now a legit co-star next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Reaves has been largely overlooked because he is not the main offensive threat for the Lakers with their main offensive threat, Doncic, leading the entire league in scoring.

1. Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics): There was always the certainty from day one that Pritchard would be a slow developer with bench minutes, but he will make the starting roster or start more games at least for the Boston Celtics. That has happened this season, and he is averaging a career-high in points per game. Jayson Tatum’s injury has opened the window for Pritchard to prove himself, and he did nicely. In a loaded Boston roster with stars galore, he is forcing his way into the conversation with pure production and winning impact.

Just Missed the Cut

AJ Green (Milwaukee Bucks): Green is a microwave shooter in a league that still undervalues spot-up snipers who never miss open looks. He is posting efficient double-digit scoring and shooting at a career-high from the 3-point line. After embracing a bench role in his first three years in the NBA, the Bucks now rely on him to stretch the floor.

Nic Claxton (Brooklyn Nets): Claxton is a modern rim-running, switch-everything big man who anchors defenses. The casual eye may look past him, for one, the Brooklyn Nets are in a rebuilding phase, and his production stats-wise haven’t been immensely over the top, but he is being efficient 

Grayson Allen (Phoenix Suns): Allen has quietly become one of the league’s most reliable 3-and-D wings, hitting clutch shots and playing lockdown on-ball defense that doesn’t show up in highlight packages. In his third year with the Phoenix Suns, he is averaging a career-high in points.

Derrick White (Boston Celtics): White is the player who does everything on the floor, including being the connective tissue for the Boston Celtics that everyone takes for granted. His steal rates, his ability to guard 1-through-5 in stretches, his timely threes. Payton Pritchard’s emergence this season has somehow made White even more invisible, but he is still a top-tier two-way guard. The Celtics win because of players like him.

Tari Eason (Houston Rockets): Eason is one of the most energetic players in the league. Injuries have limited him at times throughout his career, but when he’s rolling, the forward impacts winning for Houston. He has flown under the radar, particularly because he is next in the forward position behind Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. 

Modern Team Building Efforts are Producing More Underrated Players than Ever

Is the NBA going through an “underrated” revolution? Are we seeing the quietest talent in this era compared to any of the past? There is a strong argument to be made, especially considering how today’s team-building rules are enforced because of the active collective bargaining agreement.

It has all become about strategic roster building. Top-heavy talent is no longer the golden blueprint. Take the defending champion Oklahoma City as a foremost example. The team became so depth-central that a roles-based gameplan happened organically. Because of the number of contributors, the Thunder play a style that allows everyone to contribute everywhere. That formula opens the door to nearly every player on the team to add their sprinkle of meaningful production, which is the reason why there are multiple players on the team who could quite easily fit the bill as an underrated player.

The truth is, the term “underrated” has shifted from an internet narrative to the basis of the direction of the modern NBA. It is no longer an amusing debate word. Underrated players make up a distinct category. These players entail an essential tier that is important when describing today’s game.