The Most Underrated NBA Players Of The Early 2000s

DeMar DeRozan is having an incredible season. Nine seasons into his career, the former USC Trojan has finally found his stride and established himself as one of the NBA’s top guards.

DeRozan may be cementing his status as the best player in franchise history in front of our eyes, but say he belongs in the MVP conversation and most NBA fans will laugh at you. Even Basketball-Reference.com doesn’t give the man a prayer.This is the plight of DeMar DeRozan—he’s criminally underrated, and probably will be for his entire career.

Fans have a tendency to overlook certain players, and that effect is amplified as years and decades pass. Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980s—the dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. Mitch Richmond, Detlef Schrempf, and Vin Baker are among the underrated players from the ’90s.

And when it comes to the 2000s, well, there are plenty of guys who deserved more love. A small core of teams dominated the league in that era. As a result, a number of quality players had their careers pass without ever getting exposure on the highest level.

Even some players who did make it onto that stage, like Rashard Lewis and Richard Hamilton, aren’t remembered as reverently as they should be. Some players on this list, like Mehmet Okur and Doug Christie, are, sadly, likely unknown to the young NBA fans of today. Others, like Vince Carter and Joe Johnson, are still kicking around the league, but young fans are probably unaware of just how dominant they used to be.

Of course, we couldn’t account for everyone who deserves to be on this list, but below are the most underrated NBA players of the early 2000s.

Elton Brand

Brand, unfortunately, consistently played on bad teams. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft, Brand was a two-time All-Star and scored nearly 17,000 points in his career. Brand won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he was one of the league’s best big men for nearly a decade. He officially retired in Oct. 2016.

Baron Davis

Davis is another two-time All-Star. The 1997 California Mr. Basketball was one of the most explosive guards in the league. On New Orleans and Golden State, Baron was a constant 20-point threat. He could strap ’em up, too; he twice led the league in steals.

Stephen Jackson

The former Oak Hill star played all over the NBA. He never made an All-Star team, but he scored nearly 13,000 points in his career, and he won a ring with the Spurs in 2003. Unfortunately, many remember him most for the “Malice at the Palace,” but Jackson was a dynamic point forward and an asset to every roster he graced.

Vince Carter

Young fans these days seem to only remember Vinsanity for his dunking prowess. Of course, the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest was iconic, but Vince was so much more than a dunker. He could hang with the best scorers in the league. Carter was a true superstar with the Raptors and New Jersey Nets. His legacy took a knock because he checked out on Toronto in the 2004 season. An eight-time All-Star, V.C. is a lock for the Hall of Fame, and he’s still getting buckets to this day.

Jermaine O’Neal

Jermaine was a two-way beast in the post. Any team that matched up with the Pacers in the 2000s knew they had a problem on their hands. A six-time All-Star, he made the All-NBA Second Team in 2004. O’Neal averaged more than 20 points four times in his career, and he racked up double-doubles. The former No. 17 overall pick retired in 2014.

Joe Johnson

Johnson is still kicking around the NBA and putting up 5.9 points per game for the Houston Rockets. He’s past his prime, but back in the day J.J. was an offensive force. A seven-time All-Star, Johnson was solid for the Suns but reached the apex of his powers with the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 25.0 points per game in the 2006-07 season.

Peja Stojakovic

Peja, now 40, played from 1992-2011. His best years came with the Sacramento Kings; he was a lights-out three-point shooter. A three-time All-Star, Peja averaged 24.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 2003-04. That year, the 6-foot-9 Serbian/Greek hit 43.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Peja won a ring in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks before hanging them up.

Rashard Lewis

Rashard Lewis is now tearing up Ice Cube’s three-on-three league, the Big3, like he once wrecked the league. At 6-foot-10, Lewis was a dynamic athlete. He was ahead of his time. Orlando played Rashard as a big, allowing the Magic to stretch the floor, en route to its 2009 NBA Finals appearance. Lewis, a two-time All-Star, won a ring in 2013 with the Miami Heat.

Andrei Kirilenko

Another guy who was ahead of his time: Andrei Kirilenko, AKA AK-47. Kirilenko, 6-foot-9, was an athletic freak; he could do everything on the floor. He played in the NBA from 2001-14, and his best years came with the Utah Jazz. He made an NBA all-defensive team three times and earned one All-Star appearance.

Shawn Marion

Marion was a do-it-all wing for the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, in the mid-2000s. Marion, the No. 9 overall pick in the 1999 draft, made four All-Star teams. He won a bronze medal with the 2004 Struggle Team in Athens and, more impressively, was also a part of that 2011 Mavericks championship roster. I keep saying “ahead of his time,” but real talk—Shawn Marion was ahead of his time. He deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Mehmet Okur

Okur, a 7-footer from Turkey, played in the NBA for 10 years. He could stretch the floor; in his best shooting year, he hit 48.5 percent of his three-point attempts. His best run came with Utah. In 2005-06, he averaged 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Okur was a trailblazer for the many international bigs who shoot from outside today.

Michael Redd

Redd somehow fell to the second round in the dreadful 2000 draft, but he went on to become an All-Star with the Milwaukee Bucks. Given the opportunity to step up after Ray Allen’s departure, Redd became a prolific scorer, averaging 26.7 points per game in the 2006-07 campaign. Redd retired in 2012 after one season with the Suns. Though his numbers dropped dramatically in his final seasons, he still managed to average 19.0 points per game for his career.

Sam Cassell

Sam Cassell deserves to be remembered for much more than the big-balls dance (though that dance is great, TBH). The 6-foot-3 guard was a three-time NBA champion, and he was vital as a bench sparkplug for the Houston Rockets in the 1994 Finals. Cassell was an All-Star in 2004. With nearly 16,000 points and 6,000 assists in his career, he was, above all, a winner and great teammate.

Caron Butler

Butler, a star at UConn, found his niche in the NBA throughout his 14-year career. He was never a superstar, but he made two All-Star teams, and like Cassell he uplifted every team for which he played. In his best season, 2008-09, Butler averaged 20.8 points for the Washington Wizards. He retired in 2016 after a brief stint with Sacramento.

Kevin Martin

Fans consistently slept on Kevin Martin throughout his career, largely because of his unconventional shooting mechanics and his roles in the Chris Paul/Lakers and James Harden/Rockets trades. Martin, however, was an explosive scorer. He once averaged nearly 25 points per game. He was a consistent double-digit scorer throughout his 12-year career and a constant threat to go off for 30.

Richard Hamilton

Nobody curled off of screens and knocked down jumpers like Rip. You probably remember him for the face mask. The slender former No. 7 overall pick was at one time one of the NBA’s best two guards. A three-time All-Star, Rip won a ring with the Detroit Pistons, who have since retired his No. 32.

Doug Christie

Defense wins championships! I love a good perimeter defender. Dougy C. could lock up with the best of them. As a member of the Sacramento Kings in their glory days, he took a backseat as Peja, Chris Webber, and Mike Bibby got most of the love. Christie made four All-NBA defensive teams and scored nearly 10,000 points in his career. The former Pepperdine star retired in 2007.

Mike Bibby

Speaking of those vintage Kings teams, Bibby deserves a spot on this list, too. I saw him play last summer in the Big3, and the dude can still hoop. The former Arizona star was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 draft. He was good with Vancouver but great with the Kings. The 6-foot-2 Bibby averaged 21.1 points and 5.4 assists per game in the 2005-06 season.

Antawn Jamison

Jamison could fill whatever role his team needed. A two-time All-Star, the former UNC Tar Heel was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2004. He scored more than 20,000 points in his career. In his third season in the league with Golden State, he averaged 24.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He went on to become a tremendous, skilled post player for six years with the Washington Wizards.

Chauncey Billups

Mr. Big Shot espouses opinions on ESPN these days—and he reportedly almost took the Cavs’ General Manager job last summer—but hoops fans remember him for his greatness and leadership with the Pistons. He joined Detroit in 2002 and blossomed into a four-time All-Star and NBA Finals MVP. Billups earned his nickname from his knack for knocking down clutch jumpers. A five-time All-Star, Billups is a borderline Hall of Famer—I say he should get in.

Andre Miller

Andre Miller had perhaps the best “old-man game” in the modern NBA. Before he turned into the real-life Uncle Drew, however, Miller was an All-Rookie first-teamer in 2000. He could really dish out dimes. Miller averaged a league-best 10.9 assists per game with Cleveland in 2001-02. He was never a natural scorer, but Miller averaged 17.0 points per game with Philly in 2006-07. He played until 2016.

Metta World Peace

Metta began his career as Ron Artest with the Chicago Bulls in 1999. The No. 16 overall pick out of St. John’s became one of the league’s best defenders. Like Christie, he made an all-defensive team four times, and he was the NBA’s 2004 Defensive Player of the Year. Artest had underrated offensive prowess, too. In 2004-05, with Indiana, he averaged 24.6 points per game and shot 92 percent from the line. He’s another guy whose legacy took a hit because of the Malice at the Palace.

Brad Miller

Remember big ol’ Brad Miller? The 7-foot white dude who did everything on the court? Miller was a beast on the boards, and he could also shoot. A two-time All-Star, Miller built an excellent, 14-year NBA career after going undrafted out of Purdue in 1998. His best years came with Indiana and Sacramento, where he stacked up double-doubles.

Michael Finley

Finley finally won a ring in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs, but his best years came alongside Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash on the Dallas Mavericks. He was never a huge “stats guy,” but Finley made two All-Star teams and was a constant offensive threat. In 1999-2000, he averaged 22.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He retired in 2010 after a brief stint with the Boston Celtics.

Marcus Camby

Marcus Camby is one of the best shot-blockers in NBA history. After he and John Calipari led UMass to the Final Four, the Raptors took Camby No. 2 in the 1996 draft. In his second season in the league, he averaged 3.7 blocks per game. Camby went on to become a top-tier post defender for the Knicks and Nuggets. He retired in 2013 after returning to the Knicks.