Even in the age of advanced analytics, social media, and widespread access to podcasts, game footage, and expert discussion, NBA players can still end up being overrated.
This can simply be due to their reputation not fitting their current skill level. For others, it’s due to producing highlight performances, but falling short in other areas of the games. Some players have a knack for posting big numbers, yet don’t necessarily help their teams win games.
Here are some of the most overrated players heading into the 2025/26 NBA season:
LaMelo Ball
The Hornets had a -5.4 net rating in LaMelo’s minutes last season. Charlotte’s defense was 4.1 points better per 100 possessions with him off the floor. A long-running issue, his defense has never improved, despite his size.
His three-point percentage dipped below 34%, reflecting another area where he hasn’t made progress: Shot selection. LaMelo is beloved, he has a massive social media following, but he’s not shown any signs that he will become a winning player in the NBA.
Until he does, he remains firmly overrated. Oh, and Charlotte hasn’t made the playoffs in his five seasons in the league.
Tyler Herro
Tyler Herro made meaningful strides last season. He improved markedly as a playmaker, and his overall scoring game was much smoother than earlier in his career.
Still, Miami was only +1.2 in his minutes. He’s a one-way combo guard, which might be the most replaceable archetype in the NBA. The Heat finished 10th in the Eastern Conference, and with Herro as their lead ball handler, it’s very unlikely they are any better than a play-in team in 2025/26.
There are corners of NBA discourse with whispers of optimism about the Heat. That’s an over-the-top vote of confidence in Herro, who, despite his improvement, remains a fundamentally flawed player.
Fred VanVleet
Unlike LaMelo and Herro, Fred VanVleet is a hard-working defender. His size, or lack thereof, limits his effectiveness on that end, however, and he’s a less-rounded scorer than his numbers might suggest.
Despite having a season with over 20 points per game, VanVleet is not really capable of putting pressure on defenses. He’s a player I like in the right system and with the right players around him, but he is little more than a third or fourth option on offense.
Scoring at the rim has always been a weakness. He was in the eighth percentile in restricted-area field-goal percentage last season. His floater game isn’t reliable either, having never made more than 40% of his short-mid-range shot attempts.
Jarred Vanderbilt
It’s no fault of Jarred Vanderbilt’s, nor anyone with the Lakers. This selection can mostly be blamed on the hype that comes with being a Laker, even if you’ve started a total of eight games across the last two regular seasons.
Vanderbilt is a handy bench player. If he was on most of the other 29 teams, no one would talk about his effectiveness as a defender, his rebounding, or his non-existent three-point shot.
It’s not the first time a player’s impact has been overhyped due to the market they play in, and it won’t be the last. For an eighth man, though, Vanderbilt has been featured far more than warranted.
Walker Kessler
Links to the Lakers have contributed to the Walker Kessler hype train getting carried away. Kessler started his career strong, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting, and he led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game last season.
A tanking Utah team was -8.8 per 100 possessions in his minutes. They weren’t much worse with him off the floor. His rebounding is an asset, but would a playoff team be able to keep him on the floor in the fourth quarter with a free throw percentage marginally above 50% in 2024/25?
Last season, his on/off differential in opponent restricted area field goal percentage only ranked in the 67th percentile, having been the 98th percentile and 99th percentile in his previous seasons. Kessler has a few standout skills, but he’s a long way from being Rudy Gobert reincarnate.
Malik Monk
Malik Monk started the most games of his career in 2024/25. The result was his lowest true shooting percentage since 2019/20 with his highest points per game mark of his career.
Sacramento has, reportedly, been trying to move on from Monk to enable a move for Jonathan Kuminga. There have been no takers yet. The Kings don’t seem convinced of Monk as a starting point guard, and last year seemed to show he was best as Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner behind a true lead guard.
He’s getting paid alot of money to just fulfill that role. The defensive issues make him a liability as a two guard on a contending team. Like Herro, his role doesn’t carry much value in the second-apron era of the NBA.
Dillon Brooks
Houston’s defense was only marginally better with Dillon Brooks on the floor last season. Overall, the Rockets were worse when Brooks was on the floor.
Ime Udoka appeared to get some of Brooks shot-hunting tendencies under control, but 11.9 field-goal attempts is still more than he should be taking. Brooks can shoot his team out of games.
On defense, the persona and physicality have led to a slight overrating of his defensive ability. Others are more impactful without being so villainous. His love of winding up opposing stars doesn’t often work in his team’s favor.
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