Hype. It's a horrible thing.
I will never forget how JaMarcus Russell was hyped into a No. 1 pick, while Heisman winner Troy Smith was drafted in the sixth round.
But no league is more filled with hype than the NBA. If you have a good half-season, you can turn that into a franchise-killing contract within months.
The players below are listed because the attention they get is very disproportional to the talent they display.
You'll notice that not a single player below has a championship ring.
The reasons for the hype will be explained with the player—usually an award given, a crazy contract, an All-Star selection, or just too much attention compared with what they have produced.
Note: I have no personal rancor towards any of the players below. Some of them are among my favorite players, so take personal prejudice out of the equation.
Without further ado, the NBA All-Hype team.
PG: Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert had a magical late 2006 season, in which he made several dramatic buzzer beaters and had several 50-point games.
Since then, what has he done? Three things. Get injured, not get better, and sign a $111 million dollar contract.
I love Gilbert as a player, and I think its best for the NBA if he comes back to his original form. But the longer he stays out, the more it looks like he peaked in that magical stretch in early 2006, and has nowhere to go but down.
The hype? Well, he's got what many D.C. sportswriters have called a "franchise-killing contract."
Why did he get it? Was it the multiple surgeries? What is the bad chemistry he created with players like Etan Thomas? Was it one missed playoffs and one stinkbomb of a playoffs?
With the Wizards winless, and Agent Zero nowhere in sight, you have your starting point guard for the All-Hype team.
SG: Ben Gordon
Where to start with Ben Gordon? A guy that frequently lives and dies (dies MUCH more often) by his jump shot.
He turned down a HUGE contract—a $58 million, six-year deal. Did I mention he turned it down after his third year in the league?
Where does he get the gall? The Bulls had one sweep over the hapless Heat, and suddenly Gordon thinks he deserves more than $10 million a year.
For a guy who offers nothing but shaky jump shooting, this is ridiculous.
Even more so than Luol Deng—who came dangerously close to making this list for his outrageous demands, and gives his team fewer points and slightly more rebounds than Gordon.
Now Gordon is coming off the bench, which he has done since turning down his offer, and his stats have gone down every year.
Due to Ben's hype of himself, he earns himself the starting job on the All-Hype team.
SF: Kevin Durant
This is where it gets dicey. Do I think Durant will be a great pro? Probably. Will he be one of the most dynamic players in the next few years, assuming the whole Sonics/OKC thing doesn't destroy his morale? Sure.
But right now, he's shooting too much and not accurately enough. More than that, he was named Rookie of the Year last year out of nothing but hype.
Compare his stats to Al Horford's—a player who I don't like nearly as much as Durant.
Durant has twice as many PPG (20.3 vs. 10.1) but on nine fewer shots per game (17.1 vs 8.2). Durant also was the only scoring option for the hapless Sonics last year.
Horford was a much better rebounder, and was an integral part of a Hawks team that made the playoffs and took the eventual NBA champions to a seventh game.
I'm not saying Durant didn't deserve it, but it seemed like the award was his to lose the day Oden was lost for the season—and unless he shot 20 percent for the year, he wasn't going to lose it.
That's not the way awards should be given—unless, of course, you believe the hype.
PF: Elton Brand
A former number-one pick that has done absolutely NOTHING to help his team contend. Sure, you can say he's never been on a good team—but a great player, especially your No. 1 pick, should be able to make you a good team by himself.
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about 1 month ago
Is Greg Oden's career somehow over? The season has just started.
about 1 month ago
If you are going to judge how good a player is by what his team does (Elton Brand), then you need to put Kobe Bryant at the top of the list, miles from whoever would be second on that list. He's only won championships with Shaq, (the most dominant center of his time, by not a small margin). He has a good chance to win a championship this year, but wouldn't come close if he didn't have 3 other all-star calibre players on his team. Look at his career without Shaq or Gasol, and you have to most overrated player ever based on what he can do for your TEAM.
from about 1 month ago
I don't think you can argue that Kobe doesn't deserve the attention he's gotten, he's the best player on the planet, and he's taken miserable Lakers team a lot farther than they should be going.
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