NBA players and fans have taken to Twitter to discuss who they believe history’s most underrated player is. Portland Trail Blazers big Jusuf Nurkic offered his pick.
It doesn’t stir the pot, or provoke the back and forth chatter that a LeBron vs. Jordan debate would, but the question of “who is the most underrated player in NBA history” certainly provides the widest array of answers. Yesterday, popular Twitter user The Hoop Central threw the question out, and Portland Trail Blazers big Jusuf Nurkic provided a Hall of Fame caliber pick:
https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1323421084318793728?s=21
Most of the Twitter world — particularly those that call themselves San Antonio Spurs fans — were pleased with the call to declare future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan the most underrated player in NBA history.
Others weren’t so happy, especially given Duncan’s stature as a five-time NBA champion and arguably the greatest power forward of all-time. Perhaps it all boils down to how one defines “underrated.”
It’s commendable of Nurkic to show some love to one of the predecessors of low post play. In watching Nurkic play, it sort of makes sense, given his command of the interior on defense, as well as some of his hook shots on the block, the ability to stretch the floor with a 16-footer, and even their vision and passing ability.
Jusuf Nurkic has seemingly never publicly disclosed exactly who his favorite player is. But, there are tons of similarities in his play style to not only Spurs great Tim Duncan, but also in former Portland Trail Blazers bigs such as Arvydas Sabonis and even Bill Walton.
Nurkic alluded to Tim Duncan being “one of” his clear-cut picks for most underrated in NBA history. One has to imagine how many Blazers players, or whom else in general cracks his personal list. His teammate, Damian Lillard, garnered more than a few votes from other Twitter users, as did former Portland Trail Blazers legend Clyde Drexler. The rest of the comments can be found through the above link.