Dirk Nowitzki

The German might be the most valuable player in the NBA

The Power Forward from the Dallas Mavericks has been labelled soft for years. Now with a championship ring, he's hoping to change that.

No NBA fan should ever underestimate Dirk Nowitzki and his signature fadeaway jumper. Nowitzki has been labelled soft and unable to perform at last minute plays. But Nowitzki is a serious matchup for any player in the league. His statistics are staggering and since he joined the NBA in 1998, he has accomplished achievements that even some of the legends could not have done. Nowitzki's a versatile player with his combination of quickness, ball handling and exceptional shooting. His unique shooting style gives him unfair advantage and makes him almost unstoppable. The famous Lebron James called his signature one-legged fadeaway the second most unstoppable move ever. "You have a seven-footer fading away off one leg. There is no one that can block that shot," said James. His unique type of play made him one of the best players in the NBA, and the player has been compared with the legendary Larry Bird.

Dirk Nowitzki has been unnoticed by fans as they claim Nowitzki's defense is a weakness. In the beginning of his career, Nowitzki had a rough start and struggled in playing defense because of his unique style of play. This weakness became a target to rivals and they often underestimate his defensive skills. Now Dirk is an efficient defensive player. He is ranked 8th in active players for defensive win shares, which is a higher status than Kobe Bryant who made it into the NBA All-Defensive team 11 times. This denies the claims of his lack of defense and fans should have no more reasons to ignore Nowitzki.

Nowitzki is a highly decorated player with many awards and achievements. He recently reached 25,000 career points, making him the 21st player in NBA history to score that high. Other career highlights include:

• NBA champion (2011)
• NBA finals MVP (2011)
• NBA most valuable player (2007)
• 11x NBA All-star
• 2 FIBA world championship (2002,2006)

Nowitzki has been under-appreciated for most of is career. He now has a championship ring and is one of the few players to score more than 25,000. People need to pay attention to him more, as he truly deserves it.

Bibliography:

Butlet, Nathaniel S. "Simply Mav-elous." Hoop Magazine June 2011: 34-35. Web.

Highkin, Sean. "Dirk Nowitzki Reaches 25,000 Career Points." USA Today. Gannett, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/04/14/dirk-nowitzki-dallas-mavericks-scoring-points-milestone/2083063/>.

Kerby, Trey. "Even the Heat Love Dirk's One-legger." The Basketball Jones. The Score, 31 May 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. <http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/2011/05/31/even-the-heat-love-dirks-one-legger/>.

Jrue Holiday

One of the biggest point guards from Philly goes unnoticed

Jrue Holiday won't be mentioned by NBA fans when they are asked who is the best point guard. But the player is going into lead role.

When talking about the "top point guards" in the NBA, many fans won't mention Jrue Holiday in their list. But the 6 ft 4 in point guard from the Philadelphia 76ers is hoping to change that and get the recognition he deserves. Holiday's statistics are strong and points out that he is one of the best point guards in the league right now. Since the departure of Andre Iguadola from the team, Jrue Holiday is able to get the ball more and control the game. Holiday has the ability to both shoot and pass the ball, making him a very versatile player. He is a candidate of the NBA most improved player this year and participated in the 2013 NBA All-star team. He is slowly getting the attention he deserves.

Jrue Holiday's statistics can compete with even the best point guards in the league. He scores an average of 18 points per game, higher than most point guards in the league including the stars Chris Paul and Deron Williams. He is the 4th player with the most assists per game in the league with an average of 8.1 assists per game. The numbers in his statistics are simply amazing yet people have yet to recognize his talent and high level of play.

Jrue Holiday is an All star player capable of controlling the game and bring wins to his team. Fans need to play more attention to his play and they will be amazed by his athleticism. This is just the beginning for Holiday and he will surely rise the numbers in his statistics. With the star Andrew Bynum expected to join the 76ers soon, the sky is the limit for Holiday.

Bibliography:

Bowers, Brendan. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1454929-10-most-underrated-nba-players-in-the-league-right-now/page/7>.

"Home." NBA Stats. Turner Sports Network, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://stats.nba.com/?GameScope=Season>.

Leitner. "10. Robin Lopez." Fox Sports Radio. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, 3 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.foxsportsradio.com/pages/willeitner.html?article=10671310>.

Kemba Walker

Kemba Walker: A future superstar in the making

The potential top-5 point guard is a victim of being in one of the worst teams in the league, the Charlotte Bobcats.

Kemba Walker was a college superstar when he was playing in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). He won the NCAA championship with his team the UConn Huskies and was able to receive the NCAA most outstanding player award in 2011. After his win, he announced he will be joining the NBA and was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats owned by the legendary Michael Jordan. Unfortunately for him, the Bobcats had had one of the worst seasons in NBA history. They only won 7 of the 66 games they played, the worst winning percentage in the history of NBA. Just in his rookie year, he had already experience a lot of drawbacks. Lang Whitaker, a journalist for slam magazine said Kemba Walker "endured a lockout that shaved off a quarter of his rookie season; endured a historically terrible season with the Bobcats; and saw his coach got fired." But he didn't let those stop him. Now he's helping rebuild the Bobcats from the ground up. 

In his second year in the NBA, he is stepping up his game. He solidified himself as a key player in his team had become the heart and soul of the Bobcats. He is becoming one of the most experienced player in the team and is rising to become a leader. In an interview, he said "i'm just trying to be more of a leader. That's the next step, being more vocal. It's just growing, getting to know your teammates better." From the beginning, Kemba was always willing to take the load of playing from his teammates. He said "Whatever my team needs me to do, that's what i'm going to do." His attitude always gives Kemba respect by players and other people around him. Drew for Under Armor said "He's (Kemba) a winner, he's a leader, he's got heart and he's fearless."

Kemba Walker still has a long journey ahead of him. He's only been in the NBA for two years, yet he's playing show that he's an experienced player. He's endured drawbacks that might make other people quit and still try to be the best. There are still many years to come for Kemba and by the looks of his play, it looks like he might be the next NBA superstar.

Bibliography:

Bowers, Brendan. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1454929-10-most-underrated-nba-players-in-the-league-right-now/page/4>.

"NBA.com, Official Site of the National Basketball Association." NBA.com. Turner Sports Network, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kemba_walker/>.

Osborne, Ben, and Atiba Jefferson. "Building Block." Slam Presents Kicks 20 Oct. 2011: 56-62. Web.

Sun, Bob. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1476309-creating-the-nbas-all-underrated-team/page/3>.

Whitaker, Lang. "The Big Leap." Slam Magazine Apr. 2013: 56-61. Web.

Tim Duncan

Tim duncan: the most under-appreciated NBA superstar in history?

 The four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA MVP has been labelled "boring" and "uninteresting" by fans.

When Tim Duncan first entered the NBA in 1998, he shocked the basketball world. He played so well in his first year that the legendary Charles Barkley, impressed by his performance, said "I have seen the future and he wears number 21." Duncan's statistics are amazing. He currently ranks third in most blocks per game and averages 11 rebounds per game. He has the fourth highest efficiency rating in the NBA and average 20 points per game. Even after his prime years, he is still an All-star player able to put up big numbers in the score boards. Duncan is regarded as one of, if not the best power forward to ever play in the NBA.

Duncan's consistency has made him one of the best players in the NBA. But he is not getting the recognition he deserves simply because he is not exciting. Many label him as boring because of his simple yet effective style of play. Duncan remains distant with the media and because of this he is not gaining popularity. Many NBA fans do not know how good Tim Duncan can play because they rarely see him on television or in weekly highlights. Duncan lets his game do the talking and will perform amazingly well in games, even at his old age. His accomplishments over the years include:

• 4 NBA championships
• 3 NBA finals MVP (one of the only four players to ever win it more than once)
• 2 NBA most valuable player
• 14 NBA All-star game appearances
• Named rookie of the year

When Duncan retires in the future, he will surely be included in the basketball hall of fame and will be remember as the best power forward to ever play in the NBA.

Bibliography:

Graham, Noah. "Spurs with Second Best Record." NBA Hoop June 2011: 40-41. Web.

Jochnau, Garret. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 3 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1551357-is-tim-duncan-the-most-under-appreciated-superstar-in-the-nba>.

"NBA.com, Official Site of the National Basketball Association." NBA.com : Tim Duncan Bio Page. Turner Sports Network, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tim_duncan/bio.html>.

Josh Smith

The All-star caliber player from the Atlanta Hawks 

Josh Smith (A.K.A J-Smoove)  is relatively unknown to the casual NBA fan. But his statistics and NBA records demand your attention. 

Josh Smith is a star in his hometown Atlanta, but to the rest of world he is almost unnoticed. He earned a reputation in High school as a fierce shot-blocker. He still retains that reputation in the NBA, but many people have overlooked that fact because of other larger players who get more blacks than Smith. Smith has a relatively small size considering he is able to block so many shots. Standing at 6 ft 9 in, he is small compared to other tall players who can block shots. 

Since joining the NBA in 2004, Smith have broken a number of NBA records for blocks. He is the youngest player to be able to:

• block 10 shots in a game while he was just 19
• 500 career blocked shots at the age of 21
• 1000 career blocked shots at the age of 24

These are amazing accomplishments that Josh Smith has been able to fulfill and not many players can do these, not even the legends of basketball. Josh smith is an amazingly versatile player and can do almost anything on the court. His teammate Al Horford stated "there isn't another power forward in the league who can do exactly what he does: running the floor, shooting a little from outside, finishing at the rim, then blocking a bunch of shots and playing defense everywhere" 

Josh Smith will remain a player fit for the hall of fame, people just needs to pay attention to his game.

Bibliography:

Bowers, Brendan. "NBA." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 24 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1454929-10-most-underrated-nba-players-in-the-league-right-now/page/11>.

Cordes, Joel C. "Al Horford Talks NCAA Tournament, Atlanta Hawks Playoffs, Josh Smith and More." Bleacher Report. Turner Sports Network, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1598618-al-horford-talks-ncaa-tournament-atlanta-hawks-playoffs-josh-smith-and-more/page/5>.

"NBA.com, Official Site of the National Basketball Association." NBA.com. Turner Sports Network, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/career_stats.html>.