Let's talk overachievers. All successful teams have an indispensable player or two that doesn't put up the glamour stats or highlight plays, yet fills a key role when his team hangs a W. What unheralded role player is most valuable to his team and deserves our attention?
Nick: Well, in the beginning of this season I said that Mehmet Okur was the most underrated player in the league. But now that he was an All-Star, I guess I have to abandon the argument that he is an overachiever. Now my nod goes to Kevin Martin. In just his third year in the league he has nearly doubled his scoring output and is passing and rebounding better than ever too. Basically, in every statistical category he has upped his numbers and been the rock that Sacramento has needed since the continued Artest saga, Mike Bibby's offensive decline, and Brad Miller's less than stellar season has left this team in a scramble to find some stability. He cleans up the most improved player award hands down.
Atma Brother #1: Some names you already know, but still don't get enough credit for how much of an impact they've had on their team's impressive records this year: Chris Webber, Josh Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion (sorry, but Steve Nash gets way too much credit at their expense), and Caron Butler.
Dave: Once upon a time this was Bruce Bowen but everybody knows him now. My short list would include the Bobcats’ Emeka Okafor (currently lost in Dwight Howard’s shadow but vitally important to his squad), the Warriors’ Mickael Pietrus, the Rockets’ Juwan Howard, and Udonis Haslem of the Heat.
Ryan: A couple that spring to mind are Tayshaun Prince, Kirk Hinrich, Raja Bell and Jerry Sloan. I know that the question asked for players, but Sloan is the Rodney Dangerfield of NBA coaches and he has his entire roster firing on all cylinders despite some injuries to key cogs at various points this season. Rafael Araujo is the one exception but I can't hold that against him because I witnessed firsthand how inept the big man can be during his time with the Raptors.
Dennis: Well, before he got injured, I was really liking David Lee. Of course being a Knicks fan, I get to see how hard he plays every night and he always seems to be around the basketball. At least, he did.