Every NBA team’s most underrated player
By Tom West
Los Angeles Lakers: Roy Hibbert
The name Roy Hibbert may not seem like one that’s too underrated in the NBA when you first hear it. And when it comes to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, he’s one of their best players. Although that’s obviously not much of an accomplishment. But that’s the point when it comes to Hibbert. He’s a good defensive player on arguably the league’s worst team who have been terrible at both ends of the floor, and he gets a little overlooked because of it.
On top of that, since the major collapse he had with the Indiana Pacers during the latter stages of the 2013-14 season (in which he had multiple games and playoff appearances with zero points or rebounds), he’s fallen off the radar. He’s gone from being a two-time All-Star on an elite contending team, to being the Lakers’ last hope this summer as they failed to bring in any other top free agents.
He’s become a tough defensive player that’s simply easy to overlook, and he has even less chance to shine on such a lost team.
However, as the only player capable of defending the paint for the Lakers this season, he’s off to a strong start after his first 10 games. His 8.6 points per game aren’t important, but 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in his 26.4 minutes per game is worth acknowledging. And when transferring that impact to each 36 minutes he’s on the court, Hibbert averages 9.2 rebounds and an even more impressive 3.1 blocks.
Even though he’s slow, limited offensively and on the glass, he’s still holding opponents to only 45.1 percent shooting at the rim. And even though he’s a strange fit (especially offensive) with a Lakers team so devoid of a chance to win, Hibbert at least has value as a defensive anchor.
As we move past L.A., it’s time to increase the talent level of these players.
Next: New Orleans Pelicans