Most Overrated Athlete?

[Finkelskyhook]

1)  Michael Jordan
2)  Lebron James

How good would either have been if they were officiated the same as their peers?  We'll never know.

[ChillyWilly]

I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.

Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?

Tyson peak who is he a tier below? You need to explain yourself. Cus style of boxing was elite and Tyson was it's master.

[Donoghus]

Namath was definitely the first one that came to mind.

You can probably point to a handful of QBs that are overrated simply because of a Super Bowl ring (or rings) but Namath would definitely be at the top.

)
Is Namath really "most overrated"?  I don't see his name ever come up in discussions on great NFL QBs.

He's in the pro football hall of fame despite some very mediocre stats. He threw more INTs than passing TDs (220 to 173) in his career and his career completion percentage is only 50%. He had more INTs than TDs in 11 of the 13 years he played.  He's basically a .500 QB in terms of winning. He's most remembered for a game (Super Bowl III) where he didn't even throw a TD yet he's adulated for it because of a comment he made before the game.   He was a product of the NY market and built up by the national football media where he's still revered.   He's way below the pedestal he's held on although more & more people seem to coming around to the fact that he was an average QB.

[hardlyyardley]

Basketball= Karl Malone
Foofball=Sam Huff
Baseball=Sosa

[CelticsWhat35]

Draymond Green

[Ed Monix]

I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.

Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?

Tyson peak who is he a tier below? You need to explain yourself. Cus style of boxing was elite and Tyson was it's master.

Tier below in GOAT heavyweight.

Tyson was amazing!

But he lost to Evander Holyfield twice, and was convincingly beaten by Lennox Lewis.

Fans will reference that he wasn’t taking training seriously at that time, but that’s the point, you’re judged on your whole career.

[ChillyWilly]

I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.

Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?

Tyson peak who is he a tier below? You need to explain yourself. Cus style of boxing was elite and Tyson was it's master.

Tier below in GOAT heavyweight.

Tyson was amazing!

But he lost to Evander Holyfield twice, and was convincingly beaten by Lennox Lewis.

Fans will reference that he wasn’t taking training seriously at that time, but that’s the point, you’re judged on your whole career.

That wasn't prime Mike that was cocaine Mike. 85-90 before Buster Douglas got him.

[Donoghus]

I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.

Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?

Tyson peak who is he a tier below? You need to explain yourself. Cus style of boxing was elite and Tyson was it's master.

Tier below in GOAT heavyweight.

Tyson was amazing!

But he lost to Evander Holyfield twice, and was convincingly beaten by Lennox Lewis.

Fans will reference that he wasn’t taking training seriously at that time, but that’s the point, you’re judged on your whole career.

There's Tyson with Kevin Rooney and Tyson without Kevin Rooney.  The Tyson with Rooney was unstoppable as we've ever seen.

Also, the Holyfield & Lewis fights were post jail when it was clear that Tyson was not the same fighter.   

[SparzWizard]

CP3, James Harden, Russell Westbrook.

Someone mentioned San Diego Chargers (remember #1 offense and #1 defense year and they missed playoffs?) and their annual chokes. Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers...list can go on.

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

Wembenyama
Chet Holmgren

[SHAQATTACK]

Ben Simmons

[Moranis]

Wilt Chamberlain. It's completely laughable that modern day lists of the greatest basketball players in history put him above Russell. The folks watching basketball in the 1960s certainly didn't see it that way. The problem is that, these days it's a very individualistic era, and there is too much emphasis on individual play and not on how a player helps his team succeed. Hence the obsession with Chamberlain.

You mean the folks that voted Wilt as the 1st Team All NBA Center for 7 of the first 9 years in the 60's with Russell only getting the nod in 63 and 65.

I knew you'd come in to save the day

I have no issue if someone says Bill was better than Wilt, but when you spout off nonsense about how the players were viewed at the time, I will correct that.  The media of the time period, thought Wilt was better than Bill basically the entire time they overlapped in their careers.  To me, that says more than anything we can argue about now.

I don't particularly trust the media's evaluation of players. Look at the way they have elevated Kobe.

Sure, but the bold is what I was responding to.  That just isn't a true statement.  The folks watching in the 60's (and watching more than the normal fan) consistently voted Wilt ahead of Bill.  That is the exact opposite of that bolded statement.

Fair enough. I do think that matters to a degree. I also think a retrospective look at their achievements/ stats as part of a team/organization is important.

Tim Duncan comes to mind as Russell-like figure whose team contributions outweigh his stats and contemporary accolades.

IMO the two most important abilities in the game are defending the rim and being able to score against the very toughest defenses in key moments. There are tons of stats that track offense, but not many for D.

Both are essential to win championships, but there is more bias for the guys who put up numbers, which inherently skew towards offense.

The thing about Wilt is, he was an excellent defender as well.  The guys that have pieced together blocks from that era, have all said Wilt was a better and more prolific shot blocker than Bill.  It was estimated in his prime Wilt averaged around 8 blocks a game, while Bill was more in the 6 block a game range.  Bill was quite simply blessed to be drafted to the Celtics, which was a stable organization, with an excellent coach/gm, and several legit HOFers.  It took Wilt a long time to find that (perhaps some of that self inflicted) and I do think that contributed a great deal to their overall team success.

[Moranis]

I watch a lot of YouTube and Mike Tyson is someone who gets views because of his image and ruthlessness. The casual young sports fan view Tyson as a GOAT candidate, but in reality he’s a tier below.

Just curious who others on the forum would view as some of the most overrated athletes in history?

Tyson peak who is he a tier below? You need to explain yourself. Cus style of boxing was elite and Tyson was it's master.

Tier below in GOAT heavyweight.

Tyson was amazing!

But he lost to Evander Holyfield twice, and was convincingly beaten by Lennox Lewis.

Fans will reference that he wasn’t taking training seriously at that time, but that’s the point, you’re judged on your whole career.

That wasn't prime Mike that was cocaine Mike. 85-90 before Buster Douglas got him.

But that Mike never boxed anyone that was any good (from a historical perspective) aside from Holmes.  There is a reason that a 5'10" 220 pounder could win the heavyweight title at age 20 i.e. the sport was super weak then.  Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks (a LHW) were quality fighters, but that is basically it.  And Holmes was coming off of the back to back losses to Spinks when he fought Tyson and Spinks, as mentioned, was a LHW who took the money against Tyson and then retired.  Tyson was basically blowing out tomato cans, which frankly is what Douglas was as well.  That is where Tyson is overhyped.  I'm not sure he is overrated, at least by boxing purists and media, as most of the top 20 lists have Tyson somewhere in the 15 range all time, which seems reasonable.  I think it is the casual fan that grew up on Tyson that rates him higher. 

[Muzzy66]

Derrick Rose. 

He had a mediocre jumper, didn't play defence, was a sub par rebounder, barely above average as a passer. The guy's sole elite talents were his ball handling, explosive athleticism and his ability to finish with flash and style around the basket.

He won an MVP purely because he was the biggest star on a super stacked and top seeded Bulls team- a Bulls team that (after Rose got injured) went on to be just as good without him as they were with him.

The guy complained all the time, would miss games if somebody so much as blew on him, and was always perfectly happy sitting on a bench making hundreds of millions as the worlds highest paid cheerleader. 

I think he must be Ben Simmon's idol and hero, because he's clearly following very closely in those footsteps. 

[Muzzy66]

Basketball= Karl Malone
Foofball=Sam Huff
Baseball=Sosa

How do you figure Karl Malone is so overrated? Is that based purely on the fact that he never won a ring, or do you have other reasons?

At the end of the day Malone is a:
* 2x MVP
* 14x All-NBA
* 4x All-Defence
* 1st all time in three throws (attempts and made)
* 3rd all time in points
* 8th all time in rebounds
* 13th all time in steals
* 4th all time career win shares (behind only Kareem, Wilt and Lebron)
* Averaged 25 points (on 52% FG), 10 rebounds and almost 4 assists over 18 NBA seasons

H's also impressively made the playoffs in every one of his 18 NBA seasons (and likely would have won two championships if not for his run in with the bulls) and he might well have had one of the most impressive physiques in the history of the NBA.

I could understand people making the argument that other PFs were better (Duncan, Barkley, Dirk, Garnett) and that he's not a top 3 PF as most rate him to be (though I would disagree on that) but to say hes one of the most overrated athletes ever seems a bit extrme.