Los Angeles Lakers center named one of the most overrated players in NBA originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Back in 2018, Deandre Ayton was the top pick in the NBA Draft, ahead of the likes of Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
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Fast forward to today, though, and he’s far from the top player from his draft class. Ayton is already on his third team in the league after both the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers decided to move on from him, and he certainly hasn’t cemented himself as the center of the future in Los Angeles this season.
Deandre Ayton named one of the most overrated players in NBA
As a result, Ayton was recently named as one of the most overrated players in the entire NBA by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, who doesn’t think that Ayton will be long for the league if he doesn’t grow his game.
“The No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft has long frustrated his teams with a lack of motor. Former Suns head coach Monty Williams famously benched him in a Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022 playoffs. Now JJ Redick is seeing a familiar lack of effort at times,” Swartz wrote.
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“… Centers who can’t protect the rim and offer no three-point shooting are a dying breed in the NBA. Ayton needs to show some sort of development in any part of his game or else he’ll be out of the league in a few years.”
Ayton has been a frustrating player over the course of his career because it has often felt like his effort level hasn’t matched his talent level. If he was locked in on a nightly basis he could be one of the best centers in the league, but that simply hasn’t happened.
As a result, Ayton appears destined to be a guy who bounces around from team to team until he decides to call it a career. He has one year remaining on his current contract with the Lakers. It will be interesting to see where his career takes him after that.
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