Who’s the Worst NBA Player?
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In this post, we take a look at some of the worst NBA players in history. From boneheaded plays to just general incompetence, these are the guys who make you wonder how they ever made it to the big leagues.
The Case for DeAndre Jordan
DeAndre Jordan is often considered one of the worst players in the NBA. He has a career field goal percentage of 44.2%, and he’s a terrible free throw shooter. He’s also a turnover machine, averaging 3.5 per game. So why is he still in the league?
His stats are bad
In the 2014-2015 season, DeAndre Jordan was the worst player in the NBA according to ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus statistic. This metric estimates a player’s on-court impact on team performance, measured in net point differential per 100 offensive and defensive possessions. By this measure, Jordan cost the Los Angeles Clippers approximately nine points per 100 possessions that he was on the court.
This isn’t to say that Jordan is a bad basketball player. He’s an excellent rebounder and shot blocker, and he has improved his free throw shooting in recent years. However, his poor decision making and lack of offensive skills make him a drag on his team’s offense, and his defense isn’t good enough to make up for it.
It’s worth noting that part of the reason Jordan is so bad according to Real Plus-Minus is that he plays for such a good team. The Clippers are one of the best teams in the league, so their margin for error is much smaller than most other teams. If Jordan were playing for a bad team, his impact would be less noticeable because the team would be expected to lose anyway.
In any case, it’s clear that Jordan is not one of the best players in the NBA. He may be productive in certain areas, but his overall contributions to winning are very limited.
He doesn’t make his teammates better
DeAndre Jordan is one of the worst players in the NBA. His per-36 minute stats are atrocious, and he doesn’t make his teammates better. The only thing he does well is rebound, but even that isn’t enough to make up for his deficiencies.
The Case for Hassan Whiteside
In the 2016-17 season, Hassan Whiteside was the highest paid center in the NBA, earning $22,116,750. He was also the worst player in the NBA, according to Real Plus-Minus. In fact, he was so bad that he cost the Miami Heat -4.4 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. That means that, for every 100 possessions the Heat had with Whiteside on the court, they would have been 4.4 points better off if he had just sat on the bench.
His stats are bad
It’s not just that Whiteside doesn’t take many 3s—it’s that he doesn’t do much of anything outside the paint, period. According to Cleaning The Glass, only 35 percent of his shots have come from outside the paint, and only 11 percent of his touches have come in the form of a pass to the perimeter. In other words: He is a black hole. And while it’s true that he’s been reasonably effective when he has gotten the ball in the post—he ranks in the 65th percentile among all players in points per post-up possession, according to Synergy Sports—the problem is that those opportunities are increasingly rare. In an era when the most successful big men are stretching their shooting range and serving as playmakers, Whiteside stubbornly refuses to adapt.
He doesn’t make his teammates better
It’s been said that the best players make their teammates better. While there are plenty of examples of players who have done just that, Hassan Whiteside is not one of them. In fact, the case could be made that he’s actually the worst player in the NBA.
Whiteside is a center for the Miami Heat, and while he’s an above-average shot blocker, he doesn’t provide much else. He’s a poor rebounder, an even worse free throw shooter, and he doesn’t have the ability to stretch the floor with his jump shot. Worse yet, he’s a terrible passer and an even worse decision maker.
The proof is in the numbers. Over the past two seasons, Whiteside has been a net negative when he’s on the court. The Heat have been outscored by over six points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, and they’ve been outrebounded by nearly four rebounds per 100 possessions.
What’s more, Whiteside has actually cost the Heat wins with his poor play. According to FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO player ratings, which account for both offense and defense, Hassan Whiteside has been responsible for costing the Heat two wins over the course of his career. In other words, if Whiteside had never set foot on an NBA court, the Heat would likely be two games better off than they are today.
So why is Hassan Whiteside still in the NBA? The answer is simple: He’s tall and he can block shots. That might be enough to earn him a spot on an NBA roster, but it doesn’t make him a good basketball player.
The Case for Jahlil Okafor
Jahlil Okafor was the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He was supposed to be a franchise-changing center for the Philadelphia Sixers. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In fact, some people believe that he is the worst player in the NBA. Let’s take a look at the case for Jahlil Okafor being the worst player in the NBA.
His stats are bad
There’s no sugarcoating it: Jahlil Okafor has been a bust since the Philadelphia 76ers made him the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft. He averaged just 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game as a rookie and followed that up with a disappointing 11.8-point, 4.8-rebound showing in 23 games during his sophomore season.
Okafor’s time in Philly came to an end last season when he was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Trevor Booker. He averaged just 5.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per game for the Nets, who ultimately waived him after he appeared in only 26 games for them.
He doesn’t make his teammates better
Okafor simply doesn’t make his teammates better. In fact, the Sixers have been significantly worse when he’s been on the court over his career. This season, Philadelphia has been outscored by 8.3 points per 100 possessions with Okafor on the court, and just 3.5 points per 100 when he’s been on the bench, per NBA.com. Over his career, those numbers are almost identical, at 8.1 and 3.6 points per 100, respectively.
There are a lot of factors that go into team success, but one of the most important is having players who can create easy scoring opportunities for their teammates. Okafor has never been that kind of player, and in fact, he’s actually made things harder for his teammates on offense during his time in the NBA.
One measure of a player’s ability to create easy scoring opportunities is assists percentage, which estimates the percentage of field goals a player assisted while he was on the court. Among the 91 players who have averaged at least 15 minutes per game over the last three seasons, Okafor ranks dead last in assists percentage at just 6.4 percent. For context, league-average assists percentage is around 12 percent, and even some of the worst players in the league are north of 10 percent
The Case for Kobe Bryant
In his 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant has been one of the most successful players in NBA history. He’s a five-time champion, a two-time Finals MVP, and a one-time regular season MVP. He’s also one of the league’s all-time leading scorers. But despite all of his accomplishments, there are some who believe that Kobe is the worst player in the NBA. Let’s take a look at the case for Kobe being the worst player in the league.
His stats are bad
Kobe Bryant’s stats are not good. In fact, they are among the worst of all NBA players. He has a career average of just 16 points per game, and his shooting percentage is a mere 40%. He is also turnover-prone, averaging 3 turnovers per game.
He doesn’t make his teammates better
In today’s NBA, the best players are the ones who make their teammates better. They elevate the play of those around them and make everyone on the court better. Kobe Bryant is not one of those players.
Kobe is a great scorer, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s not a great shooter (he’s a career 43% shooter from the field), and he’s not a great playmaker (he averages just 4.7 assists per game for his career). His individual offensive numbers are impressive, but they don’t make his teams better. In fact, when Kobe is on the court, his teams actually score less than when he’s off it.
What’s more, Kobe is a terrible defender. He doesn’t hustle back on defense, he doesn’t take charges, and he doesn’t block shots. He’s often matched up against the other team’s best player, and more often than not he gets torched on that end of the court.
So if Kobe isn’t making his teammates better and he isn’t making his team better on defense, what exactly is he doing out there? He’s putting up impressive numbers, but at what cost? The answer is that Kobe is one of the worst NBA players because he hurts his team more than he helps it.
The Case for Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony has been one of the worst NBA players for the past few seasons. He’s no longer the scoring champion he once was, and his defense has become atrocious. However, there are still some people who believe Carmelo Anthony is a good player. Let’s take a look at the case for Carmelo Anthony.
His stats are bad
Carmelo Anthony is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. He’s a 10-time All-Star and a former scoring champion. But as he approaches his 36th birthday, Anthony is no longer an effective player. His days as a star are over, and he’s now considered one of the worst players in the league.
Anthony is averaging just 13.4 points per game this season, his lowest mark since his rookie year. He’s shooting a career-worst 40 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range. His PER (player efficiency rating) of 10.8 is also a career low. In fact, it’s the worst PER of any player in the league who has played at least 20 minutes per game this season.
In other words, Anthony has been one of the least efficient players in the NBA this season. And it’s not just this season that he’s struggled; his PER has declined in each of the past four years, and he hasn’t been an above-average player since 2014-15.
Simply put, Carmelo Anthony is no longer an effective NBA player. He doesn’t contribute much on either end of the court, and he’s taking up a spot on a roster that could be better used by someone who can actually help a team win games
He doesn’t make his teammates better
Carmelo Anthony has been one of the best scorers in the NBA for the past 15 years. However, there are several valid arguments against him being considered one of the best players in the league. One of the most common criticisms of Anthony is that he doesn’t make his teammates better.
While it’s true that Carmelo hasn’t always been on the best teams, there’s no denying that he has had some very talented teammates throughout his career. For example, he played with All-Stars like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul early in his career. He also played with potential Hall of Famers like Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler during his time with the Knicks.
The fact that Carmelo Anthony has never been on a team that made it to the NBA Finals is not entirely his fault. However, it is worth noting that he has only made it past the first round of the playoffs Twice in his 15-year career. His teams have also won less than 50% of their playoff games when he has been on them.
Some people might argue that Carmelo Anthony is a victim of circumstance and that he hasn’t had enough good teammates to help him win. However, there are plenty of other great players who have found success even when playing with sub-par teammates. For example, LeBron James has carried teams full of role players to the NBA Finals multiple times throughout his career
