Raptors’ Pascal Siakam called second-most overrated NBA player in poll

In a tale as old as time, yet another story has come out that either calls a Toronto Raptors star overrated or disrespects them. In this case, it’s All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam who is being put in the crosshairs by the players he actually shares the league with.

This season was a true turning point for Siakam, as it felt odd when he didn’t score 25 points and threatened to accomplish a triple-double. Even with all of those gaudy numbers, the league doesn’t seem to respect him or the Raptors as a whole. In other words, business as usual.

In a player’s poll conducted by The Athletic, Siakam was voted as the second-most overrated player in the league despite coming off a season in which he set career-best marks in per-game averages across the board and helped drag a very flawed roster to the play-in tournament.

Siakam was tied with Knicks star Julius Randle for the second most overrated votes, while Hawks standout point guard Trae Young was named the most overrated in the game. Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gobert, and Jaren Jackson Jr. were all named in a three-way tie for the third-highest percentage of votes.

NBA players say Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam is overrated.

While Siakam has made two All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams in the past four seasons (and might have a very remote shot at making a third this season), he hasn’t led a team to a postseason series victory outside of the Orlando bubble in 2020. Still, it’s odd to see Siakam get so much hate from the larger NBA community.

His fellow players seem to be of the mindset that his numbers aren’t indicative of an All-Star player and are instead the product of Nick Nurse allowing him to take a ton of shots while leaning on him for an inordinate amount of minutes. There might be some truth to that statement, but the issue is nowhere near as pronounced as they’re making it seem.

At least the media is starting to take a shine to him. Former Raptors guard Jalen Rose said that Siakam is “the best player nobody talks about.” Those who participated in this poll should take some queues from Rose here, as Siakam’s multifaceted game is perhaps the main reason the Raptors won as much as they did.

Perhaps if Siakam somehow improves on his numbers next season while leading the Raptors to more success in the postseason, he can help flip the script. Playing in Toronto is a good way to either fly under the radar or not be taken seriously by the larger landscape, and this is no exception.