LB9 NBA: Ranking the Most Underrated NBA Players Of the Last 5 Years.

Star names make the NBA go 'round, but their mega-wattage shouldn't prevent us from pouring one out every now and then for those having critical impacts without the same marquee recognition.

Ranking the Association's most underrated players of the past half-decade is an inexact science. Subjectivity rules the exercise. In the end, we're trying to shine a light on frequently relied upon contributors who don't have the usual star credentials.

Before plucking out those who best fit the spirit of this exercise, we're going to implement some criteria to carve an initial (and extensive) field of candidates. Here are the ground rules:

• Players must have made an average of 60 appearances or the equivalent over the past five years. This comes out to a total of 293 games when factoring in the shortened 2020-21 campaign.

• Anyone who received All-NBA or All-Star honors during this time is ineligible.

• The same goes for anyone who finished in the top five of MVP or Defensive Player of the Year voting at any point since 2020-21.

Everyone who meets this criteria is eligible for a top-five nod. The actual order is meant to be a reflection of how much each player is recognized or remembered for their contributions over these past five years.

5. Royce O'Neale, Phoenix Suns

Royce O'Neale holds onto his fifth-place finish from last year. You are now free to insert your joke about how consecutive top-five placements in "Most underrated of the past half-decade" exercises automatically renders him...not underrated. (Properly rated?)

Those snarky rebukes will prove true soon enough. O'Neale is phasing out of this group as he ages. But ultra-low-usage wings who hit their threes and bust their butts on defense are the crème de la crème of these discussions. Nobody has actualized this standard over the past half-decade more than O'Neale.

Since 2020-21, he has made 724 triples at a 38.8 percent clip while posting a usage rate barely above 12. Surprise, surprise: The 32-year-old has the lowest usage rate of anyone to match this volume and efficiency. It's not close, either. Grayson Allen's 15.5 usage is the next lowest on the board.

That O'Neale continues to splash treys so efficiently while guarding the other team's best or second-best player is ridiculous—a legitimately big deal. It's just not treated like one. Really, it never has been.

4. Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City Thunder

Isaiah Hartenstein graduated from this ranking for many the moment he signed a three-year, $87 million deal to join the now-reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder. And yet, even the context of his windfall goes overlooked.

Oklahoma City has a team option on the final season it almost assuredly won't pick up. This is effectively a two-year contract in which his average annual salary is inflated to account for the shorter terms.

Few bigs have proven to be as well-rounded as Hartenstein this past half-decade. He does everything from pancaking defenders on screens and crashing the glass; to protecting the hoop, guarding in space and blitzing ball-handlers; to facilitating out of short rolls and swishing patented floaters. He would have an All-Defense selection under his belt by now if he logged more minutes, and he's 10th in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) among everyone who's averaged at least 20 minutes per game without making an All-Star team.

The scope of his impact is just stupid. Anthony Davis and Victor Wembanyama are the lone players during this stretch to match his rebounding (18.2), assist (14.8) and block (4.4) rates—and the latter's only been active for the past two years. Winning a title and spending time in two premier markets (Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks) has helped raise Hartenstein's profile, but you don't suit up for five teams in a five-year span while leaving this kind of imprint if you're adequately valued.

3. Josh Hart, New York Knicks

Josh Hart receives avalanches of flak for his flaws, the most notorious of which is his high-hesitance, low-efficiency three-point shot. His detractors have a leg to stand on here. This hole in his game allows defenses to fudge matchups, clog the lane and ugly-up his team's offense.

Still, the 30-year-old plays with an all-consuming hustle that drives winning.

With the exception of this past year, his squads have generally been much better when he's on the floor. This latest season's on-off bludgeoning can be chalked up to minutes the New York Knicks had him log independent of Karl-Anthony Towns, predominantly beside backup bigs who could neither pass nor shoot, as well as a spate of spotty secondary guards.

Scrapping and clawing on the glass, juicing the team's offensive pace (especially after rebounds), putting pressure on the basket, the passing in transition, semi-transition and out of drives, defending across three and sometimes four positions—it all matters. These are the in-game elements that help mold an entire team's identity.

Plus, for all the hemming and hawing over his limited range (which, again, is fair), his 58.7 true shooting percentage is decidedly above the league average. And just three other players are sustaining this efficiency while matching his defensive rebounding (22.4), assist (17.1) and steal (1.7) rates. You might have heard of them: Bam Adebayo, Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić.

2. Derrick White, Boston Celtics

People will take exception with Derrick White cracking this list, let alone clocking in at No. 2, when he spent the past two seasons generating fringe All-NBA buzz.

Guess what? Consideration does not equate to an actual selection. White has neither an All-NBA nor All-Star nod on his resume. I'm not here to tell you this is some grave injustice. This is more like a public service announcement: White clearly still isn't viewed through a Conventional Big Name Lens. I have read the reactions to hypothetical trades I've proposed involving him to prove it.

Defense used to be his primary calling card. (The shot-swatting is genuinely absurd.) He has spent the better part of the past half-decade leveling up his offense to feature better decision-making out of drives, much-improved three-point shooting and leveled-up playmaking, not purely as a connective ball-mover but also an initiator.

Paring down his ascent to the insulation provided by the top of the Boston Celtics' roster these past three years is unfair. He is shooting 38 percent from deep without Jayson Tatum on the floor and 40 percent without Jaylen Brown, according to PBP Stats.

White used to be one of those players with whom you'd need to go beyond the box score to appreciate. Not anymore. He leads all non-All-Stars in VORP since 2020-21, during which time the only player with as many assists (1,552) and blocks (337) is Giannis Antetokounmpo.

1. Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers

Ivica Zubac messed around and garnered Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year consideration this past season. (He finished sixth on the ballot, which allows him to qualify here). Before this year's more conspicuous breakout, though, his year-over-year raise was more gradual and understated.

He honed his defensive footwork, perfected his positioning on the glass and expanded beyond his rim-running to incorporate more post-up acumen and middle-of-the-floor decision-making. This past year was the culmination of everything. His role exploded, and so, too, did his counting stats.

Painting this as a one-season surge does Zubac dirty. Especially when it comes to his defense. He has finished in the 90th percentile or better in rim points saved per 100 possessions every year while eclipsing 1,500 minutes each time, according to BBall Index. No other player has more than three of those seasons under his belt (Brook Lopez).

From the small clique of players over the past five years to hit at least 60 percent of their twos, post a defensive rebounding rate of 25 and notch a block percentage of three, only Jarrett Allen, Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo have done so while racking up more total minutes.

Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

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3. Josh Hart, New York Knicks