NBA Power Rankings: The 5 Most Underrated Players Entering 2015-16

Feb 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) tries to dunk over Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Raptors defeated the Hawks 105-80. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

2. Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks

2014-2015 Stats: 16.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 51% FG, 36% 3PT, 20.0 PER

This guy has long been underrated for a while now. Since his Utah Jazz days, people have failed to give him the credit he deserves. Last season, the Atlanta Hawks enjoyed a multitude of success and Millsap deserves a lot of the credit for that.

Let’s look at the checklist of things he adds…

• Ability to defend multiple positions AND LeBron James (at least better than most can)
• 3-point threat from the power forward
• Tenacious rebounder despite being undersized
• Underrated facilitator and passer
• Workhorse in all aspects of the game and provided hustle

That is just a small sample size of what this guy provides. What team wouldn’t kill for a guy with these skills? Sure, Kyle Korver’s historic shooting season and Al Horford helped with Atlanta’s success last season, but the backbone and grit of the team came from the rough and tumble forward.

Maybe the most impressive thing about him is that he went from not being any sort of a outside threat to being a legitimately good spot-up deep-ball shooter. It is rare that you see power forwards add a skill-set like that.

Sometimes it seems he is overlooked because he does not have one skill that sticks out above the rest. But if you ask any basketball savant, you will see that the all-around game he provides is something that is truly vital to any team’s success.

If Atlanta can replicate their success from last season, Paul Millsap will definitely have a huge hand in that.

Next: No. 1