There is more discourse about individual players and their legacies in the NBA than in any of the other big-four American sports. In many ways, the NBA has fully developed into a player-first league, not a team-first league like its American counterparts.

We all have our favorite players. Whether it's the best player on our favorite team, someone we've followed from city to city, or a random player that embodies what we love about basketball, player fandom has almost become more prevalent than team fandom.

As such, there is a lot of overrating that happens on the individual level. Players who are certainly gifted at the game of basketball who have been overvalued for one reason or another. With this in mind, we polled our experts in the FanSided NBA Division to get an idea of who is really the most overrated player in league heading into the 2026-27 season.

First-place votes received three points, second place two points, and third place one point. Some of the names may shock you.

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7. Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets

• Total points: 6
• First-place votes: 1

There's no denying that Kevin Durant is one of the most gifted scorers in the history of basketball and is a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Famer when he decides to hang it up. There's also no denying that drama has followed Durant wherever he plays throughout his NBA career, and the lack of recent success has made the extra noise less palatable.

Durant was supposed to be the missing piece for the Houston Rockets. The adult in the room who would give Houston the primary scorer it needed to push the team over the top into true title contention. Instead, everyone's favorite "dark horse" got worse, eventually getting swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by an even older LeBron James.

Throw in a potential social media burner account that may have rocked the locker room and Durant seemed to be more problematic than problem-solving for the Rockets. It wouldn't be surprising to see Durant on the trade block, yet again, if the season starts sideways once more for the Rockets.

Look, nobody should ever deny his scoring ability or talent. But maybe we start evaluating what Durant's legacy really is given his lack of success when Stephen Curry isn't involved.

T-5. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

• Total points: 6
• First-place votes: 2

It turns out winning Finals MVP and ending one of the most documented title droughts in American sports isn't enough to shed the overrated tag for Jalen Brunson. That's exactly how Brunson and the Knicks want it, though. They operate best with a chip on their shoulder.

Brunson shed every narrative about him and the Knicks with a remarkable title run last season. Sure, it wasn't always perfect, but Brunson took over games when New York needed him to and made shots that seemed impossible in the moment.

Perhaps Brunson's role as the figurehead for a good Knicks team is what is influencing this vote. The Knicks were an excellent basketball team with immense talent and depth around Brunson. Did the Knicks get over the hump because of Brunson's leadership, or is he simply on the right team at the right time?

Typically we see players like Brunson get the "good stats, bad team" label. But Brunson has the team success and has the track record in big spots as the alpha on an NBA Championship-winning team. The exact justification for Brunson's inclusion is hard to pinpoint, but it might just be a label he will never shed.

T-5. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

• Total points: 6
• First-place votes: 2

Greatness creates extra scrutiny and that's the best way to explain how Nikola Jokic found himself on this list. Jokic occupied the best-player-in-the-league throne for half a decade before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama took it, and you could make the case that Jokic only lost it because we got bored of his game.

Seriously, there's never been a big man who can do the things Jokic does on the basketball floor. His basketball IQ is unparalleled and has created a prime that goes toe-to-toe with literally any other prime in the history of basketball.

But maybe, just maybe, the way we talk about Jokic is what justifies his spot on this list. After all, that is a lot of praise for a guy who won one title and hasn't made it out of the second round since. It feels wrong to call a three-time MVP overrated, but that's what happens in a league where recent success reigns supreme.

4. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Total points: 8
• First-place votes: 2

Donovan Mitchell might be the worst superstar a team can have as its centerpiece. He's undoubtedly good enough to be the best player on a competitive team, but he might not be good enough to be the guy on a title-winning team. He's good enough to make a team believe, but not good enough to win it all as the best player.

Historically, you need one of the 10 best players in the NBA to win the title and Mitchell has consistently sat in that 11-13 range. And this has shown up in the playoffs, where his undersized scoring hasn't been as lethal and the team success has faltered as a result.

Mitchell made his first Conference Finals appearance last season only to be dusted by the Knicks in four games. A non-competitive series didn't help Mitchell's case at all as a regular-season guy who doesn't translate to postseason success.

Maybe with one deep playoff run Mitchell can shake the overrated tag once and for all. Or perhaps he is destined to keep it alongside Brunson.

3. LaMelo Ball, Minnesota Timberwolves

• Total points: 11
• First-place votes: 3

LaMelo Ball actually received the most first-place votes of any play in our FanSided poll, he just didn't appear on enough ballots to earn the No. 1 nod. Still, LaMelo checks in as the third-most overrated player in the NBA and there's very few fans outside of Minnesota who would dispute that point.

Heck, the Timberwolves' own fans probably know Ball is overrated at this point. Minnesota just traded Naz Reid, Julius Randle, an unprotected first and three first-round pick swaps for a guy who has struggled to stay healthy and hasn't necessarily made his teammates any better throughout his career.

If LaMelo continued wasting away in a smaller market like New Orleans, he would have avoided the spotlight like Zion Williamson currently is. But when a team sells its future on you to try and win a championship before Anthony Edwards peaces out of town? That's when the flaws become apparent.

Maybe, just maybe, this trade is exactly what LaMelo needed to live up to the hype. Or it will go down as a detrimental move that ruins Minnesota's future. Given the results of the poll, the latter may be more likely.

2. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

• Total points: 14
• First-place votes: 2

Paola Banchero simply isn't what he was sold to Magic fans as heading into the league. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Banchero was solid as a true franchise cornerstone who could eventually elevate the Magic into title contention.

A Rookie of the Year campaign only added to the narrative. Banchero's impressive rookie season was seemingly setting the stage for him to blossom into one of the best young players in the league. There has been just one problem: Banchero hasn't gotten much better with time in his NBA career.

For better or worse, Banchero is the same player now that he was four years ago. What were once viewed as developmental areas of his game now look like holes. The low efficiency on a high usage rate is no longer just a young player figuring out his place in the league. It's potentially holding the Magic back.

The good news for Magic fans is that Banchero is only turning 24 this November. Typically, players don't hit their apex until 27. But will the Magic run out of patience before then?

1. Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets

• Total points: 15
• First-place votes: 2

Alperen Şengün has earned back-to-back all-star appearances, netting him the most overrated player in the league tag from FanSided's NBA experts. Şengün's progression from a mid-first-round pick to a league all-star has been impressive to watch, but it has earned him some baggage as well.

It's not just FanSided's experts who have slapped the overrated tag on the Rockets' center. Şengün's own peers in the NBA voted him as the most overrated player in the league in a survey done by The Athletic earlier this year.

The biggest knock against Şengün is his tendency to plead and beg for foul calls. It's a common practice in the NBA but in the eyes of many, Şengün hasn't earned the right to be as particular as he is about the officiating.

Just ask LeBron James. Hot mics picked up LeBron telling Şengün that anyone else on the court could complain about a call except him, creating a clip that went viral at Şengün's expense.

Is Şengün a good player? Absolutely. You could even say he's great. But it's clear that he hasn't earned the respect of his peers or those covering the sport because of how he approaches the game.