The Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham and the Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton are both Central Division guards who can score the basketball, and acted as the epicenter for playoff teams this season.
However, NBA players have vastly different assessments of the two Big 12 products. In an extensive survey taken by The Athletic and released Tuesday, Haliburton was voted the league's most overrated player while Cunningham was voted its most underrated.
Haliburton, 25, averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game in his fifth NBA season. The 23-year-old Cunningham, on the other hand, put it all together this year and made his first All-Star game with averages of 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game.
The Athletic's annual NBA Player Poll is back. During the final month of the 2024-25 regular season, our writers spoke to 158 players — one-third of the league — and asked for their opinions on key topics. Here's the piece, published in @TheAthleticNBA:https://t.co/RmEa1brhAM
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) April 22, 2025
No quotes about either player were printed, although one player opted to diss Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert—the runner-up for most overrated.
"I just don’t see it, nor does he strike any fear in me in my heart as a defender," he said of Gobert's abilities.
Cunningham, in a fortuitously timed performance, led the Pistons to their first playoff win since 2008 Monday with 33 points and 12 rebounds.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Players Pick League's Most Overrated, Underrated Players in Annual Survey.
