Overachievers and underachievers?

[JB32]

I have a lot of friends who talk about overachievers in the NBA. Guys who aren't the most gifted athletes or who don't have the highest potential, yet still manage to put up good (or maybe even great, at times) stats because they're overachievers.

Then there are the players who aren't as good as they should be, the guys who have all the talent in the world, yet are to lazy to put it to use, or just don't have a passion for the game, or whatever the reason may be.

My question is: What makes somebody an overachiever or underachiever? And who are some examples of over/under achiever?

An example I hear a lot is Andre Igoudala, some people say he plays better than he should, but his stats (I don't watch 76ers games, so I don't know for sure) seem pretty consistent, so wouldn't that make him an above average player, rather than an overachiever?

[Big3Heat631]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

This is a job for www.dictionary.com, not OS, am I right?

An overachiever is someone like Anderson Varejao. He lacks a a lot on his offensive game, but he's a hustler. Everything he has, he has earned through effort and willpower and a bit of height.

An underachiever is maybe Evan Turner. He's got the talent, but he isn't playing at a high level during this season. It might be nerves or something, but I don't know.

Iggy is not an overachiever. He's actually underperforming in my opinion. He has incredible athleticism, a good if not great jump shot and is a good perimeter defender. He's a proven player with definite talent. NOT an overachiever.

[Weeks]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Under Achievers are pretty much every NBA player who is gifted with athleticism or a good NBA body but have a bad work ethic.

ex. Lamar Odom, JR Smith.

Over Achievers are people who don't have all the tools but have a great work ethic, or simply just a great work ethic with physical tools,

ex. Kobe Bryant (wouldn't be nearly the player he is today w/o him work ethic), Joakim Noah, Anderson Varejao, Shane Battier.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Lamar Odom is an underachiever. He does everything good an is big enough to play 4 positions but for some reason doesn't play with fire. I always felt he could easily be a dominant player if he wanted to be, hes just too talented not to be, but people have beeen saying this about him for years an hes not going to change so oh well.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Idk but I guess you could say David West is an overachiever

[Shield]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Kwame Brown is an underachiever. However he was a high school guy and you just never know with those guys cuz playing against 15 year olds pales in comparison to a 35 yr old.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Under Achievers are pretty much every NBA player who is gifted with athleticism or a good NBA body but have a bad work ethic.

ex. Lamar Odom, JR Smith.

Over Achievers are people who don't have all the tools but have a great work ethic, or simply just a great work ethic with physical tools,

ex. Kobe Bryant (wouldn't be nearly the player he is today w/o him work ethic), Joakim Noah, Anderson Varejao, Shane Battier.

Lamar may be an "underachiever" but he certainly doesn't have a bad work ethic. At least now he doesn't, maybe in the past. I'd say once he got to Miami and Pat Riley, Lamar's outlook and preparation about his career has changed for the better.

[Sublime12089]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

I went into this thread thinking of Vince Carter for underachiever. As good as he was, he had the opportunity to be so much more.

[ParisB]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

While admitedly I was on the "Lamar Odom is an underachiever" bandwagon for a while (up to a couple years ago), at this point in his career isn't it time to come to the conclusion that he is who he is? Maybe he just isn't quite as good as we want him to be. Maybe the flashes of greatness in short bursts is him overachieving? Either way, hard to roast a guy that has helped LA be a dominant force an an elite team over the years.

He's also not a slacker by any means. He works hard in the offseason and while his stats don't show up every game, he does hustle the most on the Lakers.

But anyway, back on the subject. I think Luis Scola is the perfect overachiever. He's a tremendously effective player, plays smart, and uses his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses (mostly lack of athleticism, speed, and vertical game).

As for overachiever, I can probably name A LOT of players. It's the guys who cash in on their paychecks, but don't put in the time or effort to elevate their games (from a technical standpoint or from a mental standpoint).

[Fiasco West]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Overachievers...see the Houston Rockets for a great example.

[VinylOne]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Earl Boykins the ultimate overachiever

[steelcurtain311]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

I went into this thread thinking of Vince Carter for underachiever. As good as he was, he had the opportunity to be so much more.

His name immediately comes to mind when thinking of underachievers for ANY sport.

Don't forget about underachieving due to physical/injury issues. Like Grant Hill. Or more recently, Greg Oden.

I don't really know if I'd call Kobe Bryant an "overachiever". Noah is more of this category. In terms of pure talent, not many guys stack up to Kobe. He simply plays up to his talent, and then some.

[Taur3asi3]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Lamar Odom and Tim Thomas are the 2 biggest underachievers I've ever seen. If you take someone who's completely oblivious to basketball, has no clue whos good and who sucks and make him watch Lamar Odom when he's actually on his game that person will walk away thinking "That guy's amazing! He's the best player in the league for sure". While Tim Thomas had everything needed to be an all-star in the NBA except a brain.

I'd also throw in Eddie Griffin as an underachiever, it's a shame he could never get his head right because he really could do it all.

Ever notice how the biggest underachievers are usually the best guys to use in video games? Interesting...

[cubsball899]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

not sure how you can call someone who has won back to back championships an underachiever... what else do you want him to achieve? or maybe you want him to go play a Danny Granger role on a bad team, would be be living up to his potential then?

[Taur3asi3]

Re: Overachievers and underachievers?

Odom really could've been so much more. When the ceiling your skills give you is the best player in the league and you settle for 3rd best player on a 2 time championship team then yes you're an underachiever. I don't understand what championships have to do with whether or not you're an over or underachiever as a player. Rasheed won a championship and he's still an underachiever for the skills he had. Bill Walton has 2 championships, a 6th man, an MVP, NBA 50 greatest, and a HOF induction but Walton still greatly underachieved due to his injuries.