Top 10 NBA Players of 2021 Who Deserved Better
This list includes players who have played incredibly well this season, but have little to nothing to show for it.
They definitely deserve better than the situation they were in.
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Damian Lillard
Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Bucks in 2023. Lillard is known for his clutch shooting and multiple All-Star selections... read more
There isn't much to say about Damian Lillard's tenure in Portland other than it being disappointing. To his credit, he has been a perennial top ten player in the NBA, averaging 25 points per game over his 9-year career. This is backed up by 6 All-Star appearances and his standing as the second on the all-time Portland scoring list.
However, after being bounced in the playoffs again, despite another stellar series performance, it is obvious the Trailblazers have not done enough for this man. A disappointing supporting cast wasted another historic playoff series.
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Bradley Beal
Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. is an American professional basketball player in the NBA. As of July 2025 he plays as a shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns. He was drafted third overall by the Washington Wizards in 2012 after a standout collegiate career at Florida, and he has been named an NBA All‑Star multiple... read more
Bradley Beal is easily one of the best scorers in the NBA, averaging over 30 points per game. However, he plays for the Wizards, one of the worst-coached and worst-run organizations in the NBA. Even behind his incredible performances and the duo of him and Russell Westbrook, it was barely enough to even make it to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round.
At this point, it just seems like the Wizards are squandering a good part of Beal's career.
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Stephen Curry
Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He is widely considered one of the greatest shooters in NBA history and has set numerous records for three-point shooting. Curry is a two-time MVP and has helped lead the Warriors to multiple... read more
Steph Curry, after being named in the MVP conversation again this year, put up remarkable career numbers in regard to points per game. However, his supporting cast was nearly non-existent outside of a few players, and he was only able to carry the Warriors to a spot in the play-in games.
Curry, with nobody around him, was completely let down, and wasted a remarkable season.
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Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic (born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since his rookie season, he's been selected to five NBA All-Star games and five All-NBA First Team selections. He also represents the Slovenian national... read more
Luka, as young as he is, putting up the type of numbers that he did this season, is incredible to say the least. He is another player in the MVP conversation who was left high and dry by his team in the games that mattered the most.
In the playoff series against the Clippers, Doncic put up historic numbers, shining against his opponents, while the rest of the Mavericks went on vacation, not to be found. It is easy to see why Luka is frustrated with everything going on in Dallas.
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Derrick Rose
Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. He became the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011 while playing for the Chicago Bulls. He has also had successful stints with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, and Minneapolis... read more
D-Rose, the player we all love to see succeed, finally found a good niche as the 6th man of the revitalized New York Knicks team. They made the playoffs this season for the first time in nearly 10 years.
However, his surge in the playoffs, leading the Knicks in scoring and averaging nearly 20 per game, was not enough to carry a disappointing Knicks squad to victory. It was sad to see Rose, who played that hard in the series, let down by the players around him.
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Zach LaVine
All I can say about Zach LaVine is that he is an incredibly talented player with little to no help and a coaching staff and front office notorious for making bad draft and coaching decisions. While having a career season for the Bulls, the rest of the team showed few signs of life, with only Nikola Vucevic having any success.
It feels like LaVine's talent is being wasted in front of us, and it hurts to watch.
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De'Aaron Fox
De'Aaron Fox is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He was selected by the Kings as the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Known for his speed and scoring ability, Fox has become a key player for the team.
Fox, another player who put up career-high numbers this season, is left with a desolate Sacramento roster, which is currently one of the most decrepit in the NBA. Besides the young talent coming in and players such as Buddy Hield, Fox has not had the chance to lead a good team anywhere serious.
If the Kings aren't able to help Fox soon, he will most likely become weary of Kings' management, much like Marvin Bagley.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander (born July 12, 1998) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He played one year of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets... read more
Nothing says disappointment like playing for the post-Russell Westbrook-KD Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has found himself in that exact spot. While putting up 24, 5, and 6 per game, the rest of the Thunder roster played some of the saddest basketball in recent memory.
While the future is not dark, Alexander was certainly left to be the best and sometimes only good player on an otherwise horrible team.
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Karl-Anthony Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks in the NBA. He was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Knicks before the 2024-25 season, after spending nine years with Minnesota. In 2025, Towns helped lead the Knicks to their first Eastern... read more
Minnesota has been one of, if not the most, pitiful teams in the NBA this past decade. Despite KAT having an impressive stat line this season, the Timberwolves showed they were not going to be doing anything, despite having an array of talent, including Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell.
It is sad to see Karl-Anthony Towns wasting away in Minnesota with nothing to show for it, like many players before him.
He is perfectly happy here. Everything is fine. We will be NBA champions in 2022... dear god, KAT, please don't leave. You are the only reason why we don't lose every game every year.
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Kevin Love
Kevin Wesley Love, born September 7, 1988, is an American professional basketball player. He is currently with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. Love is a five-time NBA All-Star, an NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and has won gold medals with Team USA at the 2010... read more
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Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Vernell Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Spida," he was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets and was subsequently traded to... read more
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John Wall
Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. He was selected first overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2010 NBA Draft. Wall spent nine seasons with the Wizards before being traded to Houston in 2020.
John Wall was brought in to be James Harden's sidekick, much like Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook, in hopes of keeping Houston's championship aspirations alive. However, once Harden decided to quit the team and get traded to the Nets, those plans went out the window. Wall would deal with injuries while Houston had their worst record in years.
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Christian Wood
Christian Wood, after a good season with the Pistons, signed with the Rockets this offseason. However, after James Harden was traded away, there wasn't much left for the Rockets. Christian Wood was left to try to carry the team on his back for a large portion of the season.
It is sad to see such a talented player playing on a team that bad. However, things are looking up, as the Rockets secured the 2nd overall pick in the upcoming draft.