6 NBA Superstars Who Are FRAUDS

Every year in the NBA, unless there's a pandemic or a lockout, an 82-game regular season sets up a postseason where players and teams battle it out for the illustrious Larry O'Brien trophy. That's the name of the game, that's where legends are made, and that's pretty much what all organizations care about, winning it all. I mean, that's why they pay players the big dollars, right? In any case, the popular method of determining who the superstars in the is by, you know, looking at the statistics, looking at the awards, who scores the most, who's the most efficient, who's the flashiest, etc, etc, etc. Well, what if some players were able to deceive their owners? What if some players consistently play so well during the regular season, but disappear when their team needs them the most? Well then, you'd call them frauds, right? Well, today I've looked at the evidence, I've looked at the numbers, and I've made up my mind. Without further ado, here are 6 Current NBA Superstars Who Are Frauds. The first person on this list might surprise you, because it definitely surprised me. You see, this dude isn't the first person that comes to mind when we talk about frauds, but when you look at his overall numbers, and when you look at how he performs during the I'm talking about the 2023 MVP, Joel Embiid. Yeah, I know, it might sound like basketball blasphemy to have the MVP here on the first video, but I couldn't ignore the facts. Let's use his 2023 season as the first example. 33 points led the league, 10 rebounds ain't too shabby either, and he also had an effective field goal percentage of 57%, which screams I'm a superstar. Couple that with a few signature performances, including that 52 point game against the Boston Celtics, and you have someone who looks like he could potentially single-handedly take you all the way to the promised lands. You know, 76ers fans must be absolutely fuming, because the end results were the complete opposite. You see, when the lights shined the brightest, Embiid shied away, and those beautiful numbers we just saw turned into a nightmare. I'm talking about 24 points per game, while shooting 17.9% from three-point range, with an effective field goal percentage of 44.8%. Yeah, I wish I was making up these numbers, but they were actually pulled directly off basketball reference. Joel Embiid is, for better or for worse, a bum in the playoffs. And it wasn't just this year either. Last season, in 2022, he also put up about 24 points per game, while shooting 21% from three, and got eliminated in the second round. This is a dude who led the league in scoring for two consecutive years, but is laying eggs when things matter the most. I mean, in games 6 and 7, where he could have eliminated the Celtics, he averaged just 20.5 points, while shooting 37.8% from the field, and 0% from beyond the arc. Talk about bad. Anyway, if you were surprised by this, the next person will surprise you even more. You see, this dude was an all-star in 2023, made the All-NBA 3rd team, put up amazing numbers in the regular season, and even had people like Stephen A. Smith dancing with glee. But yet, when you look at his playoff numbers, you think to yourself, who the f*** is this? I'm talking about Julius the Black Panther Randall. So, during the regular season, this guy was putting up 25 points and 10 rebounds per game on respectable efficiency. And if anyone were to describe him, they'd probably say he's a 6 foot 8, 250 pound monster who gets what he wants, when he wants. In the playoffs he literally turns into a baby panther. I mean, 16.6 points per game, along with 8 rebounds while shooting 37% from the floor is what he just pulled off in 2023. I don't want to be mean, but in layman's terms, those numbers are trash. Some of y'all might be saying he just had a bad series against Jimmy Butler in the heat, but the truth is, even in that first round where the Knicks won against the Cavaliers, Randall averaged just 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 33.8% from the field. It's a complete night and day difference between the type of player Julius is in the regular season versus the playoffs. And for that, he completely deserves a spot on this video. I might get some hate for this following take, but the next person we have here today is someone who scored 71 points in a single game. You see, in terms of skill, Donovan Mitchell is elite. He can explode to the basket, he can shoot the midrange, shoot the three ball, and that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his skill set. He's the definition of electrifying and can pretty much do whatever you need a guard to do on the court. For some strange reason though, he becomes average in the playoffs. I mean, aside from 2020 where he choked a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the first round, he's never even shot better than 45% from the field once. Like, just look at some of his recent numbers. 28.9% from three, an effective field goal percentage of 43.6%. Those are absolutely horrendous. And the thing is, losing in the playoffs is one thing, but losing while shooting those types of numbers is an entirely different story, and for that reason, sadly, Donovan belongs on this list. And again, it's not just because of his lack of postseason success. Take Anthony Edwards as an example. He was just eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round, but he went out fighting until the very end and elevated his game in points production, effective field goal percentages, assists, steals, blocks, you name it. When the lights shine their brightest, Ant-Man raised his game, and because of that, there's no way I can call him a fraud. But in any case, Ice Trey is up next. I still can't believe this dude led the NCAA in both scoring and assists back in 2018. So dang guys, I hate that I'm putting Young on this list because I love watching him play, but I can't ignore the facts. What I mean is that, in 2022 for example, he went from a 28 point 10 assist killer in the regular season to a 15 point 6 assist regular dude who shot 31.9% from the field and 18% from 3. I know it was just one season and that he played a bit better in 2023, but the results were the same. No true championship contending teams really take him seriously, and for someone who was once expected to be the next Steph Curry, he's falling way short of expectations. And look, The Athletic even conducted an anonymous poll recently of 108 NBA players in 2023, asking them who are the most overrated players in the league and the player who got the most votes was none other than Trey Young. Regardless, let's shift our focus now. The next take on fraudulent NBA superstars might be a bit controversial, but I have to bring up Kawhi Leonard. Now, unlike other players we have here on this list, Kawhi actually raises his game in the playoffs. Leonard is one of the few rare players who plays like a top 10 player during the regular season, but then plays like a top 1, 2, or 3 player in the playoffs. It's like he has a switch and can just turn it on or something. But anyway, the reason why Kawhi is on this list is because the man never shows up when his team needs him the most. I mean that not figuratively, but literally. Time after time after time, the Clippers have bent their backs trying to accommodate everything he wants, including private security guards, power over the team's practice schedule, and so on and so forth. But yet, what has he given them? A ton of missed games during the regular season and a teaser in the playoffs before ultimately heading to the bench for good? And the thing is, this has happened now for 3 straight years. I mean, in 2023, when he stopped playing after the first two games against the Suns, in 2022 he sat out the entire year, and in 2021 he stopped playing in the middle of that second round Jazz series. I know injuries are freak accidents, but the man had all the time in the world to load manage, but yet still manages to somehow get injured when things matter. And because of that, he definitely belongs on this list. Carl Anthony Towns is the next fraudulent superstar. Did you know that years ago, GMs around the league came together and picked Cat as the one player in the league that they would love to build their teams around? Yeah, in 2017, over Giannis, over LeBron, over Steph, and over Durant, NBA GMs chose Towns as the player they would choose to build around. A large part of that was because he's a 7-footer who can shoot the 3-ball at an elite level in the regular season. Yeah, for his career, he shoots it at about 40% over the course of the 82-game regular season, but during the times he made the playoffs, he's shot 27% in his first year and 25% in his most recent appearance, and has never made it past the first round once. The man looks like a superstar with the way he puts up regular season numbers, but yet, when all the marbles are on the line, you can't deny the fact that he plays really small. Anyway, who else would you add to this list? Zion? John Morant? Maybe Ben Simmons? Let me know in the comments down below, then click this video next!