NBA players who are most underperforming their preseason rankings
A little while ago, we discussed the NBA players who were most overperforming their preseason rankings in 2023-24. To judge that, we looked at our consensus Top 100 player rankings – which used rankings from our site, ESPN, Bleacher Report, The Ringer and CBS Sports from before the season to find a consensus ranking of the Top 100 players in the NBA for 2023-24 – and judged that against our own Global Rating data to see which players were most overperforming those preseason rankings.
That list can be found here.
Today, we’re doing the opposite to check out the NBA players most underperforming their preseason rankings, according to Global Rating.
Draymond Green (Golden State)
Preseason ranking: No. 44
Global Rating ranking: No. 227
Making headlines twice already this season for punching Jufus Nurkic and putting long-time rival Rudy Gobert into a chokehold after the two already had an ugly history, former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green is currently on an indefinite suspension as he undergoes counseling, which will keep him out reportedly for at least the next three weeks.
But even besides all that, it’s not like Green was lighting it up when he was on the floor. This season, Green is averaging just 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.7 blocks, although he was shooting 42.9 percent from three. Golden State also was 9.9 points per 100 possessions worse when he was on the floor.
We’ll see how Green plays if and when he does return this season but for now, there’s no question he’s been one the biggest disappointment in the NBA relative to preseason expectations.
Andrew Wiggins (Golden State)
Preseason ranking: No. 52
Global Rating ranking: No. 179
Averaging 12.3 points per game, by far the lowest mark of his career, former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins has looked nothing like the player who helped the Warriors win a championship merely two years ago – and that’s on either end of the floor.
Wiggins has made Golden State an astronomical 17.4 points per 100 possessions worse during his time on the floor, an almost hard-to-fathom number for a player of his caliber. He ranks 198th in Box Plus/Minus, 179th in our Global Rating metric, all while under contract through 2026-27 when he’ll earn $30.2 million if he doesn’t opt out of his player option.
The most concerning part for Warriors fans has to be that even though this is already the second Golden State player on this list, we still have one more to go. Luckily, at least the player coming up later on this list has been performing much better of late.
Khris Middleton (Milwaukee)
Preseason ranking: No. 45
Global Rating ranking: No. 115
We might be past the point of needing to push the panic button on Bucks swingman Khris Middleton, currently mired in a rough start to 2023-24.
Middleton is averaging just 13.1 points this season, his lowest clip since 2014-15, to go with 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. On the other hand, his shooting has improved from last year as the three-time All-Star is hitting 47.1 percent of his shots from the floor and 35.5 percent of his threes, so maybe that low scoring rate is due to the arrival of superstar point guard Damian Lillard and having to share so much of the ball with both he and two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Still, Middleton hasn’t looked like his old self on either end of the floor – maybe age (he’s 32) and all those injuries earlier in his career have finally caught up to him – and it’s looking unlikely he’ll reach All-Star status again anytime soon at this rate.
Jimmy Butler (Miami)
Preseason ranking: No. 10
Global Rating ranking: No. 25
Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler finds himself on this list as a victim of his own success. So much is expected out of the six-time All-Star that he came into the season ranked in the Top 10 in the aggregate consensus rankings after leading Miami to the NBA Finals in 2022-23, the second time he’s done just that in the previous three campaigns.
By now, it’s established that Butler is a Top 10 player in the league when the lights are the brightest come playoff time. But regular-season Jimmy who sometimes defers a little too much? He might be more of a Top 25 player, which is where Global Rating has him ranked so far this campaign.
That’s not to say Butler has struggled this season. After all, he’s averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 37.7 percent from three.
He just hasn’t been Playoff Jimmy – and that’s perfectly fine. Heat fans would rather see him at his best when a championship is on the line. At this point, Butler and Co. have earned the benefit of the doubt so we’re pretty confident we’ll see him and the Heat at their best come postseason.
Deandre Ayton (Portland)
Preseason ranking: No. 65
Global Rating ranking: No. 121
Probably not a surprise to anyone who’s followed his career closely to this point, former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton didn’t even enter this season with huge expectations. However, even relative to being 65th overall in preseason rankings, he’s still been disappointing in 2023-24. Ayton is averaging a career-low 13.1 points to go with 11.0 rebounds per game on 55.0 percent shooting (the second-lowest mark of his career) in his first season with the Portland Trail Blazers. He has made the Blazers 6.8 points per 100 possessions worse when he’s been on the floor, coincidentally the exact same poor swing rating mark he had last season in Phoenix.
Ayton’s career was going to go one of two ways once he got his much-desired move out of Phoenix: He was either going to take his game to new heights thanks to no longer being burdened by the pressure of being a former top-overall pick playing for a championship contender or, due to the lower stakes of playing on a rebuilding team, he was going to sink even further into his sometimes lackadaisical style of play.
Unfortunately, it looks like he’s going down the latter route.
Ayton might still just be 25 years old but considering it’s his sixth season in the NBA already, this might just be who he is – a solid but unspectacular player who sometimes flashes greatness but usually is just floating out there.
OG Anunoby (Toronto)
Preseason ranking: No. 58
Global Rating ranking: No. 120
The subject of many trade rumors as the Toronto Raptors post another unimpressive season, former Indiana Hoosier OG Anunoby likely isn’t considered an underperformer by Toronto considering its stance in not wanting to move the seventh-year forward.
Our own Michael Scotto recently reported that the Raptors will do whatever they can to keep Anunoby in free agency this coming offseason:
With rival teams expressing trade interest in Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, the consensus among the vast majority of NBA executives who spoke with HoopsHype was that Siakam would be the one more likely of the two players to be traded. NBA executives exploring the trade market for wings believe Toronto will do whatever it takes to keep Anunoby in free agency this summer after he formally declines his $19.93 million player option.
How wise that might be is a debate for another time but overall, Anunoby has been just decent this season, averaging 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game on 46.9 percent shooting. The Raptors’ defense, meanwhile, sits 15th in the league so even Anunoby’s point prevention hasn’t been all that impactful for the Raptors.
For a player who came into the season ranked 58th overall in the consensus rankings, there’s no question that Anunoby’s play has been a bit disappointing. Perhaps if his star teammate Pascal Siakam does get traded, we’ll see what Anunoby can do with a higher usage rate but for now, more was expected out of the 26-year-old.
Jordan Poole (Washington)
Preseason ranking: No. 83
Global Rating ranking: No. 161
Anyone surprised by this one?
Former NBA champion Jordan Poole didn’t enter this season, his first with the Washington Wizards, with much in the way of expectations, barely cracking the Top 85 in aggregate preseason player rankings. And with good reason considering how poorly his final campaign with the Warriors ended, with Poole averaging 10.3 points on 34.1 percent shooting in last year’s playoffs, which saw Golden State eliminated by the second round.
Even so, Poole has been disappointing with Washington so far this season, averaging 17.2 points and 3.6 assists on 41.2 percent shooting from the floor, 31.7 percent from three. Even more worrisome is the fact Poole has made the Wizards 14.6 points per 100 possessions worse during his time on the floor, a huge mark for a player averaging nearly 30 minutes nightly.
The 24-year-old Poole remains young and has plenty of his prime left but if his decision-making and shot selection don’t improve, he could get to the point where he’s unplayable, especially with his defense and shot-making prowess both in the gutter.
Jordan Clarkson (Utah)
Preseason ranking: No. 93
Global Rating ranking: No. 180
Injuries have hampered former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson’s 2023-24, as the former Mizzou Tiger has played in just 19 games on the campaign due to an issue with his thigh.
When he has been out there, though, Clarkson hasn’t performed as effectively as was expected heading into the season, as the 31-year-old is averaging 16.6 points on 39.9 percent shooting, 29.5 percent from three, absolutely brutal marks that have contributed greatly to the Utah Jazz’s very rough 11-18 record so far.
We’ll see if he can turn it around when he does return this season or if he turns into trade bait for the Jazz ahead of the February deadline. Clarkson has two seasons left on his deal after this one but will be owed a combined $28.3 million for those campaigns, a reasonable mark for as good of a bench scorer as Clarkson… when healthy.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis)
Preseason ranking: No. 30
Global Rating ranking: No. 55
Placing big man Jaren Jackson Jr. among the biggest underperformers of 2023-24 almost feels unfair. After all, he’s been tasked this season with taking on so much of the load for Memphis with superstar point guard Ja Morant suspended for the first 25 games of the campaign, forcing Jackson to have to do more to keep the Grizzlies’ playoff chances afloat.
Of course, Jackson wasn’t quite able to do much for those postseason chances as Memphis now sits at 8-19 on the year – and that’s after Morant returned and helped lead the team to back-to-back wins during his first week back on the floor.
Still, Jackson’s efforts for the first quarter of the season were commendable as the former Spartan is averaging a career-high 21.5 points to go with 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 45.5 percent shooting. It’s that ugly shooting mark (he’s at 31.9 percent from three, to boot) holding Jackson back, as well as the fact he has 56 turnovers on the season to 45 assists. His inefficient rebounding – something Jackson’s struggled with his entire career – also hasn’t helped matters.
That’s all to say Jackson has been good this season, just not great, hence his place on this ranking of underperformers for 2023-24.
Cade Cunningham (Detroit)
Preseason ranking: No. 50
Global Rating ranking: No. 80
We hate to pile on here but along with threatening the record for the longest losing streak in NBA history, the Detroit Pistons also have the honor of their former No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham, ranking among the biggest underperformers of the 2023-24 season so far.
Predicted to be a Top 50 player by the consensus rankings, Global Rating has the former Oklahoma State standout at No. 80 thus far this season… and that might be a bit kind.
Cunningham has the fifth-worst WS/48 in the entire NBA and is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor, 32.5 percent from three while turning the ball over 4.0 times nightly. That’s why despite his solid raw averages – 22.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists – the advanced metrics don’t think too highly of Cunningham.
Of course, his team situation is heavily to blame – not only are the Pistons greatly lacking in talent around the former top pick but first-year head coach Monty Williams has struggled mightily in fielding the right lineups on a nightly basis – but even then, you’d really like to see more out of Cunningham in his third season.
Luckily for Pistons fans, he’s still just 22 and has flashed some very promising signs, even amidst all the losing.
Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City)
Preseason ranking: No. 60
Global Rating ranking: No. 99
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey has had a very disappointing third season in the NBA so far, averaging career-lows in points per game (11.8) and nightly assists (4.3) while shooting just 43.6 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from three.
Even worse, Giddey has made the Thunder 11.4 points per 100 possessions worse when he’s been on the floor, a very surprising mark considering how much playing time he shares with the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who have both been performing at high levels.
Giddey is outside of the Top 150 in Value Over Replacement Player so far in 2023-24, sitting 198th in the NBA in that metric. For comparison’s sake, he was ranked 59th league-wide in that same stat last season, showing what a drop-off the young Australian has had in impact and efficiency.
Klay Thompson (Golden State)
Preseason ranking: No. 57
Global Rating ranking: No. 91
Had we waited two more weeks to do this exercise, four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson might have played his way off his list as he really has been heating up of late.
Over his last five games, Thompson is averaging 25.2 points while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, 48.2 percent from three. In that stretch, the Warriors have reeled off four wins in a row, including a huge one over the 21-6 Boston Celtics. Thompson’s much-improved play is a primary reason for the team’s hot run of form, as in his 22 games before this recent stretch, he was averaging just 15.4 points and shooting merely 34.3 percent from three – 39.7 percent from the floor – which is why he’s on this list of biggest underperformers.
But with Thompson performing more like his old self, Golden State now looks more like the team many expected it to be before the season. We’ll see if he’s able to keep this up in what is a contract season for the 33-year-old.
