Ranking the Top 10 Most Underrated Los Angeles Lakers Players of the Past Decade

The American Heritage® Dictionary defines “underrated” as “To rate too low; underestimate.” In other words, rating the most underrated Los Angeles Lakers of the past decade is less of a science and more of a subjective exercise.

It’s also a lot of fun.

As a collective team, the Lakers have had their fair share of success and failure over the past 10 years, winning two championships and falling from grace and the playoffs a couple of seasons later.

They’ve also been home to a number of gifted players who, for different reasons, never seemed to quite achieve the recognition they deserved from fans, teammates, coaches, management and the media.

The underrated have shined under the best and worst of circumstances; through championship runs and dreadful debacles. Yet they all share that common thread of being underappreciated by some or all of the aforementioned groups.

This is that one list not occupied by the obvious recognized stars of the past decade, a small group that would obviously have to include Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Metta World Peace and Derek Fisher. Even Andrew Bynum, the mercurial center whose star burned brightly for a few seasons before burning itself out, would not be a candidate.

For those making the list of the underrated, only two of them remain with the Lakers. Did management let some hidden gems get away?  

You be the judge.

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