Memphis Grizzlies: 3 most underrated players in franchise history

Underrated Memphis Grizzlies, Player No. 1: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

This slide could cause some controversy, as many may think that the most underrated Memphis Grizzlies player of all time should come from one of the squads of the 2010s, the Grizzlies’ most successful era. I think otherwise.

In fact, I think Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the most underrated Grizzlies player of all time specifically because he was on some of the worst Grizz squads of all time.

That said, Abdur-Rahim’s campaign holds the opposite strategy as Tony Allen’s. Rather than having few statistics to back up his argument, Abdur-Rahim filled the stat sheet during his tenure with Memphis. In his five seasons, he never averaged fewer than 18.7 points per game.

But it wasn’t just the offensive end where he excelled.

Abdur-Rahim put up 23 points, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in 1998 and somehow wasn’t selected to the All-Star game. This was a player who isn’t just forgotten about now but was overlooked in his NBA prime.

Abdur-Rahim isn’t just one of the most underrated Grizzlies of all time — he’s one of the best players in the franchise’s young history. He made the team worth watching in the early days when the organization was still losing money. Most fans outside of Memphis and Atlanta won’t even remember the name.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the most underrated Memphis Grizzly of all time.