Former Celtics fan favorite listed among most overrated players of 2020s

Former Celtics fan favorite listed among most overrated players of 2020s originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Boston Celtics have been busy making big moves throughout the 2020s, and one of their moves has had some polarizing results.

Over the course of the past few years, the Celtics have built and retooled their roster constantly as they’ve tried to win an NBA title. After some big moves failed and others came up just short, the Celtics finally put together the right pieces in 2023, leading to a championship in 2024.

Of course, those moves in the 2023 offseason weren’t always viewed as the perfect deals for the Celtics. While hindsight makes it clear that Boston made the right move, fans were split when they dealt Marcus Smart to Memphis in a move that brought in Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis was in and out of the lineup in his two seasons with the team, but his help in winning a championship made it all worth it. However, Smart’s struggles since leaving Boston have landed him on Bleacher Report’s ranking of the most overrated players of the 2020s.

As Dan Favale wrote in the article, Smart’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 was a questionable award decision, but his offense is truly what landed him on the list. While there’s no doubt Smart can still bring some intensity on defense, his inefficient shooting was a key problem in Boston and carried over to Memphis and Washington.

As he heads into his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Smart needs to overcome some of those issues. If he can’t, Smart’s ability to contribute to a winning team might not exist anymore.