[user_3n5kp]

Nick Collison is a great role player. I think the average fan doesn't have a clue how valuable guys like that are because they don't do anything glamorous but people that watch the game away from the ball and have played organized ball definitely give him credit. With players like that I think it depends which circle of fan you are asking.

That said, I don't see Collison as under rated, more under appreciated. It takes a different eye to give him his due props.

If we are talking on court current under-rated I think these guys are under-rated by the average fan:

Deng
Hinrich
Felton
Lawson
David West

If we are talking hobby I couldn't agree more on Duncan and Kidd. As an older collector I think basketball collector under appreciate and under value the pre-MJ era in a major way. Late 70's cards in high grade are shockingly cheap. How is Moses Malone's RC (1975 Topps!) only $100-150 in PSA 9 and under $40 in PSA 8?

How is George Gervins RC (1974) in PSA 9 under $100? Alex English (1979-highest scoring player for the entire decade 1980-1989) $60??? Its insane, Kyrie's prizm RC in BGS 9.5 sell higher.

[got watcha want]

I am a huge Nick Collison fan and love that he was mentioned in this thread. I know he is debatable.

David West being mentioned is sooooo true as well. I don't see anyone arguing that West gets too much media attention and/or respect from the hobby.

As far as judging sets values go... that all boils down to a demand that based on the masses opinion more so than the quality of the product. Sets are really subjective to each person.

I see it differently when you have the quality of the player in question in relation the that player's hobby demand. We can get a little more specific there.

[jacobystealshome]

That said, I don't see Collison as under rated, more under appreciated. It takes a different eye to give him his due props.

that's a bit semantic, but i get what you are sayin'.

i think folks that have played organized ball understand how important "glue" guys are. Collinson really is one of those guys. what happens off ball is as important as on ball. Collinson might be one the best off the ball guys in the league. just ask durant what he thinks about collinson, and how important he is.

my favorite quite of nick's was after game 4 in 2011, that triple ot against memphis (he scored 4 points), and it sums up his game complete:

“The way I play, I know my value isn’t statistics,” Collison said. “If I tried to play that way I probably wouldn’t be in the league. The things I do, I just try to do them every night and I just try to help us win. It may sound a little cliche but, really, I’m into each possession and those little small victories of getting stops is what gets me going"

and just because:

[briankort]

that's a bit semantic, but i get what you are sayin'.

Well there are alot of important "role" players in the league. Every team needs them and most teams have them. Shane Battier is another good example. Without Kukoc, Steve Kerr, John Paxson, Jud Buechler, Stacey King, Bill Wennington,Bill cartwright and the rest of the supporting cast, Michael Jordan and the Bulls don't have 6 Championships period! Regardless of the greatness of MJ. IMO, just take away Pippen (and obviously not replace him with a similar calibre player) and they would be lucky to even have 4 of those championships.

The OP though is more about all-star and HOF calibre players whose cards don't get respect from collector's for whatever reason.

[evanturner12]

Larry Sanders. He's been a defensive beast this year.

[SHowley2003]

Maybe I am taking this thread in a different direction but if we are talking hobby love isn't it true that every player other than MJ, Kobe, the rookies du jour, and maybe Lebron under rated? Sure there are select autos and 1/1's that get attention, but not players as a whole. I can log onto the Bay and pick up PSA 9 RCs of many of the best players from each generation from the 70's-2000's for anywhere from $3-$100.

At the same time because it is a collector's hobby and one could argue that no player is under rated as it is a hobby of chasing down the best MJ cards and trying to find the next 86 Fleer MJ to spin for big bucks. As a result all the established players that are not the next MJ have a limited market (supply and demand).

[briankort]

I think Jordan, LeBron and Kobe have fans and they have collectors. The difference is that the fans just want the cards to collect and keep where the collectors want the cards so they can hopefully sell them for a profit 5, 10 or even 20 years down the road.

I think we all would love some of those nice Jordan inserts, but most of us either don't have the money or refuse to spend that kind of money on cards.

On a side note...I was suprised to see that I can buy a 1997 finest Tim Duncan RC graded PSA 10 for about $20 but I can't get near a 1995 Finest Kevin Garnett RC graded PSA 10 for that price. To me, they are basically of equal value as players but KG seems to get more love from collectors. Probably because he plays for a big market like Boston and Duncan plays for some team in texas I think.

[SHowley2003]

Brian when you are looking at the KG finest rookie I don't think the value of that card has much to do with where he currently plays. That particular rookie was one of those 90's holy grail type of cards and sold for crazy money back in the day. It still carries some of that value mojo round with it as a must have card for many collectors.

[briankort]

Brian when you are looking at the KG finest rookie I don't think the value of that card has much to do with where he currently plays. That particular rookie was one of those 90's holy grail type of cards and sold for crazy money back in the day. It still carries some of that value mojo round with it as a must have card for many collectors.

Seems strange. Nothing more special about the 1995 finest cards vs the 1997 finest. Maybe there is a shorter print run of the cards or something. The Garnett finest card does have a much higher ungraded BV though.

[djohn]

Seems strange. Nothing more special about the 1995 finest cards vs the 1997 finest. Maybe there is a shorter print run of the cards or something. The Garnett finest card does have a much higher ungraded BV though.

In 1995 the best set was Finest hands down. So people weren't choosing between several top brands, the Finest was IT. In 1997 SP Authentic, Topps Chrome and Ultra took a step ahead of Finest, plus there were other great sets like EX-2001. Also, the Tim Duncan card was a bronze version which were the easiest to find in 1997.