We’re a big Disney family here. Our preferred vacation destination is Disney World in Florida. It’s close enough to be a long but doable drive for us. While realizing everyone has their own opinions, it’s our favorite spot. We love the characters, the rides, and being in the Disney bubble. We enjoy seeing our kids faces light up over and over again.
One of the more recent additions at Disney World is a Villains show at Hollywood Studios. The idea is that Villains are not all that bad, and depending on your perspective, can be misunderstood. And so 3 famous Disney villains from the movies come out and plead their case to the audience one by one, and at the end of the show, the audience chooses which is the most misunderstood. Which gets a bad rap. Which isn’t actually as bad as it seems.
As an example. Captain Hook pleads that he offers wealth and freedom for any that want to join his crew, while Peter Pan comes in and tries to take it away. Hook argues that he is the one carrying the show, not Pan.
Who’s the most misunderstood in NBA circles? Who gets the most unfair criticism? Who is treated the most unfairly? In Disney Villains fashion, let’s look at cases for three players and at the end, I’ll make my choice and you can make yours as well!
Kevin Durant – Durant is clearly an all-time great talent, scorer and hall of fame player. There’s no disputing it. However, he doesn’t get the amount of respect and status of other all-time greats, for several reasons.
His movement between teams allows fans to label him as a player chasing something but not elevating his team to a championship level. Outside of the Warriors where he joined an already great team, his teams since have not come close to championship caliber.
Being on so many teams has given him somewhat of a journeyman superstar status, and a diva for desiring trades to escape situations that he himself created.
His social media presence seems to impact his likability. He will respond to criticisms on social media, but honestly, I kind of like it. I mean, why not. The internet can be an unkind place, and while it’s probably best to just ignore for the most part, if standing up for yourself makes you feel better, go for it.
The criticism for team movements, is this a legitimate gripe, or a constant in the new NBA? Star movement becomes more and more common as we see star players demand trades who become unhappy with their situation. And with new salary cap structure and rules, it becomes more and more cumbersome for teams to hold onto high dollar players for the long term.
On going to the Warriors, can you blame a player coming off an MVP and on a team that traded one of its best players to a rival Western Conference team for wanting to be a part of a championship team, to get that championship taste? Who wouldn’t want to play alongside Stephen Curry and prime Klay Thompson? From a joy of basketball perspective, what a blast it would be to have those guys as teammates.
Is Durant the most misunderstood? His talent cannot be disputed, especially as a scorer. If I need a basket in any situation, I may be picking Durant over anyone, even at age 37.
Let’s not forget, Durant is a 16 time All-Star, 12 time All-NBA, an MVP, and while his Championships are with the Curry Warriors, he was the Finals MVP on those teams, and he took the Thunder to the Finals early in his career at age 23 and made the Western Conference finals multiple years, running into other championship level teams.
Durant is also an all-time great international player, winning 4 Olympic gold medals and desiring a 5th.
Durant has a strong case for most misunderstood. Maybe a strong enough case to not even look at others.
LaMelo Ball– My 6 year old son’s favorite player, is LaMelo Ball the most misunderstood?
Seen sometimes as a good stats bad team guy, the Hornets saw their most success with Ball this past season, as the Hornets sported an elite offense and came one win from making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
This wasn’t enough for the Hornets front office, though, as they traded Ball to the Timberwolves for Naz Reid and (mediocre in my opinion) draft capital from the Hornets, with one first round pick in 2033, multiple pick swaps and some second round picks.
Despite being seen as immature and as not a serious player, his impact on the court was evident this past season. The Hornets have struggled over the years in large part due to Ball’s lack of availability, both a hindrance to Ball’s case and argument for his value when on the court.
The Hornets were an elite offense with Ball on the floor this past season, and that elite offense coincided with team success. When Ball started along with Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate, the Hornets posted a 27-5 record.
I very well may be wrong, but I would be surprised if the Hornets finish with a better record in the upcoming season than they did this past season. My take, and it’s one that has Hornets kind of split, is that in trading LaMelo, the Hornets have lost the catalyst for their top offense, something they won’t be able to recreate with Cobe White as the head the offense. The Hornets are banking on Miller and Knueppel emerging as stars that will raise the ceiling. I’m worried that the team’s ceiling is lowered without Ball. Time will tell if the Hornets can even break through as a playoff team, or if they traded away the team’s most popular player only to continue in mediocrity.
Is LaMelo Ball the most misunderstood? Will he elevate the Timberwolves alongside Anthony Edwards? I’ll just say, I will be watching a lot of TWolves games this year.
Jaylen Brown – It’s hard to remember a situation where a former Finals MVP, All-Star, and especially a player that’s led its team to a surprisingly spectacular season, immediately get traded. And not only did the Celtics trade him, he is now on a rival team in Philly.
Despite his obvious worth as a high level scorer and all-around player, the Celtics didn’t think he was worth the money he was set out to make as a super max player. It wasn’t that they didn’t value him as a player, they just couldn’t justify his salary under the current CBA. But what everyone sees is the Celtics were willing to let Brown go for Paul Gorge and draft capital, and they maybe wouldn’t drop too much with Paul George filling in as a scoring option.
Is there another player who will be more motivated than Jaylen Brown this season?
Brown to this point has been a part of a two headed monster in Boston with Tatum, and it’s been successful at the highest levels with a Championship in 2024, a Finals where Brown was named MVP.
Controversy immediately followed as Brown was left off of Team USA in favor of Celtics teammate Derrick White, who was maybe more of a team fit and perimeter defender over an elite scorer in Brown.
So while Brown has both team and individual success (5x All-Star and 2x All-NBA) including most recently leading his team to a 56 win season, most of that without Jason Tatum, he comes off looking overvalued and overrated.
Is Jaylen Brown the most misunderstood? He has a strong case.
Moving on… a bonus contestant… LeBron James.
Is there a more misunderstood player than James?
When LeBron was unable to win a Championship in Cleveland early in his career, he formed a super team in Miami, seen by many as taking a shortcut to a championship, or ‘ring chasing’, a process he’s since facilitated other teams in Cleveland with Kyrie/Love, and again in LA with Anthony Davis. Is this a case of moving to the best Championship situation to forge an easier path, or is it a strong desire to win at all cost, sacrificing potential individual stats and accolades for team success? He’s won with every franchise he’s played for, by the way.
In GOAT conversations, he’s often viewed as having the longevity and greatest cumulative stats, but not the greatest peak. Some consider him the greatest, while others say that cumulative success isn’t enough, his Finals record isn’t good enough, he’s deferred big shots too often, etc… You all know these arguments well and any NBA fan has their own opinion.
There’s no doubt LeBron has elevated his teammates over the years and taken teams to the Finals that really had no business being there with almost anyone else in LeBron’s place.
Viewed as a Villain over and over again during his career, all LeBron wants to do is win. He clearly has a strong argument for most misunderstood.
Wrap Up
Let me know, who is the most misunderstood? The beauty of the Disney Villains show is that there’s no consensus right answer. Depending on the audience for any given show, you might get a different winner. One crowd might favor Hook, while the next just 30 minutes later could pick Cruella de Vil. The debate is part of the fun.
For this round, I’ll take Kevin Durant as the most understood NBA star.
As I make this choice, as the audience in this case, I can hear the ‘KD! KD!’ chants in my head.
Who are you taking? Who do you think is ‘most misunderstood’?
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