Playing for the Boston Celtics comes with a lot of pressure. Players that thrive under that pressure earn the respect of the team’s loyal fanbase. Just look at a guy like Marcus Smart –he may not be the best player and has never made an All-Star team, but plays hard every game and the fans love him. Some might even say that they overvalue him.
The overvaluing of players tends to be a trend amongst Celtics fans. Any time trade rumors start to swirl, there’s always some sort of hesitancy to include role players that have endeared themselves to fans.
Back in 2017 when the C’s shipped Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Marcus Morris, there was pushback from the fanbase. Morris wound up playing a key role in the team’s success during his first season. He gave the green a nice boost off of the bench and a sense of toughness.
So, did Boston Celtics fans overrate Bradley? Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey seems to think so. Bradley found himself amongst Bleacher Report’s most overrated players of the last decade. Here was Bailey making the case for Bradley being on his list:
"Avery Bradley has two All-Defensive nods, and he probably deserves them. It’s tough to accurately measure impact on that end of the floor. But Bradley’s last All-Defensive selection came in 2016, and he’s seemingly been riding that reputation ever since.Throughout his career, his teams have generally surrendered more points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor. Low block and rebound rates have contributed to Bradley’s below-average defensive box plus/minus. However, that number should be taken with a grain of salt.In combination with the aforementioned play-by-play data, it’s fair to at least use Bradley’s mark as that guide. And a slightly inflated value on defense isn’t the only point here. Bradley has had an above-average true shooting percentage exactly once in his career. That came in 2011-12, the season before the sample in question here."
In fairness, after Bradley was traded from the Boston Celtics, his play did take a hit. He never quite made it back to an elite level on defense. His best two seasons came in his final couple of years in Boston, where he averaged 15 and 16 points per game respectively.
Bradley was a great fit next to Isaiah Thomas and thrived in the role, but unfortunately, he never quite fit anywhere else in quite the same way. His Los Angeles Lakers won the 2019-20 bubble title on Walt Disney World’s campus, but Bradley opted not to join them in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and watched them win Banner 17 on the T.V.