I'm gonna say something people are probably gonna feel ways about... but DeMar DeRozan (IMHO) tops Lowry, Bosh and even Carter as the greatest Raptor of all time. He's currently the 4th leading scorer (29 pts.) in the 16/17 season, near the beginning he was first (30 pts.) despite only getting 22 points last season (still fantastic) which is a HUGE change. He's one of the most agile and arguably the strongest shooting guard in the NBA. Yet despite all this nobody focuses on him because he plays for the sole Canadian team in the NBA and most viewership comes from America -_- Don't get me wrong the Raptors are a fairly popular team but it seems the majority of people who notice DeRozan are the NBA (It's pretty much their job to) and Raptors fans. To prove my point I'll start getting into why I think DeRozan is an underrated player.

3. Erased from MVP discussion...

I have to admit early on when he was dropping 30 to even 40 (he's had quite a few 40pt. games this season the latest, not being too long ago.) points many had him up there for potential MVP. But the second he comes back to earth and starts putting (a still insane) 29 pts. and quite often, 35-40 points a game BAM. Never heard of as a candidate again. Even in the Easter Confrence discussions I've heard! Wanna guess which player isn't there even though he fully deserves to be there? Here's a hint: It's #10.

2. Most effective player and no one realizes it

Everybody burns DeRozan for his "inability to shoot three's" (I'll get to that in a sec.). Yet despite that people forget or just ignore the way he has MASTERED the mid-range jumper. Guess who wasn't up at 1 and remained within Top 5 in scoring this season? Curry. Harden. Thompson. All notorious 3pt. shooters. And yes his 3pt. percentage is borderline DISGUSTINGLY low for a shooting guard he has shown the ability to hit threes when they matter the most. Key Phrase: When they matter. This is why DeRozan is one of the leading scorers over other elite shooters. He shoots high-percentage shots. He takes those dunks (it helps that he's a physical BEAST) takes the 2 pt. shots that just build up and up. It's why the Raptors have consistently topped the freaking Warriors as top offensive efficiency team. Not to mention DeRozan recently passed Chris Bosh as the Raptor with the most points.

1. Fallen Prey To Overrated Players

First things first picture above is just compilation of SG's. Not all of them are overrated. Wehn I say overrated I'm not saying said player is bad just that their abilities and what people say their abilities are, are two different things (ability>hype). Think about it. Prime example is Jimmy Butler. He's a great player and can finish in the paint. But because he plays for one of the most popular teams in NBA history (arguably 2nd behind maybe the Lakers or Warriors.) his abilities automatically get hyped. The only thing Butler is superior in is defense (namely blocks and boards) on the other hand DeRozan is a much bigger threat offensively (Currently Points: 27.5 {D} >24.5 {J} Assists: Closer however JB gets .7 more) So pretty close defensively and DeRozan takes a bigger edge offensively yet because of hype and popularity JB is considered "clearly superior". Not to mention currently Butler has an elite player in the form of Dwyane Wade. The same could arguably be said for DeRozan (Lowry) but overall Wade is better than Lowry. I could go on with more comparisons but I'm too tired this should suffice.