Phoenix Suns: No, Josh Jackson is not overhyped

Phoenix Suns wing Josh Jackson was included on a list of the league’s most overhyped players. He has no business being on that last.

Earlier this week, Bleacher Report published a list of the NBA’s most overhyped players entering this season. The list included the Phoenix Suns’ own Josh Jackson at number four. For many reasons, Josh Jackson doesn’t belong on this list.

When Phoenix Suns fans think of Josh Jackson, overhyped is not a word that comes to mind. After being the 4th overall pick and coming off a year where he finished at the back end of the All-Rookie Second Team, it would seem like he should be flying under the radar if anything.

When someone is looked at as overhyped or overrated, they are usually a player talked about and praised a lot in the media. This is often a result of either playing in a huge market or playing for a top team, neither of which apply to Jackson.

When someone thinks of the Phoenix Suns recently, it starts and ends with Devin Booker. Now this summer Deandre Ayton was added to the mix, further lowering the attention Jackson will get on a team likely to be very low in the standings.

Other players on the list, such as Jayson Tatum, Zach Lavine, and Demarcus Cousins, are offensive-minded. It’s a strange group to include Jackson in, since he is primarily known as a strong wing defender. Defense isn’t less important, but it almost never gets attention or sells tickets.

The main argument presented for why Josh Jackson is over-hyped was his strong end to the season. While it was a strong final half of the season, a large part came after the Phoenix suns were tanking, so it really didn’t get much attention.

Rather if Jackson had started out the year red hot and fizzled out later, it would seem more likely for people to remember it. An underwhelming summer league doesn’t help build the hype around him either.

Bleacher Report points out that it’s unreasonable to expect Jackson to replicate his second half stats. That being said, it’s only logical to think he could replicate that impact and efficiency with a normal second year jump in production.

Even if we can agree on what Jackson’s projections should be entering the season, I have to disagree that he’s being overhyped. It’s rare for a player with his style on a team in the Phoenix Suns’ situation to be overhyped nationally.

In reality, Jackson is receiving almost no hype around the league. If anything, with all the spotlight on Booker and Ayton, people might be sleeping on Josh Jackson.