All-Star Watch: Chris Kaman Is Severely Underrated
Is there a particular reason why Chris Kaman gets no love? You can argue that the Los Angeles Clippers big man is the most dominant center in the West right now, yet he rarely gets press and he damn sure gets no fan love. As of the latest All-Star voting results, Kaman was not even in the top 10 of centers in the West despite averaging 20.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.4 bpg for the season.
There could be several factors why Kaman’s game has been ignored for so long. For seven seasons, Kaman has been playing for L.A.’s JV squad that has only appeared in one playoff series (2005-06) during his tenure. He’s also not exactly the league’s most marketable player. But with his stats and the Clippers actually doing decent (considering they’ve been without Blake Griffin) this season, Kaman deserved to get some serious All-Star consideration. We weighed in on Kaman’s chances.
Why He’s In: Kaman is one of the most skilled big men in the league. He’s got an impressive post game – including the ability to hit ambidextrous hook shots. He’s aggressive down low and can finish. His 15-17 footers are dropping more and he can get it done on the defensive end. Kaman’s stats are on-par or better than any center out West including Andrew Bynum, Amar’e Stoudemire and Al Jefferson. With Blake Griffin out, Kaman really stepped up his game this season – he averaged 12 ppg and 7.9 rpg in an injury filled 2008-09. He also has been vital for the Clippers’ success. In his recent four game absence, L.A. lost every one of those contests. The Clippers are currently 18-22 in a tough Western Conference. If the Clippers can get closer to .500 in the next couple of weeks, then he’ll force the coaches to reward him.
Why He’s Not: With Amar’e a lock for the starting center slot, that means Kaman has to compete with Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Bynum, Nene and several other big men for a couple of open spots. Since the West is guard heavy and T-Mac might be voted in, the coaches might opt to select more guards and forwards. Although the Clippers aren’t terrible, they aren’t currently in the playoff race so that could hurt Kaman’s chances. Plus, the league is full of politics and we’re not sure how much clout Kaman has.
Final Verdict: I believe Kaman will be an All-Star. Even though Duncan and Gasol will make it, I think the coaches will vote in Kaman over Bynum and Nene. You can’t deny his numbers and what he brings to the table. Just because fans might not know about Chris’ game doesn’t mean the coaches don’t. After all, they see up close what Kaman does to their teams.
Does Chris Kaman make the All-Star team?
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
control says:
Is it just me or did Chris comb his shoulder and back hair for that pic? That shit is fucking disgusting, don’t know why he didn’t put corn rows or somethin in em…
The guy is an all star, deserves to be one anyways. Really underrated player, solid game all around.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
B says:
hope so. thats TWO germans in one nba-all-star squad. incredible!unglaublich!
January 20th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
I would take Kaman over Bynum and Nene anyday, and I agree the guy’s very underrated. However, he just misses the cut with me; my reserves are: Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Deron Williams and Kevin Durant. This is assuming that either Nash overtakes McGrady in the voting or McGrady does the right thing and forfeits his spot.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
buffaloballa says:
nope.
yao ming has more votes and he cant even walk.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Jayo says:
Kaman isn’t in the top-10 voting b/c he wasn’t listed on the NBA’s original All-Star ballot.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Heckler says:
having a solid season, but Im not sure he is allstar worthy.
i doubt he makes it in by the coaches vote. They HAVE TO (by rule) select at least ONE center among their seven reserves. and is he the one?…over Duncan, Al Jefferson, Andew Bynum?
and make no mistake, that these reserves are most def going: steve nash, chris paul, brandon roy, kevin durant and tim duncan.
so that only leaves two more available spots and Im not sure Chris Kaman will even come close to being considered.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Average Jose says:
Kaman is not even German. He was born in the United States. He is a fricking traitor weirdo and I don’t care how good he is, I will never like the guy. He doesn’t even speak German and the other German players were wondering why he was even playing on their team. If he was good enough he should be playing for Team USA.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Dime Magazine says:
This is Gerald
@Heckler
I think Duncan is considered a forward on the ballot, but if he’s considered a center, definitely no way Kaman goes over him.
@johnsacrimoni
Except for Z-Bo over Kaman, I agree with your reserves. But got to give it up, Randolph is having a far greater season than I thought. It’s gonna be a close call
January 20th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
AdvancedMind says:
Kamen is a far better player then Andrew “highly overrated” Bynum.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
K Dizzle says:
Yeah, I gotta go with what Heckler and Jayo said.
First off, when I was voting, you had to write him in if you wanted him in. With the dumbasses votin for Yao, TMac and AI, they definitely ain’t knowledgable enough to know about Kaman.
2nd, he deserves to go, but like Heckler said, there’s only 2 spots left and one’s gonna be a guard most likely.
Kaman’s problem is if you puttin up huge numbers and your team sucks, do you get in over the dude puttin up solid numbers on a good team?
So like Al Jefferson last year, yes, he deserves to go, but no, he’s not going, which sucks cuz he is a top 3 center this season
January 20th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Chicagorilla says:
trade Kaman to Chicago!!! We’d give them Joakim Noah and Tyrus thomas, and whoever else isn’t named Derrick Rose.
Seriously, Kaman is a very good player. And he does claim to not have ADHD, but i’ve seen him “zone-out” a few times on offense that makes me think otherwise.
The only center better than him in the west is Duncan.
Amare~he’s a PF and as a C he is too small and can’t rebound
Al Jeff~ better scorer than Kaman, but not as good on defense and is a little small at 6’10
Nene~ good player, but ahhhh no. He’s not better than Memet Okur
Andrew Bynum~ getting better, but cant score like Kaman
really I don’t see anyone f^king with Kaman, or the Clips when Blake gets back. They are going to be a problem if everyone is healthy.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
osmosis11 says:
i dont think he gets in
if tmac gets voted than i think the reserves will be
Duncan
Nash
Paul
Durant
paul
roy
gasol
and if tmac decides not to play i think it would go to either randolph, deron williams, boozer or aaron brooks
Sure Kaman is playing like an all star but the west is just way too loaded for him to get in
January 20th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
the cynic says:
Kamen has been the best center in the western conference this season. Its most likely between him and Bynum for the All-Star spot; though I wouldn’t be surprised if neither player made it considering the western conference is so loaded
January 20th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Jayo says:
@ Average Jose
His grandparents live in Germany & Kaman has dual citizenship there. That’s why he played for Germany. He wasn’t gonna make Team USA so who cares if he plays for another country. He wanted to play competitive summer ball & the Olympics was the most competitive summer league at the time.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Ian says:
only duncan is a better big man out west. kaman is an allstar
January 20th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
D.H. says:
I would rather see Zach in over Kaman. Z-Bo has had some really good games and the Grizz are better than the Clips.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
two times says:
@ osmosis
Brooks? Really? Over Tony Parker? Over Big Shot Billups? Over JKidd? Really?
January 20th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
dagwaller says:
I like him, always have, but the main reason that I didn’t vote for him is because of Camby. Haven’t caught too many Clips games this year (they’re the Clippers, c’mon), but with two such solid inside players…I don’t know.
Here’s to hoping that he makes it.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Jay Oh says:
Assuming the starters stay as is. Reserves should be:
G – Nash
G – Paul
F – Durant
F – Duncan
C – Kaman
Reserve – Roy
Reserve – D. Williams
I think gasol misses out due to only playing 24 of the lakers’ 39 games. If mcgrady chooses not to play, this makes it a lot easier for Kaman to get in. He easily deserves it over bynum + nene. Randolph’s right up there, but i’d still give the nod to Kaman.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Jay Oh says:
Assuming the starters stay as is, reserves should be:
G – Nash
G – Paul
F – Durant
F – Duncan
C – Kaman
Reserve – Roy
Reserve – D. Williams
I think gasol misses out due to only playing 24 of the lakers’ 39 games. If mcgrady chooses not to play, this makes it a lot easier for Kaman to get in. He easily deserves it over bynum + nene. Randolph’s right up there, but i’d still give the nod to Kaman.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Keith says:
It’s tough. There is so much competition. This isn’t one of those years where someone will get a nod and we’ll look back and think it was stupid – everyone going in from the West this year is or is gonna be a multiple-time all-star
Z-Bo vs Kaman? I think Z-Bo might take it just because Memphis is playing significantly better than anybody thought they would, whereas the Clips are kinda where we thought they would be.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
Why he’s not being considered? The same reason this is the first article I’ve seen on him on any site in a long time. You woud think the “Best Center in the West” would have more publicity than that with the media. Dime your better than that! LOL
January 20th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
Osmosis
You listed Chris Paul twice. Also please don’t ever mention Aaron Brooks in the same breath as Deron Williams again.
@ Gerald
It’s a very close call between Kaman and Randolph. Personally I like Kaman a lot more but I just have the feeling the coaches will vote Randolph in due to the Grizzlies being surprisingly good and Randolph playing his best ball ever.
January 20th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
sh!tfaced says:
“The best white American player in the NBA right now” title might get Chris Kaman some votes. Which also makes one wonder why he is underrated…
January 20th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
osmosis11 says:
I dont think brooks is as good as deron williams, billups or parker. But the rockets have the 7th best record in the west, and he’s averaging 18.6 and 5.1 apg which is comparable to
tony parker’s 16.8pts and 5.6apg
and billups 18.3 and 5.7
But I do really hope Deron williams makes it
January 20th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
DJ Leon Smith says:
Forget best center in the west, this season he should be under consideration for best center in the league.
Chris Kaman 20.4 PT .509 of 16.9 FG .756 of 4.3 FT .000 of 0.1 3P 9.3/2.6 RB 1.89 AS 1.39 BL 0.64 ST 2.97 TO 2.92 PF 36.6 MN 36/36 GS
Dwight Howard 16.9 PT .604 of 9.2 FG .588 of 9.9 FT .000 of 0.1 3P 13.0/3.7 RB 1.59 AS 2.46 BL 1.05 ST 3.37 TO 3.61 PF 34.3 MN 41/41 GS
January 20th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
JD says:
Because he’s white and look like a Cave Troll
January 20th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Pet Society Help says:
He’s always going to put up numbers, nobody wants to get close to that shoulder hair. Box him out or defend him on the post and you might end up getting shoulder pubes in your mouth.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:09 am
Average Jose says:
Jayo
If a guy is born in the United States, he’s AMERICAN.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Average Jose says:
Furthermore I don’t understand why more people are not pissed about stuff like this. It’s the Olympics. It should mean more than just trying to get some good burn over the summer. We shouldn’t allow our sports heros to turn their back on their country like this without getting publicly massacred. There are many players in the NBA whose grandparents are from another country. They recognize that they are American citizens first and foremost.
Kaman is a disgrace.