What does Pascal Siakam have to do to earn his respect?
Apparently a lot more than he's doing now.
An anonymous NBA player poll taken by The Athletic revealed that Siakam is viewed as one of the most overrated players in the NBA.
MORE: Joel Embiid trolls Raptors' Nick Nurse after 76ers beat Nets
Siakam finished tied for third in the poll receiving 7.4 percent of the player votes. Only Hawks guard Trae Young (14.8 percent) and a category defined as "other" (31.5 percent) earned more votes than the Raptors' star forward.
| Player | % Vote Share |
| Other | 31.5 |
| Trae Young | 14.8 |
| Pascal Siakam | 7.4 |
| Julius Randle | 7.4 |
| Jimmy Butler | 5.6 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 5.6 |
| Rudy Gobert | 5.6 |
| R.J. Barrett | 3.7 |
| Dillon Brooks | 3.7 |
| Draymond Green | 3.7 |
| Damian Lillard | 3.7 |
| Chris Paul | 3.7 |
| Austin Reaves | 3.7 |
Siakam burst onto the scene for Toronto during the 2018-19 season, becoming a full-time starter and earning the NBA's Most Improved Player award after posting career-high averages of 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 54.9 percent from the field. Since then, Siakam has earned two All-NBA nods, made two All-Star appearances and helped the Raptors win their first-ever championship.
Each season along the way, Siakam has seemingly gotten better even with his workload as an NBA star increasing. Yet, of the 54 players who voted, the 29-year-old is among the most overrated players in the game.
It's worth noting that 54 players are far from the entire NBA, and the small sample size shouldn't be indicative of Siakam's perception around the league. But you do have to wonder whether or not the underrated act is starting to wear thin with his contemporaries. Have the masses saying Siakam is underrated actually made him overrated?
For what it's worth, Siakam was ranked the 27th best player in the NBA according to The Sporting News Global NBA staff, which feels about right after the season he had in 2022-23.
As the Raptors enter an offseason of potential change, and Siakam enters the final year of his four-year, $136 million contract, we'll soon find out how he's truly ranked by the NBA and its front offices.
