Ahead of the Sunday afternoon game between the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors- their second game since the All-Star Break- head coach Steve Kerr gave his explanation for why the team currently sitting atop the league standings is still underrated in NBA circles.

Peddling the idea that the Jazz have no superstars is nothing new. Famously, after the Jazz's January 21st comeback win against the Pelicans, Shaquille O'Neal admitted to Utah star Donovan Mitchell that he, “[Mitchell] doesn't have what it takes to make it to the next level” 

Even among their fellow players, Mitchell and All-Star teammate Rudy Gobert don't garner the respect of their elite contemporaries. In fact, they were the last selections of the All-Star draft.

But regardless of their standing in the NBA hierarchy of superstars, the results speak for themselves. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Jazz lineup of Mitchell, Gobert, Royce O'Neale, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Joe Ingles has the fourth-highest points per 100 possessions average of any lineup to play at least 250 possessions together.

On the opposite end of the floor, Gobert continues to lead one of the most potent defenses in basketball. Per NBA Advanced Stats, the Jazz have the second-highest defensive rating in the league, behind only the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Clearly, there is a disconnect between the fans' depiction of a superstar and the paths to success in the NBA, as Kerr puts it. If the Jazz were to win the championship this season, they would be the first to do so without a previous All-NBA first-teamer since the 2015 Warriors.