In 2007 Greg Oden was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft; Taken by the Portland Trailblazers, Greg Oden suffered a season ending knee injury that would require surgery. Since being drafted Oden has played a combined 82 games in from 2008-2010. News dropped that Greg Oden will now undergo season ending knee surgery once again which will keep him out yet another year.
Now that Oden is done for the season, the word “Bust” is being thrown around. It’s hard for any athlete to come back from multiple knee surgeries, especially someone with Oden’s size and weight. But is it fair to call Oden a “Bust”?
Not yet, but however, it is safe to call some other highly touted NBA talent that didn’t turn out so well. The mistake teams make is drafting for need instead of talent from players likeDarius Miles to Kwame Brown, teams could have chosen better players. Let’s take a look at some NBA players who didn’t develop the way teams thought they would, and ended up in the “Bust” box.
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Michael Olowokandi aka “The Kandi Man”
The first overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, played in 500 career regular season NBA games (399 games started), he averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.39 blocked shots per game. In 15 playoff games (2 starts), he averaged 2.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.73 blocks per game. Notable players picked after him, Dirk Nowitzki , Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce.
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Shawn Bradley
The 7ft 6in basketball titan did his thing in the NBA; Bradley was picked number #2 in the 1993 Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He retired with the Dallas Mavericks’ in 2005, notable players taken after him; Penny Hardaway, Allen Houston and Vin Baker.
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Sam Bowie
Picked by the Portland Trailblazers then became a journey throughout his career, Bowie balled with the Lakers and Nets. Over his career, Bowie averaged 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.78 blocks per game.[8] He hit 45.2% of his attempted field goals (2,127 made of 4,702 attempted), and 30.2% of his three-point shots (32 made of 106 attempted). Players chosen after Bowie: Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton.
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Lenard Benoit Benjamin
Benoit taken 3rd overall by the L.A. Clippers had some great years in the league but didn’t have that longevity like many others in that draft. Benjamin’s best year as a professional came during the 1988-89 NBA season as a member of the Clippers, appearing in 79 games and averaging 16.4 ppg. In his NBA career, he had a .541 field goal percentage, 4,604 defensive rebounds, 1,581 blocks and averaged 11.4 Points and 2.0 Blocks Per Game. Some notable players taken after Benjamin are Karl Malone, Charles Oakley and Chris Mullin.
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