In 2007, the Portland Trail Blazers drafted big man Greg Oden with the first overall pick. During his time at Ohio State, Oden was arguably the most dominant player in the entire NCAA. In his only year in college, Oden led Ohio State to the National Championship game. Ultimately, his team lost to Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer‘s Florida squad. In the loss, Oden recorded 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. After getting drafted by Portland, there was a lot of excitement within the organization. The team also had rising stars Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. However, it never fully panned out.
The biggest story of Oden’s NBA career was his constant battle with injuries. He missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury and played 82 games from 2008 to 2010. The Indiana native went on to miss the next three seasons, also due to a knee injury. He ultimately ended his career with the Miami Heat during the 2013-15 season, appearing in 23 games for the team. From 2007 to 2014, Oden appeared in just 105 games, averaging 8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.
While he looked good when he played, Oden’s injuries derailed his NBA career. Considering he was drafted over major players like Kevin Durant, Horford, and Ohio State teammate Mike Conley, many have deemed Oden as arguably the biggest bust in NBA history. And the man himself seems to agree.
In a recent episode of The OGs (YouTube link), Oden spoke about believing he is one of the biggest busts of all time.
“No, no because once I said it a lot of people came out and was like ‘no, he’s not’ but at the time I was a number one pick, I got injured all the time, I rarely played… Technically if I’m looking at it and KD is just so great, that when you look at it I’m technically one of the biggest busts of all time.”
Greg Oden Reveals Thoughts About Being an NBA Draft Bust
Oden Has Softened His Stance About Being a Bust
In 2016, the former Trail Blazer was much more critical of himself than he is now. At the time, Oden spoke about himself as “the biggest bust in NBA history.”
“I’ll be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history,” Oden said. “But I can’t do nothing about that. Don’t get me wrong. If I was healthy, I would love to continue playing, but I’m not healthy.”
However, his fellow 2007 Draft class selection Durant, then with the Golden State Warriors, called Oden’s take “nonsense.”
“Nonsense. That’s nonsense,” Durant said to ESPN. “In order for you to be a bust, you have to actually play and show people that you progressed as a player. He didn’t get a chance to.”
The Last Word
It is a valid argument to debate whether Oden should stand as an all-time bust or not. On one hand, injuries were the biggest reason, if not the only one, he failed to have a successful NBA career. However, a bust is simply someone who failed to meet expectations, which is also true in Oden’s case. Either way, nobody can deny how unfortunate it is that his career developed the way it did. Even nearly two decades later, Oden’s career stands as one of the biggest “what-ifs” in league history. And chances are, this will not change anytime soon.
