Who is the biggest NBA bust of all time?

[QUIZZLE]

Shawn Bradley, Greg Oden, Darius Miles, Shawn Kemp, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, LaRue Martin, Marvin Williams, Darko?

[Smook A.]

Michael Jordan
Larry Bird
Magic Johnson
Hakeem Olajuwon
Tim Duncan
Shaq
Kareem

Terrible terrible players. Terrible

[Milbuck]

Shawn Bradley, Greg Oden, Darius Miles, Shawn Kemp, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, LaRue Martin, Marvin Williams?
http://i.imgur.com/7pgy3Qc.gif

[buddha]

probably LeBron James.

Cleveland drafted him first overall thinking he would be the next Jordan and they have absolutely nothing to show for it.

[UK2K]

Darko.

/thread

[oarabbus]

Shawn Bradley, Greg Oden, Darius Miles, Shawn Kemp, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, LaRue Martin, Marvin Williams?

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrs96a0pSz1r3v6f2o1_500.gif

And it would have to be a #1 pick who didn't play. At least people got some rotation minutes out of Kwame Brown or Oden (as little as it was). There were dudes who straight up never played in a game.

[JohnFreeman]

probably LeBron James.

Cleveland drafted him first overall thinking he would be the next Jordan and they have absolutely nothing to show for it.
http://1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/vp/image/1376/75/1376756556765.png

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Greg Oden

[fiddy]

too soon for AB, but id go with him

[JohnFreeman]

Can you really call some a bust if they have serious injuries doe?

[no pun intended]

Sam Bowie.

I mean you're talking about the guy who got drafted before the Greatest Of All Time. All Time.

Nothing could ever be a bigger NBA bust than that. Period.

[fiddy]

Can you really call some a bust if they have serious injuries doe?
Dont think so. People that do are retarded

[JohnFreeman]

Dont think so. People that do are retarded
That's what I thought. Oden was going to be a really good big man.

[D.J.]

Sam Bowie.

I mean you're talking about the guy who got drafted before the Greatest Of All Time. All Time.

Nothing could ever be a bigger NBA bust than that. Period.


There was no way of knowing Jordan would be the GOAT at the time. Portland needed a big man anyway and you weren't going to have Jordan and Drexler competing for minutes.

[moe94]

Shawn Bradley, Greg Oden, Darius Miles, Shawn Kemp, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, LaRue Martin, Marvin Williams, Darko?

:biggums: :wtf: :coleman:

[Sarcastic]

There was no way of knowing Jordan would be the GOAT at the time. Portland needed a big man anyway and you weren't going to have Jordan and Drexler competing for minutes.


Bobby Knight: "then play Jordan at center"

[DonDadda59]

Darko.

/thread

This. I was watching a replay of one of Bron's high school games recently, it was at the height of the 'chosen one' hype with Bill Walton and Dick Vitale commentating and ESPN airing it. They started talking about how it was a foregone conclusion that Bron was going #1 in the draft but one of them brought up how much scouts were loving Darko and how he had an outside chance of going first depending on which team got the first pick. Imagine if CLE took Darko #1. :lol

It's bad enough he went ahead of Melo, Bosh, Wade- all bonafide franchise players. If Detroit had taken any of those 3, they could've had a possible dynasty. Scouts were drooling over him though:


"He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5."
- Chad Ford, ESPN.com

But Milicic is more than an athlete; he's an all-around shooter, passer and re-bounder who makes his teammates better. "He has the makings of the most dominant center in Europe since Arvydas Sabonis," says an NBA scout who isn't sure that James should be picked ahead of Milicic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028152/index.htm

[JohnFreeman]

Imagine if the Pistons selected Melo

Billups
RIP
Melo/Prince
Sheed
Wallace
(if Melo doesn't come off the bench)
:eek:

[D.J.]

Imagine if the Pistons selected Melo

Billups
RIP
Melo/Prince
Sheed
Wallace
(if Melo doesn't come off the bench)
:eek:


Then again, Detroit was a team that emphasized defense and specifically, team defense. Melo obviously brings scoring, but would he be able to integrate into the system?

[JohnFreeman]

Then again, Detroit was a team that emphasized defense and specifically, team defense. Melo obviously brings scoring, but would he be able to integrate into the system?
I think they probably could paly enough help defense. Remember, Sheed isn't putting up with any bs

[Magic731]

Michael Olowokandi?

[BrownEye007]

The biggest bust of all time has to be Hasheem Thabeet. Dudes huge.

[treadster]

Len Bias

[East_Stone_Ya]

Len Bias

didn't play a single NBA game

[treadster]

didn't play a single NBA game
Exactly, being drafted at number 2 but didn't play any game due to cocaine overdose. Not to disrespect the dead but seriously, at least darko able to contribute at least one game is his career.

[East_Stone_Ya]

Exactly, being drafted at number 2 but didn't play any game due to cocaine overdose. Not to disrespect the dead but seriously, at least darko able to contribute at least one game is his career.

:biggums:

you serious?

[Andrei89]

:biggums:

you serious?


Yeah he is serious.

Should we feel sorry for people who over dose on cocaine? The guy was drafted at Nr2 and instead of doing his best to be a great Athlete and train for the upcoming season, he was doing cocaine and drugs.

**** him seriously.

[East_Stone_Ya]

Yeah he is serious.

Should we feel sorry for people who over dose on cocaine? The guy was drafted at Nr2 and instead of doing his best to be a great Athlete and train for the upcoming season, he was doing cocaine and drugs.

**** him seriously.

i feel that to consider someone a NBA bust he must first play some games and fail that's all

[Andrei89]

i feel that to consider someone a NBA bust he must first play some games and fail that's all

Oh, I am sorry then.

You are probably right. Actually he needs to play several NBA games.

[treadster]

i feel that to consider someone a NBA bust he must first play some games and fail that's all
To each his own then:cheers:

[tragicbronson]

i feel that to consider someone a NBA bust he must first play some games and fail that's all

Then Oden's not a bust, i don't consider him to be bust to be clear but he is almost always in that conversation.

[UK2K]

This. I was watching a replay of one of Bron's high school games recently, it was at the height of the 'chosen one' hype with Bill Walton and Dick Vitale commentating and ESPN airing it. They started talking about how it was a foregone conclusion that Bron was going #1 in the draft but one of them brought up how much scouts were loving Darko and how he had an outside chance of going first depending on which team got the first pick. Imagine if CLE took Darko #1. :lol

It's bad enough he went ahead of Melo, Bosh, Wade- all bonafide franchise players. If Detroit had taken any of those 3, they could've had a possible dynasty. Scouts were drooling over him though:


"He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5."
- Chad Ford, ESPN.com

But Milicic is more than an athlete; he's an all-around shooter, passer and re-bounder who makes his teammates better. "He has the makings of the most dominant center in Europe since Arvydas Sabonis," says an NBA scout who isn't sure that James should be picked ahead of Milicic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028152/index.htm
I heard Darko over Bron so many times it got old. I sort of bought into it, but then realized he was European.

[pegasus]

Imagine if the Pistons selected Melo

Billups
RIP
Melo/Prince
Sheed
Wallace
(if Melo doesn't come off the bench)
:eek:

Melo would have had a much different NBA career, and Lebron would have had no finals appearances or MVP's until he started to ring chase.

[Keno]

Melo would have had a much different NBA career, and Lebron would have had no finals appearances or MVP's until he started to ring chase.

two time mvp in cleveland. 2012 fans exposed.

[Bigsmoke]

Michael Olowokandi

[pegasus]

two time mvp in cleveland. 2012 fans exposed.

Idiot, what I'm saying is that the Pistons with Melo would have owned Lebron longer than they did without Melo, hence no MVP's for Lebron. Detroit would have had the best record in the league and Melo would have been the best player with best stats on that team.

[mr.big35]

Imagine if the Pistons selected Melo

Billups
RIP
Melo/Prince
Sheed
Wallace
(if Melo doesn't come off the bench)
:eek:

Melo would hardly play if he got selected by the pistons. larry brown likes defensive players.

[Keno]

Idiot, what I'm saying is that the Pistons with Melo would have owned Lebron longer than they did without Melo, hence no MVP's for Lebron. Detroit would have had the best record in the league and Melo would have been the best player with best stats on that team.

melo with pistons would've worked out for 3-4 years max. stop it. melo had a better team with denver, and his stats weren't better than lebrons.

[fandarko]

Scouts were drooling over him though:


"He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5."
- Chad Ford, ESPN.com

But Milicic is more than an athlete; he's an all-around shooter, passer and re-bounder who makes his teammates better. "He has the makings of the most dominant center in Europe since Arvydas Sabonis," says an NBA scout who isn't sure that James should be picked ahead of Milicic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028152/index.htm

That SI article oozes amateurism (journalist). His home town is Novi Sad, but that's not in Montenegro, but in Serbia (another country, big deal, it's like 500 miles away).

He went to play to Vrsac (everything but an industrial town), but it's not like he was sent to the North Pole, as the reporter makes it sound. More or less the same environment.

"The same league that produce Kukoc, Radja or Divac". Yeah, but like 15 years before Milicic, in the former Yugoslavia that had like 3 times the population and was like 10 times stronger.

Darko played his last two seasons in Serbia akin to a young Chris Webber. Inconsistent, but with flashes of brilliance. I believe he should have rightfully been in the lottery (not number 2 though), but was a headcase who ultimately couldn't handle the hype, Larry Brown, the NBA, nothing.

A waste.

[Jasper]

Joe Dumar as a GM ???

[no pun intended]

There was no way of knowing Jordan would be the GOAT at the time. Portland needed a big man anyway and you weren't going to have Jordan and Drexler competing for minutes.
What does this have to do with Bowie being a bust? He ended up being one and is one. Being called a bust necessitates retrospectively looking at how things turned out.

[Mr Exlax]

Not to be funny, but if we're talking about players getting injured and careers cut short then we might as well say Len Bias. Am I wrong?

[Big#50]

Olowokandi. Simple.
Only thing he ever did was punk Shaq every time they played.

[FKAri]

This. I was watching a replay of one of Bron's high school games recently, it was at the height of the 'chosen one' hype with Bill Walton and Dick Vitale commentating and ESPN airing it. They started talking about how it was a foregone conclusion that Bron was going #1 in the draft but one of them brought up how much scouts were loving Darko and how he had an outside chance of going first depending on which team got the first pick. Imagine if CLE took Darko #1. :lol

It's bad enough he went ahead of Melo, Bosh, Wade- all bonafide franchise players. If Detroit had taken any of those 3, they could've had a possible dynasty. Scouts were drooling over him though:


"He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5."
- Chad Ford, ESPN.com

But Milicic is more than an athlete; he's an all-around shooter, passer and re-bounder who makes his teammates better. "He has the makings of the most dominant center in Europe since Arvydas Sabonis," says an NBA scout who isn't sure that James should be picked ahead of Milicic.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1028152/index.htm

Darko is a great example of someone with incredible talent just not giving a phuk.


Yeah he is serious.

Should we feel sorry for people who over dose on cocaine? The guy was drafted at Nr2 and instead of doing his best to be a great Athlete and train for the upcoming season, he was doing cocaine and drugs.

**** him seriously.

Cocaine as well as drugs? Damn that's some next level shit.

[Mr Exlax]

Exactly, being drafted at number 2 but didn't play any game due to cocaine overdose. Not to disrespect the dead but seriously, at least darko able to contribute at least one game is his career.

Oh hell now I see why nobody has responded to me lol. Yeah Len Bias was my pick for this exact same reason.

[D.J.]

What does this have to do with Bowie being a bust? He ended up being one and is one. Being called a bust necessitates retrospectively looking at how things turned out.


It has everything to do with it. If the #3 pick wasn't Jordan, people wouldn't be calling Bowie a bust. Portland addressed their main need(a big man). And even if Bowie wasn't an elite center being picked #2, he averaged 11/8 with almost 2 BPG for his career. His first 3 years as a Net, he averaged 14/9 with 1.6 BPG, including 15/10 with 1.8 BPG his first season. Is he a disappointment considered he was picked #2? Perhaps, but he's hardly a bust.

[Bird]

Michael Olowokandi?

Every single time this topic comes up, The Kandi Man and Kwame Brown immediately pop in to my head.

Super talented big men, who didn't really have a passion to be "THE MAN" for any team.

I think it is too early to label Bennett a bust though. Not even a full season in to his career and people already claiming he is a bust. Give the kid time. He will end up being a solid rotation player, if not the #2 or #3 option on solid, but not great, teams.

[RoseCity07]

If we're going to put Greg Oden in the conversation, he gets beat out by Len Bias.

[alexd]

Spanoulis? :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

[smoovegittar]

Vin Baker was a big disappointment as I recall.

[D.J.]

Vin Baker was a big disappointment as I recall.


Disappointment yes, but he had multiple 20+ PPG seasons and multiple All-NBA teams. May not have reached his potential, but hardly a bust.

[Boarder Patrol]

Recently Darko. Assuming they take Melo next, with him as a 30 MPG sixth man the first year and starter from there on? Dynasty.

[Sonic R]

Chris Washburn

[KingLeBronJames]

Shawn Bradley, Greg Oden, Darius Miles, Shawn Kemp, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, LaRue Martin, Marvin Williams, Darko?
Shawn Kemp? :wtf: I wouldn't really classify Darius Miles as a bust. He did good in Portland.

[JohnFreeman]

Spanoulis? :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:
I can hear Euroleague coming now :oldlol:

[senelcoolidge]

Shawn Kemp is not a bust, just a big underachiever. Could have been great..was just good.

[InspiredLebowski]

He's nowhere near the biggest of all time, but Jonathan Bender's knees failing him are an underrated storyline. The idea was transition from the Reggie/Smits era to the JO/Bender era w/o tanking. Just didn't work out obviously.

[smoovegittar]

Disappointment yes, but he had multiple 20+ PPG seasons and multiple All-NBA teams. May not have reached his potential, but hardly a bust.

That's true. He did come out playing well.

[Stringer Bell]

Sam Bowie is nowhere close to being the biggest bust ever. People are way too harsh on him.

Even though he was picked ahead of Jordan, he had a 10 year career and put up respectable numbers of 11, 7, and 2 BPG. He was 3rd in the NBA in blocks his rookie year.

LaRue Martin was the #1 overall pick and averaged 5 and 4 over a four year career. The next pick was HOFer Bob McAdoo

Darko was the 2nd pick. The next 3 picks? Melo, Bosh, and Wade.

You have the sad case of Len Bias.

Jay Williams was the 2nd pick and played 1 season before the accident.

Chris Washburn was the #3 pick and played 72 games in his career due to drug problems, averaging 3 and 2 a game.

Another brilliant decision the Warriors made was picking Todd Fuller over the likes of Peja, Kobe, and Nash.

Hasheem Thabeet looks like he might end up near the top of this list. And that draft had some good talent. Curry and Harden were picked after him.

Adam Morrison was the 3rd pick and played just 4 seasons in the NBA.

[Stringer Bell]

Vin Baker was a big disappointment as I recall.

Vin Baker was a good player. Alcoholism hurt his career, but he had two 20 and 10 seasons, 4 all-star games, 2nd team All-NBA.

Calbert Cheaney and Bobby Hurley were picked above him, and he had a better career than those 2.

I liked Cheaney's smooth game though.

[Euroleague]

Oden.

He was hailed as the next Bill Russell, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, blah blah blah.......

and he was taken #1 over freaking Kevin Durant.

Also, unlike Bowie that was taken over Olajuwon and Jordan, he never actually showed any game or produced anything when he was healthy, which was almost never. He's played what, like a season's worth of games in like 5 or 6 years? And when he did play, he never did jack shit.

At least Bowie was a competent player before injuries wrecked him. And of course, both were picked by the Blazers.

Freaking Blazers....passing on Olajuwon, Jordan, and Durant...

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Oden's by far the biggest bust ever. Anyone saying otherwise needs to put down the pipe. lol at people saying Darko...Darko looks like a great pick by comparison to the Oden pick. Get real.

The Oden pick is even more absurd than Ryan Leaf level.

[NumberSix]

Probably Sam Bowie.

[Euroleague]

Spanoulis? :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

That was coach related. Cases like that, Spanoulis under Van Gundy or Petrovic under Adelman (Petrovic said he was quitting the NBA and going back to Europe just a few days before the Nets traded for him - so he would have been seen today by NBA only fans the same way Spanoulis is).......

Are totally different.

We are talking about guys that played in NCAA and were known to American coaches and that had hundreds upon hundreds of chances given to them by those same American coaches.

Of course, Petrovic is yet another example of the Blazers screwing up..........

[dr.hee]

Spanoulis

He was hailed as the next Tracy McGrady blah blah blah.......

and he was traded to the Spurs for the rights to freaking Luis Scola.

He's by far the biggest bust ever. Anyone saying otherwise needs to put down the pipe.

fixed :cheers:

[Overdrive]

Oden.

He was hailed as the next Bill Russell, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, blah blah blah.......

and he was taken #1 over freaking Kevin Durant.

Also, unlike Bowie that was taken over Olajuwon and Jordan, he never actually showed any game or produced anything when he was healthy, which was almost never. He's played what, like a season's worth of games in like 5 or 6 years? And when he did play, he never did jack shit.

At least Bowie was a competent player before injuries wrecked him. And of course, both of these mega busts were picked by the Blazers.

Freaking Blazers....passing on Olajuwon, Jordan, and Durant...

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

He's by far the biggest bust ever. Anyone saying otherwise needs to put down the pipe.

Olajuwon was taken 1st.

[Euroleague]

Olajuwon was taken 1st.

At the time the Rockets were willing to trade to get Drexler. So they would have Drexler and Jordan.

[NumberSix]

Puh-tay-duh

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Oden.

He was hailed as the next Bill Russell, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, blah blah blah.......

and he was taken #1 over freaking Kevin Durant.

Also, unlike Bowie that was taken over Olajuwon and Jordan, he never actually showed any game or produced anything when he was healthy, which was almost never. He's played what, like a season's worth of games in like 5 or 6 years? And when he did play, he never did jack shit.

At least Bowie was a competent player before injuries wrecked him. And of course, both were picked by the Blazers.

Freaking Blazers....passing on Olajuwon, Jordan, and Durant...

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Oden's by far the biggest bust ever. Anyone saying otherwise needs to put down the pipe. lol at people saying Darko...Darko looks like a great pick by comparison to the Oden pick. Get real.

The Oden pick is even more absurd than Ryan Leaf level.
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
Oden just couldnt handle the NBA level and if he stayed injury free hed only play 20mins a game anyways from fouling out

[finchyyy]

Fu*k Melo, imagine if the Pistons drafted D-Wade, now that would have been crazy! And for the biggest busts, have to say the Kandi Man or Washburn... I don't really class Oden or Lenny Bias as busts.

[D-FENS]

Vagisil Spannerpuss

[duskovujosevic]

Darko Milicic, close the thread

[BoutPractice]

Underrated mentions:
Robert Traylor
Nikosh Tsikishvili
Stromile Swift
Marvin Williams
Fran Vazquez
Rafael Araujo
Adam Morrison
Shelden Williams
Yi Jianlian
Joe Alexander
Hasheem Thabeet

Also, not really a bust because he was taken 12th, but a draft pick that now looks quite bad... Vitaly Potapenko. The three players taken right after him? Kobe Bryant, Stojakovic, and Steve Nash... Jermaine O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were also available.