Who is the biggest anti-bust in NBA history?

[Aidz]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thinks will suck, but is good.

So, who is he biggest anti-bust?

And I don't mean guys nobody ever heard of or obscure Europeans, but guys who were well scouted and nobody saw any potential in them.

edited :p

[r15mohd]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

So, who is he biggest anti-bust?

And I don't mean guys nobody ever heard of or obscure Europeans, but guys who were well scouted and nobody saw any potential in them.


unsure if Oden would count...he was pretty good outside of injury. Maybe Kwame, Darko or Olawakondi?

[red1]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

So, who is he biggest anti-bust?

And I don't mean guys nobody ever heard of or obscure Europeans, but guys who were well scouted and nobody saw any potential in them.
gotta edit broski

[Mr Exlax]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

So, who is he biggest anti-bust?

And I don't mean guys nobody ever heard of or obscure Europeans, but guys who were well scouted and nobody saw any potential in them.

You worded anti bust wrong.

[DCL]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.




are you a proofreader for yahoo?

[gts]

Bust = someone who everyone thinks will be good, but sucks.

Anti-bust = someone who everyone thought would suck, but turns out to be good.

So, who is he biggest anti-bust?

And I don't mean guys nobody ever heard of or obscure Europeans, but guys who were well scouted and nobody saw any potential in them.

fixed

[chocolatethunder]

Ben Wallace was a total scrub and a throw in in the grant hill trade but he was also an undrafted rookie. Not sure if this qualifies but he was awful.

Arenas and Van Exel were second round picks.

[leMVP]

Kobe.

He was drafted at 13th pick overall and this isn't good.

[DMAVS41]

I know you said no European players, but Dirk has to be up there. At least in terms of locally.

Very few Mavs fans or analysts or radio hosts had any faith at all in that pick...and even if they did, nobody outside of Nellie Jr. probably thought they had a top 20 player of all time on their hands.

If you talked about what the perception was for the ceiling in the all time rankings for every player in the top 20 or 25 all time when entering the NBA...Dirk has to be the one that exceeded expectations the most.

Pretty much everyone else was supposed to be a stud...

[East_Stone_Ya]

it has got to be an undrafted player then,

my pick would be John Starks or Avery Johnson

[tpols]

I know you said no European players, but Dirk has to be up there. At least in terms of locally.

Very few Mavs fans or analysts or radio hosts had any faith at all in that pick...and even if they did, nobody outside of Nellie Jr. probably thought they had a top 20 player of all time on their hands.

If you talked about what the perception was for the ceiling in the all time rankings for every player in the top 20 or 25 all time when entering the NBA...Dirk has to be the one that exceeded expectations the most.

Pretty much everyone else was supposed to be a stud...

Dirk was picked 9th, while kobe was picked 13th :no:

[red1]

Dirk was picked 9th, while kobe was picked 13th :no:
only because he was a kid fresh out of highschool. scouts knew he would become a star but GMs had pressure to go for "safer picks"

[NumberSix]

Didn't Kawhi Leonard get traded for George Hill and a package of plasticine?

[tpols]

only because he was a kid fresh out of highschool. scouts knew he would become a star but GMs had pressure to go for "safer picks"

Bran was taken unanimously first in a stacked draft class :confusedshrug:

13th pick to top 10ish player all time.. I dont know if any other player has that ratio.

[QuebecBaller]

Gilbert Arenas

[red1]

Bran was taken unanimously first in a stacked draft class :confusedshrug:

13th pick to top 10ish player all time.. I dont know if any other player has that ratio.
That's because it was a safe pick since he was already built like a pro athlete. Not the same thing bro.

Rondo is another player who exceeded expectations.

[Jailblazers7]

JJ Redick was the first to come to mind. Not many thought he would be a good NBA player but he really transformed himself since coming into the league.

[tmacattack33]

Ben Wallace...he wasn't even drafted.

[DMAVS41]

Dirk was picked 9th, while kobe was picked 13th :no:

if you polled the gm's of each draft as to which player they thought would have the better career....it would be unanimous for Kobe.

there was also some shady stuff going on with Kobe's agent and strong arming teams into not taking him...

The Nets wanted him at 8th, but were afraid to take him after the shit coming from Kobe's camp

[-Lebron23-]

Marc Gasol

EDIT: he played HS ball in the States and was well scouted. No one expected him to make it. Once he made it, no one expected him to become anything more than a firnge starting center but dude worled on his bidy that offseason and impressed everybody.

[DCL]

ben wallace clearly takes this one.

for a brief two-week fantasy period a couple seasons, it was jeremy lin. everyone's like dafug did this harvard asian nerd come from and drop 38 on the lakers.

[DukeDelonte13]

i think anti-bust should be players drafted highly but were thought to be bad picks, but later turned out to be great picks.


Nobody has expectations for second rounders. Nobody cares when teams take fliers on second rounders.

[Jailblazers7]

i think anti-bust should be players drafted highly but were thought to be bad picks, but later turned out to be great picks.


Nobody has expectations for second rounders. Nobody cares when teams take fliers on second rounders.

If that's the case, then Westbrook might be the best example. OKC got a ton of shit for taking him at #4.

I agree with your definition too. That's why I mentioned JJ Redick earlier.

[brantonli]

How about Rondo? Got picked 21st didn't he?

[Out_In_Utah]

Wesley Matthews has to be a pretty good current one.

[Solefade]

Bran was taken unanimously first in a stacked draft class :confusedshrug:

13th pick to top 10ish player all time.. I dont know if any other player has that ratio.

top 12*

[Solefade]

linsanity doe

[JohnMax]

Westbrook

He was overshadowed by Kevin Love. No one knew who he was on UCLA.

[kamil]

Arvydas Sabonis - 77th pick, 1985 (though technically voided, but thats one hell of a pick that far down the list)

Ben Wallace takes the cake though.

[SCdac]

Pretty much all the great players who went undrafted or picked late for perceived or actual weaknesses. Bruce Bowen comes to mind. Bounced around early on, starts to gain a reputation on the Heat as a defender, but it's in San Antonio where he establishes himself as one of the best defenders of all time. Was runner up for DPOY three years in a row (05, 06, 07), to Ben Wallace and Marcus Camby. Bowen over the years guarded Lebron, Kobe, Nash, Dirk, Melo, Iverson, McGrady, Billups, Allen, and so many other elite players.

http://exnba.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/popovich-bowen.jpg

[DMV2]

i think anti-bust should be players drafted highly but were thought to be bad picks, but later turned out to be great picks.


Nobody has expectations for second rounders. Nobody cares when teams take fliers on second rounders.
I think so too, both busts and anti-busts should have some notoriety. Guys like Ben Wallace, Arenas are more of an off the radar success- just came out of nowhere.

Redick is a very good example, as mentioned by Jailblazers. Big name out of Duke, but was very questionable if he's gonna be good or not. He sucked for a few years and became a solid player by 2009/10-ish and has been good ever since.

[Rubio2Gasol]

Ok, this is tough. Because people most people think aren't gonna be good just end up getting drafted later, so they can't really be an "anti-bust" We'll just end up with a list of great players who ain't come from the lottery.

It has to be people picked high, that everyone thought was going to suck, and ended up killing it.

Westbrook is the most notable recent one, Drummond, hell, Davis was getting heat too.

[DukeDelonte13]

Ok, this is tough. Because people most people think aren't gonna be good just end up getting drafted later, so they can't really be an "anti-bust" We'll just end up with a list of great players who ain't come from the lottery.

It has to be people picked high, that everyone thought was going to suck, and ended up killing it.

Westbrook is the most notable recent one, Drummond, hell, Davis was getting heat too.

Davis as in Anthony Davis?

Nobody thought he would bust. He was a surefire franchise changing prospect.

Drummond had a lot of detractors for sure. People were flipping their sh*t when Dion Waiters was picked at 4 but he turned out to be pretty good.

[lilgodfather1]

Brad Miller was undrafted right?

Ben Wallace.

Gilbert Arenas.

Chauncey Billups

Paul George.

Lance Stevenson

Seriously tons of steals.

[hihofink]

I will answer the question based on the following: A player drafted by an NBA team that everyone thinks will be terrible and surprises everyone. So not an out of nowhere undrafted player like Ben Wallace, Starks or Darrell Armstrong.

Todd MacCulloch.

The guy was drafted and everyone thought he was a total stiff in 1999. Even his coach. At the draft every analyst called him a stiff. From a local paper:


Moments after selecting Todd MacCulloch as the No. 47 pick in the NBA
Draft, Sixers coach Larry Brown suggested the best thing for both
parties might be having the 7-0, 280 lb. MacCulloch spend a season or
two overseas.

"We're hoping he can go to Europe and play, because he can catch and
shoot," said Brown at the time of the NCAA's three-time leading
shooter, a career .664 marksman. "This could be an opportunity for us
to have a project. It's not like we expect him to come in and give us
immediate help."

In other words, the Sixers hardly expect the plodding MacCulloch to do
much this year other than sit and learn, and likely spend some time on
the injured list for one reason or another.

However, he surprised everyone by not only making the sixers roster that season but contributing off the bench with solid production. The next year, he was playing big minutes off the bench and guarding Shaq in the NBA finals and shooting 60% FG. The year after, he was the Nets starting center and started against Shaq in the NBA finals.

He got injured a year later and never played again..but the guy was expected by everyone after being drafted to never to step on an NBA court and be a stashed player in Europe. Nobody thought he would be starting against Shaq in the NBA finals three years later.

[hateraid]

I'd have to go with Scottie Pippen here.

[FPJ]

He called himself Agent Zero for a reason.

[CavaliersFTW]

You seriously couldn't come up with a better phrase to describe what you meant? Like, diamond in the rough? Or most surprising draft talent? Etc?

[Im so nba'd out]

STEPH CURRY YOU SHOULD OF HEARD THE HATE HE WAS GETTING FROM WARRIOR FANS WHEN THEY DRAFTED HIM.Even monta ellis thought he would be a bust.Every warrior fan on this website almost turned their back on the franchise when he was drafted they were so mad.

[BuffaloBill]

I'm looking at Westbrook's draftexpress and some of his weaknesses are


-not a true point guard
-undersized

:biggums:


His best case was Leandro Barbosa :biggums:

[Rubio2Gasol]

I'm looking at Westbrook's draftexpress and some of his weaknesses are


-not a true point guard
-undersized

:biggums:


His best case was Leandro Barbosa :biggums:

:coleman:

I know these guys ain't that smart, but in what world is WB undersized :roll:

[BigBoss]

Manu Ginobli

2nd round 57th pick

[Pointguard]

Manu Ginobli

2nd round 57th pick

Yeah and Tony Parker. I was wondering how they were missed. They are amazingly a big three and part of the winning-est trio ever.

[dannywpt]

Manu Ginobli

2nd round 57th pick

Wow, that sure stirred up the entire basketball world when the Spurs made that HUGE gamble to take him with that valuable 57th pick. Man, he proved all the haters he had before being drafted wrong!

[BigBoss]

Wow, that sure stirred up the entire basketball world when the Spurs made that HUGE gamble to take him with that valuable 57th pick. Man, he proved all the haters he had before being drafted wrong!

F OP's definition. Generally, a second round pick will turn into a bust and out of the league within 5 years. Manu Ginobli went from being placed into that category to multimillion dollar contract extensions and a vital part of a championship winning team. That is THE definition of an anti-bust. A guy who no one thought would contribute, but did and make a lot more money then a lot of top 10 picks in drafts historically.

[no pun intended]

Manu Ginobli

2nd round 57th pick
I came into this thread to say Manu. Surprised how you're only the first to mention him...

[9512]

Kevin Durant?

I remember people were saying he lacked athleticism like Adam Morrison. At the combine, he couldn't even bench press 185 lbs and people were predicting he was going to be scrub.

Well look at him now...

[wally_world]

Dirk and Nash had some rough criticism in their first few years

[The_Night_Elf]

If that's the case, then Westbrook might be the best example. OKC got a ton of shit for taking him at #4.

I agree with your definition too. That's why I mentioned JJ Redick earlier.

+1 for me too. Also I remember the talking heads ripping Josh Smith saying he'll be out of the league in 4 yrs.