What player was your greatest personal disappointment? [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

Kblaze8855

07-13-2023, 01:21 PM

Mine is probably Eddy Curry. Of course I can’t blame him for his heart condition when he was leaving for New York but I will say there’s a reason the much more brutal sports media of the time suggested they were surprised to find he had a heart in the first place, when the condition was discovered. I wasted a lot of time and energy defending that guy for absolutely no return on my fan investment.

1987_Lakers

07-13-2023, 01:22 PM

Carbine

07-13-2023, 01:42 PM

Darius Miles. He should've been a great player.

Wally450

07-13-2023, 01:48 PM

Honestly, James Harden.

Was a huge fan of his back in the Rocket days. Obviously he's a great player, but he has no one to blame other than himself for constant playoff failures.

He'll be remembered as one of the greatest offensive players in the game, but he was so disappointing every Spring.

tontoz

07-13-2023, 01:52 PM

Not sure about greatest but the first guy that popped into my head was Josh Smith. He did a lot of things well and could have been a big asset if he just stopped jacking up long jumpers. Teams would bait him leaving him wide open and he just couldn't resist. He literally shot his way out of the league.

Dbrog

07-13-2023, 02:00 PM

Greg Oden maybe. People have already forgotten how much hype he was getting out of college.

I'd say LeBron, Oden, & Wemby are the 3 players with the most hype coming into the pros in the last 25 years, you could make an argument for Zion being in that convo

This and even moreso, I would say that Blazers team..the dynasty that never was. I guess Brandon Roy was more brutal to see. I know he had his time where he was elite but that's what was so disappointing about his injuries after. Definitely one of the most magical games I remember was when he came back from injury and dropped a huge win on the Mavs. Was a semblance of the clutchiness he could have been.

rawimpact

07-13-2023, 02:05 PM

Royce White... dude could never get over the fear of flight.

on a side note this is sad: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FkwHf2PsEvc

tpols

07-13-2023, 02:14 PM

I remember people saying Marshon brooks was the heir apparent to Kobe. He did have a really smooth game but flamed out for whatever reason.

RogueBorg

07-13-2023, 03:10 PM

I don't blame him for his injuries, but the one guy I wish never got injured was Ralph Sampson. He was so good. When Sampson, Olajuwon, and Ewing were all in college together it was an amazing time. And for about 5 years it was great but far too short.

https://i.ibb.co/2dBDhJw/Sampson.png

kuniva_dAMiGhTy

07-13-2023, 03:20 PM

OJ Mayo and/or Andrew Bynum

In college, Mayo was hyped like a muthafukka and often compared to Kobe. Fizzled out after a few years in the league, but TONS of hoop heads swore OJ was that dude.

Post LA, fans thought Bynum was gonna level up and become a franchise level of player. Ended up stealing Money from Philly. Then retired at 26.

HylianNightmare

07-13-2023, 03:36 PM

More harkless

Miles turner

tpols

07-13-2023, 03:39 PM

Ben Simmons and Wiggins were considered undeniable 1st picks and generational talents.

SouBeachTalents

07-13-2023, 04:07 PM

Ben Simmons and Wiggins were considered undeniable 1st picks and generational talents.
Wiggins at least turned into a nice player on the Dubs. Simmons literally pussied out of his career :lol

Akeem34TheDream

07-13-2023, 04:21 PM

Zion is on his way to disappoint me.

ralph_i_el

07-13-2023, 04:33 PM

I thought Markelle Fultz was a sure thing. At least he's on the upswing.

I thought D'Lo would be a perennial all-star, and that Jahlil Okafor would be too good of a post player to fail.

jlip

07-13-2023, 04:33 PM

Basically the entire 2005 UNC NCAA championship team that made the league, especially Sean May and Marvin Williams. I thought those two would at least be all stars.

Axe

07-13-2023, 04:56 PM

Lonzo ball on the bulls. That knee injury has been going on for so long now than he played for them.

ralph_i_el

07-13-2023, 05:04 PM

Biggest personal disappointment for me would be Andray Blatche actually. I thought he was a really talented player. He could have been on the forefront of stretch bigs. He desperately needed to shoot less long 2's and more 3's. No professionalism = no development.

ArbitraryWater

07-13-2023, 05:13 PM

I was about to say OJ Mayo and hes been mentioned smh

Also Beasley

I could see this dude still ball, it just wasnt working out

Jimmy Rustler

07-13-2023, 05:21 PM

ShawkFactory

07-13-2023, 05:59 PM

Zach Lavine. I thought he might take the Bulls somewhere, but the dude's turned out to be overrated trash.

Also, Lebron James. So much athleticism and potential, but he turned out to be the biggest choker in the history of the sport.

The overrated part is weird to me with him. I hated his game in Minny. Towns was blossoming into a real dude and I feel like Lavine was always chucking shots that would ruin any rhythm the offense had.

Reggie43

07-13-2023, 06:51 PM

Artest

MrFonzworth

07-13-2023, 07:08 PM

Jahlil Okafor, Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons

Gotterdammerung

07-13-2023, 07:09 PM

Charles Barkley. Was a fan of his game and off-the-court color back in the 90s. Thought the Suns were destined to beat the Bulls but they didn't show up for Game 1. Game 3 triple overtime proved that they could beat the Bulls, but they weren't good enough. Once Barkley got to Houston, I was glad that he helped them finally beat their nemesis in the Supersonics, but they choked versus the Jazz - the very team they already owned during their title years. :facepalm

PejaTheSerbSnip

07-13-2023, 07:40 PM

A few off the top of my head:

Sean May improved a lot in his senior year at UNC. I didn’t think he’d be a star but “decent big for 5-6 years” was on the table, or so I thought.

Bynum…expected a little more from them, thought he was improving nicely and would take the next step in the early 2010’s, but injuries and motivation axed him (and perhaps the lack of range would have been his undoing in todays game). Can’t believe he’s still only 35.

Mayo, there was a period where the pre-draft hype for him was deafening.

Tyreke after his rookie year, obviously. Started well but took him way too much time to develop his shot.

On the topic of former Kings players, Cousins deserves a mention. Never learned to play winning basketball and belongs in the “good stats on bad team” HOF.

I feel weird including C-Webb because he’s a deserving Hall of Famer and Top 100 player, but he went insane with the long two’s when he reached what should’ve been his physical prime. He could actually hit them better than most, but he bled a ton of value with his shot selection. Also had no business being one of the worst free throw shooters in the league in his early years.

I’m not much of a fan of his, but watching Durant torpedo much of his legacy by acting like an angsty child is disheartening. Almost no one likes the guy. No fanbase remembers him too fondly, even the Warriors base sees him as a hired gun, and I worry he will muck things up in Phoenix too. I give him credit for showing up in the two winning finals he played in on the Dubs, but it’s not a good look for a man whose prime was this long for ‘12 (at age 23) to still be his most impressive playoff run. Shittiest handlers known to man.

I bought into the Exum hype, though in retrospect that one was on me; he had a lot of question marks.

His story is still being written, but Zion…smh.

RRR3

07-13-2023, 07:45 PM

People listing guys as great as KD and Barkley as disappointing is strange to me. Just how great did you expect them to be?

Dbrog

07-13-2023, 07:56 PM

RRR3

07-13-2023, 07:59 PM

It's also kinda weird to say but Melo is kinda a good example of a dude that got in his own way. I know Denver was pissed when he didn't show loyalty but ultimately he was a guy who could never truly accept a more teamlike role. Clearly he was talented and even won Rookie of the Year over Bron, which people forget. His mentality though...just never sniffed a chip
What? He didn't win rookie of the year. Some people thought he should have but LeBron won it (he was always going to if it was close given all the hype). Melo was a frustrating player but he achieved more than most ever will so idk about being one of most disappointing.

Axe

07-13-2023, 08:05 PM

D-rose also disappointed in terms of longevity. Not even a half decade yet playing in the league and he was struck down in his prime.

PejaTheSerbSnip

07-13-2023, 08:08 PM

People listing guys as great as KD and Barkley as disappointing is strange to me. Just how great did you expect them to be?

It's a fair question, as it does seem odd.

Full disclosure: I don't think KD left that much up to the imagination with regards to his on-court play. Instead of being in my hypothetical Top 10 (if things broke right), he's in the mid-to-high teens. Not much of a gap, right?

But that's not why I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed because he'll leave behind one of the lamest and most uncool legacies of any Top 20 player. Pouty, brooding, insecure, a wishy-washy leader, won two championships on a team where they would've been a mortal lock to win at least one (but probably win both, hard to imagine Houston not choking) with almost any Top 15 player in the league.

He went from one of the most well-liked players in the league on OKC to...this.

End of the day, he is still 1 of 1 and his career was a huge success. Just nothing inspiring about it, compared to the other greats (same with Malone, I guess, but I'm giddy about that).

RRR3

07-13-2023, 08:11 PM

It's a fair question, as it does seem odd.

Full disclosure: I don't think KD left that much up to the imagination with regards to his on-court play. Instead of being in my hypothetical Top 10 (if things broke right), he's in the mid-to-high teens. Not much of a gap, right?

But that's not why I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed because he'll leave behind one of the lamest and most uncool legacy of any Top 20 player. Pouty, a wishy-washy leader, won two championships on a team where they would've been a mortal lock to win at least one (but probably win both, hard to imagine Houston not choking) with almost any Top 15 player in the league.

End of the day, he is still 1 of 1 and his career was a huge success. Just nothing inspiring about it, relative to the other greats.
I guess. Don't get me wrong as a LeBron fan I'm irritated he went to GSW because it cost my guy some rings, but I think people need to understand KD only went to GSW because the media and fans kept acting like he sucked because "hurr durr no ringz". Same reason LeBron went to Miami btw. This "you win a ring or you're not a real legend" Bs is completely out of control. We see it affecting Dame now too.

Personally I don't let a player's personality affect how I view their legacy unless they're a nazi or pedophile or something like that.

PejaTheSerbSnip

07-13-2023, 08:26 PM

I guess. Don't get me wrong as a LeBron fan I'm irritated he went to GSW because it cost my guy some rings, but I think people need to understand KD only went to GSW because the media and fans kept acting like he sucked because "hurr durr no ringz". Same reason LeBron went to Miami btw. This "you win a ring or you're not a real legend" Bs is completely out of control. We see it affecting Dame now too.

Personally I don't let a player's personality affect how I view their legacy unless they're a nazi or pedophile or something like that.

Oh yeah, I reserve zero moral judgment for his decision. It was just totally uncool, and threw off the competitive balance of the league. He was well within his right to form the superteam of all superteams, but it came with a set of trade-offs and having his championships forever scrutinized was one of them. Surreal to see KD easily win two FMVP's in a row and still have maybe 10 people call him the best in the league for it lol

SouBeachTalents

07-13-2023, 09:10 PM

Oh yeah, I reserve zero moral judgment for his decision. It was just totally uncool, and threw off the competitive balance of the league. He was well within his right to form the superteam of all superteams, but it came with a set of trade-offs and having his championships forever scrutinized was one of them. Surreal to see KD easily win two FMVP's in a row and still have maybe 10 people call him the best in the league for it lol
He was legitimately the only top 5 player I can remember winning a FMVP and getting very little, if any BITW talks or having people discuss how it affects his legacy or where he now ranks all time. In fact, after putting up a statistically historic Finals, defeating LeBron and helping the Warriors complete arguably the most dominant title run ever, he found himself getting roasted at the ESPYs a month later instead :lol

I will say though, he's involved in literally the biggest what if of the last few years, his game tying shot against Milwaukee. If his toe is behind the line instead, his legacy, Giannis', even Harden & Kyrie's look completely different, not to mention there's a very real possibility none of the 3 get moved if they go on to win the title like I expect they would've. Instead, all 3 were traded to different teams less than 2 years after that loss, and Giannis gets to avoid the ridicule of being a ringless loser, a criticism that would be at fever pitch right now after getting bounced by an 8 seed :lol

1987_Lakers

07-13-2023, 09:25 PM

SATAN

07-13-2023, 09:44 PM

So far? Wemby.

imdaman99

07-13-2023, 11:12 PM

Gotterdammerung

07-14-2023, 05:46 PM

People listing guys as great as KD and Barkley as disappointing is strange to me. Just how great did you expect them to be?

I fully expected Barkley to beat Jordan and the Bulls after his MVP season and being the leading scorer of the Dream Team. That elevated my expectations of him, likely to unrealistic levels that he couldn't meet.

Then in 1996, I didn't like how the Rockets flamed out in the playoffs, getting swept by the Sonics after back-to-back titles, and thought that Barkley would redeem them and return them back to the NBA Finals to challenge the Bulls. They didn't even make it. Choked a 10 point lead in Game 6 to the most notorious chokers of the 90s in the Jazz.

:whatever:

90sgoat

07-14-2023, 05:49 PM

Kobe and Luka.

Kobe because his selfishness really kept him back. As good as he was, if he didn't get tunnel vision, he could have been a legit top 5 candidate of all time, but his infuriating over reliance on himself held him back.

Luka is the same, on his way to a career of underachievement because he, like Kobe, thinks that a bad shot for him is better than a good shot for someone lesser.

90sgoat

07-14-2023, 05:49 PM

Porzingis with the Knicks. I thought he was the one. Everyone was labelling him the unicorn. Who the hell can swat the shit outa Giannis on 1 end and then hit a 30 footer on the other end? He might be on the up, but the way he was bounced outa here so quickly left a bad taste in my mouth. More recently is Obi Toppin, he doesn't have the ceiling KP does but I'm still butthurt over trading him away for 2 2nd round picks.

Thought about Zingis on Knicks as well.

His last season before the injury and trade, he did look MVP level in spurts. He had like 20 games to start the season of averaging 30ppg.

FilmyCogTurner

07-14-2023, 06:23 PM

Rasheed Wallace. 99-00 season I wanted Portland to beat LA so badly and everyone knew Sheed was their most dangerous weapon and he was so passive. Looking back I've softened my stance but at the time I couldn't understand it.

Seconded for Porzingis. I thought NY had their new cornerstone franchise piece to build around. 28/12/5/1.5. Whoops.

hateraid

07-14-2023, 06:33 PM

Shawn Bradley for me. Mainly too was that it was the golden era of centers and I felt the team could have competed...especially after losing Barkley.

PejaTheSerbSnip

07-14-2023, 07:27 PM

People forget what a nice offensive game Bynum had in his prime. In 2012, he seemed pretty automatic whenever he got the ball down in the post, but dude had no desire for this game.

Yeah, walking bucket in the low post.

The '12 Lakers were a sneaky-disappointing team. They got a little old but still had a very formidable front court duo. Kobe was starting to show some mileage and had a mediocre shooting year. I guess even if they made the most of that season they would've faced an uphill battle vs. OKC, but I think they were a quality guard signing away from being a contender.

Gotterdammerung

07-14-2023, 07:52 PM

Rasheed Wallace. 99-00 season I wanted Portland to beat LA so badly and everyone knew Sheed was their most dangerous weapon and he was so passive. Looking back I've softened my stance but at the time I couldn't understand it.

Good pick. Sheed is a great candidate who never truly pushed himself to become the alpha scorer we all expected, and might be a bigger disappointment than Barkley. But in retrospect, that was more of our projections on him that he never ever once demonstrated in any capacity.

Barkley OTOH could just decide he was getting 40 and 20 on a given night. Such performances heightened my expectations that he could pull it off anytime anywhere. :facepalm

90sgoat

07-14-2023, 08:13 PM

Good pick. Sheed is a great candidate who never truly pushed himself to become the alpha scorer we all expected, and might be a bigger disappointment than Barkley. But in retrospect, that was more of our projections on him that he never ever once demonstrated in any capacity.

Barkley OTOH could just decide he was getting 40 and 20 on a given night. Such performances heightened my expectations that he could pull it off anytime anywhere. :facepalm

What games or series show the best that Sheed could do?

John8204

07-14-2023, 08:45 PM

Mike Bibby, in the 2002 post season it looked like was the future of the NBA and the best player at his position. Turns out that was the ceiling and the next 10 seasons he just got worse and worse.

meat

07-15-2023, 06:17 AM

Steve Francis. He was an exciting player with some swagger. I thought he and Yao would be contending for championships. Then ...
well I don't know what happened.

Same deal with Yao and McGrady. That could have been a great team but neither could stay healthy.

tpols

07-15-2023, 10:15 AM

Bynum is a great candidate for this. For someone that didn't care at all, he had tremendous footwork and touch.

https://youtu.be/rPhM1Y8EUdw

And what he did to Shaq was filthy as a teenager.

WhiteKyrie

07-15-2023, 02:27 PM

Injuries ruined G Hill, Penny, T-Mac, B. Roy, and D-Rose … so them

eliteballer

07-15-2023, 02:30 PM

There isn't one.

It's all of the guys who clearly would have been good/great of not for injuries/circumstances.

Bias, Rampson, Jay Williams, Oden etc.

meat

07-15-2023, 04:06 PM

There isn't one.

It's all of the guys who clearly would have been good/great of not for injuries/circumstances.

Bias, Rampson, Jay Williams, Oden etc.

That's not true. Been lots of top 5 picks who never did crap. I'm sure their teams fan base were excited at the time. LaRue Martin says hi.

Clifton

07-17-2023, 11:01 AM

Co-sign on Mike Bibby. I kept waiting for it to come back, and it never did. It was like he was Damian Lillard in exactly one kind of situation, and a league-average starting point guard in every other.

90sgoat

07-17-2023, 11:37 AM

There isn't one.

It's all of the guys who clearly would have been good/great of not for injuries/circumstances.

Bias, Rampson, Jay Williams, Oden etc.

If so, the Kawhi takes the top for me.

Kawhi had the potential to be a top 10 goat.

Manny98

07-17-2023, 11:52 AM

Chris Paul, one of the most talented poing guards ever yet consistently lets down in the playoffs year after year.

dankok8

07-17-2023, 12:00 PM

Good thread. Basically disappointing players but it wasn't injury or bad luck. Just they themselves didn't live up to what they should have been.

James Harden
Chris Paul
Josh Smith
Blake Griffin (even outside of injuries he stagnated..)
Lamarcus Aldridge (could have been MVP caliber)
Rasheed Wallace
and many more...

#1 would have to be Harden. Just super talented but something missing in big moments.

HoopsNY

07-18-2023, 01:50 AM

I don't think there is any player who had a bigger upside and potential to be an all time great, and just stood in his own way, than Kawhi. After that, injuries really messed up Antonio McNugget. McDyess was really a great low post player and defender. He was one of my favorites.

Overdrive

07-18-2023, 09:36 AM

When I was young I collected basketball cards (picked it up for a while later on for nostalgic reasons) and I was mostly disappointed by players I kept alot of rookie cards and didn't turn out as good as I thought they could've so their cards didn't become valueable:

McDyess, Camby, Marbury, Billups, Francis, Brand, etc.

Not saying they had bad careers, some ofbthem even had very good ones, but they could've been so much more.

Another one is the already mentioned KD. His career definately was a great one on paper, but the GS move took the air of the NBA for quite a while and his social media shenanigans made him unbearable for quite a while. In 2012 it looked like he was on a top 10 trajectory. His career matched his skilllevel, but it was thought that the make up of the team itself held him back.

Turns out he is a great player, but nowhere, even on GS, had any natural ability to slide into a team concept. He had two great finals against his archrival, but that was mostly based on his individual talent. Turns out Curry is the real #2 player during the Lebron era.

BarberSchool

07-18-2023, 03:14 PM

I’ve been right on most recent busts:

Zion - since he was in high school, I unequivocally said “they better hope to get a dunk contest or two, and a shattered backboard or two out of him, before his knock kneed, overweight career is over early”

Ayton/Bagley - told everyone Luka and Trey were gonna be much much better. gave Trey his on court props, despite roasting his hair, saying he looked like Delonte West and Steph Curry had “a gaybie”, that they abandoned in a dumpster, but it survived with mange-y hair the rest of its life. And adding to the roast, by saying he was perfect for the ATL market, which is the black San Francisco. Said all those sweet MF’s will love a flamboyant star that looks and talks like a little high yellow high school boy.

Hasheem Thabeet - told everyone he looked like a backup center, and nothing more.

Anthony Bennet - didn’t see what everyone else saw, couldn’t understand the hype.

But I was dead wrong on one, who I genuinely thought was going to be a perennial all star forward, averaging over 25/10 ….

… Michael Beasley.

I was so hyped on Beasley, I wanted the Bulls to draft him. For sure thought he was a can’t miss type prospect. I had no idea he was THAT mentally ill. And since then, As I got older and wiser, I have paid much closer attention to any talented player with mental illness, and have been very very doubtful of any of them having the necessary growth or evolution at the NBA level.