Was Greg Oden actually good?

[Street Hunger]

When Greg Oden was healthy was he an actual very good player? Or a great player? I can see from his stats that there was clear big potential there but I don't remember him enough to know if he was an actual dominant player or if he just would have been pretty good but not great had he stayed healthy

[bladefd]

Yes, he was pretty good actually. Perhaps not a very smart player, but he had lots of potential for further growth. He would have been a good player (probably top 3 center in NBA) if he wasn't so brittle.

[ILLsmak]

He was pretty good in college. I didn't see 'it' though. Not v KD haha.

-Smak

[Axe]

World
Health
Organization

[FultzNationRISE]

Good is subjective. What we do know with certainty is he was hung like a bull ox, in a way we really hadnt seen since Lebron James. And I do think that counts for something.

[CurryOverLebron]

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/odengr01.html

He played 1 full season. He didn't get to 25 games his other seasons.

[Patrick Chewing]

Portland is cursed. From Sam Bowie to Greg Oden.

[Xiao Yao You]

Portland is cursed. From Sam Bowie to Greg Oden.

when you draft guys with red flags it's not a curse it's bad management

[meat]

Portland is cursed. From Sam Bowie to Greg Oden.

And the original Portland big man bust. LaRue Martin. And Bill Walton.

[1987_Lakers]

The Greg Oden hype was real, he was looked at as the best prospect since LeBron. He was a fierce rim protector in college and had some scoring ability, although many people felt he was somewhat raw on the offensive end, he got alot of Bill Russell comparisons coming out of college.

[Im Still Ballin]

Tim Duncan meets Dwight Howard. Something to that effect. A taller, more skilled, naturally bigger but less athletic Dwight. Better touch and shooting from the free-throw line and mid-range. Think Howard but with way better instincts and discipline on defense and versatility on offense.

A perennial rebounding champ and defensive player of the year. A 20-25 ppg, 12-15 rpg, 2.5-3 bpg, 55% FG+, 70%+ FT guy in his prime

It's hard to evaluate him based on his NBA play. He was incredibly foul-prone at the NBA level but not at college or high school. Even still, he was starting to turn the corner before fracturing his patella in December 2009. In his last 7 games before the injury he was averaging the following:

- 15.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 2.4 bpg, 1.9 topg
- 67.78% TS // 77.5% FT
- 26.1 minutes per game

Foul trouble was the only thing holding him back from starter minutes. For reference, here's what those numbers look like per 36:

- 23.3 ppg, 12.55 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.83 spg, 3.3 bpg, 2.62 topg
- 67.78% TS // 77.5% FT
- 36 minutes per game

[Im Still Ballin]

I mean, heck: if all he ended up being was Dwight Howard 2.0 but with 70-75%+ free throw shooting? Damn, that's a nasty player. Dwight was a 59% FT shooter in his prime - good for 1.18 points per possession. Greg doing 1.4 to 1.5 points per possession would've added IMMENSE value considering how often Dwight was getting fouled.

And most of Dwight's fouls weren't from intentional fouls, which didn't happen that frequently. They were largely from him simply getting too deep in the post or position in the paint off the ball.

[FultzNationRISE]

I mean, heck: if all he ended up being was Dwight Howard 2.0 but with 70-75%+ free throw shooting? Damn, that's a nasty player. Dwight was a 59% FT shooter in his prime - good for 1.18 points per possession. Greg doing 1.4 to 1.5 points per possession would've added IMMENSE value considering how often Dwight was getting fouled.

And most of Dwight's fouls weren't from intentional fouls, which didn't happen that frequently. They were largely from him simply getting too deep in the post or position in the paint off the ball.


What about physical proportions, anatomy, what kind of player were we looking at?

[Im Still Ballin]

What about physical proportions, anatomy, what kind of player were we looking at?

Long and thick, like a rotund Redwood tree that's canopy reaches to the sky.

[FultzNationRISE]

Long and thick, like a rotund Redwood tree that's canopy reaches to the sky.



https://youtu.be/c5dCopAZaq8?si=vhaSZqBg2CblFJoo

[Im Still Ballin]

Draft Measurements: (2004 vs. 2007)




Test/Drill

Greg Oden (age 19.4)

Dwight Howard (age 18.5)


Height in shoes
7'
6'10.25"


Barefoot height
6'11"
6'9"


Weight
257 lbs
240 lbs


Bodyfat percentage
7.8%
10.5%


Wingspan
7'4.25"
7'4.5"


Standing reach
9'4"
9'3.5"


Running vertical jump
34"
35.5"


Standing vertical jump
32"
30.5"


Lane agility drill
11.67 seconds
11.21 seconds

[ILLsmak]

Draft Measurements: (2004 vs. 2007)




Test/Drill

Greg Oden (age 19.4)

Dwight Howard (age 18.5)


Height in shoes
7'
6'10.25"


Barefoot height
6'11"
6'9"


Weight
257 lbs
240 lbs


Bodyfat percentage
7.8%
10.5%


Wingspan
7'4.25"
7'4.5"


Standing reach
9'4"
9'3.5"


Running vertical jump
34"
35.5"


Standing vertical jump
32"
30.5"


Lane agility drill
11.67 seconds
11.21 seconds



7.8 is dumm for a 7 footer. Too bad he broke.

-Smak