Image via Complex Original
The NBA is hard. Chances are that you, the reader, aren't good enough to play in the league. Don't feel bad—neither am I. The extreme difficulty and selectivity of the NBA makes even getting looked at an achievement in itself.
Getting drafted and actually making it in the league are two different things, though. Practically every NBA player experiences the former, but it's the latter that poses the real challenge. Players who fail to reach their potential often cost front office execs their jobs, drive coaches into pits of despair, and break the hearts of otherwise stable fans. "We could've had SO-AND-SO!" They're your Greg Odens and your Anthony Bennetts, but are most commonly referred to as busts. They're the basketball equivalent to Lionel Richie's "Hello" video: They're supposed to be one thing, but end up being something completely, irredeemably different. Hope is a dangerous thing, fans of lottery teams. These are the 15 Biggest Draft Busts of the Last 10 Years.
Greg Oden
Drafted: 1st Overall, 2007
Team(s): Trail Blazers, Heat
Some Greek author already wrote about Greg Oden's story at some point. You've heard it: The story of a man with the world ahead of him, yet he's done in by a fatal flaw. Oden's was his knees. He was supposed to be a legitimate threat, but he eventually became the beneficiary of the cliche line: “He's really good when he's healthy.” Apologists got tired of using that line after he missed multiple seasons. Now, at 27, instead of thriving in the NBA, he's attempting to salvage his career.
Anthony Bennett
Drafted: 1st Overall, 2013
Team(s): Cavaliers, Timberwolves
The fact that Cleveland somehow got three No. 1 draft picks in the past four years was ridiculous in itself. However, there's no divine intervention severe enough to grant the team three studs. Kyrie Irving is Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins is busy trying to become Minnesota's hope. Anthony Bennett is the butt of that trio. His lone claim to relevance was being picked No. 1 in a lackluster draft class. Well, there was that one time he scored 19 points. That must've been an Ice Cube-esque good day for him.
Jimmer Fredette
Drafted: 10th Overall, 2011
Team(s): Kings, Bulls, Pelicans
The Jimmer Fredette sensation over at BYU wasn't really that long ago. The man was a king during his senior year, winning 2011's Player of the Year, becoming a verb, and getting props from Barack Obama. The jumper was automatic in college, but that skill became a memory when he was drafted as the No. 10 pick. Fredette has been in the league four years and has already been tossed between three teams.
Adam Morrison
Drafted: 3rd Overall, 2006
Team(s): Bobcats, Lakers
These days, Adam Morrison looks like the inspiration of Adam Driver's whole being. He's also one of the (many?) examples of Michael Jordan's failure as an NBA executive. Morrison's 30-point game during his rookie season with the Bobcats made it seem like he was going to be a star. However, that turned out to be his career peak. His field goal percentage was shameful and a torn ACL doomed Morrison to a career of riding the bench. It wasn't all bad, though. Morrison got two NBA championships before going to Serbia.
Marvin Williams
Drafted: 2nd Overall, 2005
Team(s): Hawks, Jazz, Hornets
Williams has had it pretty well compared to what happened to the other entries on this list. The man is still in the league, so that's cool. But he's not a bust because he simply exists as a forward in NBA. He's a bust because he somehow was drafted before Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Nate Robinson, and Monta Ellis.
Joe Alexander
Drafted: 8th Overall, 2008
Team(s): Bucks, Bulls
Joe Alexander is known as the first Taiwanese player to be drafted into the NBA. That's the only thing he's known for other than that weird combination of two first names. Alexander was drafted eighth overall by the Bucks only to have an NBA career that was mediocre at best. This was after he recorded the second-highest max jump touch, the second highest sprint time, and the second-highest number of bench reps. He ended up playing for two other teams before completely falling out of the league. It probably would've been better if he just played for the Bucks, though. How do you explain to your son that you somehow managed to have a season where you averaged only half a point?
Hasheem Thabeet
Drafted: 2nd Overall, 2009
Team(s): Grizzles, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Thunder, Spurs
Thabeet's career highlights include getting picked second overall, making the D-League All-Defensive Third Team, and this:
Andrea Bargnani
Drafted: 1st Overall, 2009
Team(s): Raptors, Knicks
The Raptors invested a lot of time trying to make Bargnani into a legitimate scoring threat. For a short time, it looked like it worked; Bargnani was the team's leading scorer during its 22-60, 2010-11 season. But his numbers eventually started declining as he kept missing a significant amount of games the following seasons. Nearly every facet of being a Knick has been a struggle in recent years, and Bargnani has been no different:
Patrick O'Bryant
Drafted: 9th Overall, 2006
Team(s): Warriors, Celtics, Raptors, Bobcats
Big, long-armed, undeveloped athletes are a huge risk. Sometimes they do live up to their god-given potential and eventually play NBA-level basketball. Other times, they don't—they're just big men with long arms and a jersey. One look at Bryant's career stats reveals that he fits under the latter category. He's another entry in the Warriors' list of pre-Steph Curry mistakes.
Jonny Flynn
Drafted: 6th Overall, 2009
Team(s): Timberwolves, Rockets, Trail Blazers
Despite the small hype, the best things to come out of Niagara Falls (Flynn's hometown) are still waterfalls and pizza. Flynn had his moments. He made a game-winner for the Jazz during his rookie year, when he averaged a promising 13.5 points per game. The kicker here isn't how he fell off into a generally innocuous presence on-court, it's how instead of drafting Steph Curry in that 2009 draft, Minnesota rolled with Flynn.
Fran Vasquez
Drafted: 11th Overall, 2005
Team(s): Magic
Vasquez makes this list simply because he got drafted and decided not to play in the NBA. It's like accepting an offer to your dream job, and then calling in the next day to say, “Nah, I'll just stick to flipping burgers.” Instead of joining the Magic as the No. 11 pick like he was supposed to, Vasquez decided to stick with the Spanish ACB League. The Cavs at least got one 19-point game from Bennett. The Magic got nothing from Vasquez, and the organization's trouble with centers continued.
Yaroslav Korolev
Drafted: 12th Overall, 2005
Team(s): Clippers
Korolev is kind of in the same boat as Vasquez, except he actually tried to be in the NBA. The Russian was scouted for having superb ball-handling skills for a 17-year-old, and his 6-foot-9 body held a lot of potential at that small forward position. But that was in 2005—it was still going to be a while before the Clippers became great. Korolev was out of the NBA with a whopping career average of 1.1 points per game.
Shelden Williams
Drafted: 5th Overall, 2006
Team(s): Hawks, Kings, Timberwolves, Celtics, Nuggets, Knicks, Nets
Shelden Williams is part of a special fraternity: Overachieving Blue Devils/Underperforming NBA players. It's been nearly a decade since Williams left Duke, and he still holds the record for blocked shots and rebounds. Williams's big NBA achievement is getting tossed around between more teams than the number of years he played in the NBA.
Yi Jianlian
Drafted: 6th Overall, 2007
Team(s): Bucks, Nets, Wizards
It's not just about being labeled “The Next Yao Ming.” If you're 7 feet tall, play basketball for a living, and still can't get anywhere past average—you're a bust. Jianlian came into the league after averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Chinese Basketball Association, but if you've been paying attention you know foreign success doesn't equal NBA success. Jianlian was like Ming in how they were both worn down by injuries. However, he had no where near the same impact in America.
Michael Beasley
Drafted: 2nd Overall, 2010
Team(s): Heat, Timberwolves, Suns
The Heat drafted him as the second overall pick—an understandable decision since he was averaging 26.2 during his fantastic freshman year at Kansas State. In fact, it was one of the greatest freshman years in recent memory. But you know the story: the college superstar doesn't adjust well to the big leagues and ends up becoming more known for “distractions” (or, to avoid euphemisms, weed). It's a tale seemingly as old as sports.