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The next Wayne Gretzky. The next Michael Jordan. The next [insert name of legend here]. Every up-and-coming player gets compared to a former great at some point in their career. It's just a part of sports. But for every one correct association, there are countless athletes that do not live up to their lofty billings. And that can happen for a variety of reasons. Maybe it was just laziness or drugs, or laziness and drugs, or that scourge of top athletes the world over, too much good pussy.
July is a slow sports month—for spectators. But with NFL training camps around the corner, and the NBA and NHL seasons not too far away, the middle of summer is the time when champions are made in off-season workouts. Of course we know that plenty of athletes—even the next Gretzky and the next Jordan—aren't using the offseason to its fullest. To celebrate the athlete who embodies the good player gone bad, we're taking a look at the people who took their respective sports by storm, only to fizzle out for one reason or another. Here are 14 Athletes Who Wasted Their Talent.
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14. Eddy Curry
Sport: Basketball
Years: 2001-Present
Every Knicks fan knows the painful story of the Eddy Curry experience. When New York traded for the center in 2005, they also agreed to pay Curry $60 million over 6 years. In his first couple of years with the Knickerbockers, Eddy was average and definitely not worth the costly investment. During his last two years with New York, Curry spent a majority of his time on the team's bench in street clothes, which had a lot to do with his inability to remain fit. Well, at least he has that boatload of money to fall back on. Oops.
13. Isaiah Rider
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1993-2001
Let's get one thing straight. Isaiah Rider wasn't a complete waste of talent. The guy had some solid years in the NBA, but when he entered the 1993 NBA Draft, Rider was expected to be a superstar caliber player, not the everyday middle-of-the-road player that he eventually became. In his senior year with UNLV, Isaiah earned the Big West Conference Player of the Year award while also receiving a suspension for supposedly having someone cheat on a test for him. In many ways, the contrast between skill on the court and failures off of it is what encompassed Rider's career. Yeah, he was good but if it weren't for all the side problems, could you imagine how great he would've been?
12. Charles Rogers
Sport: Football
Years: 2003-2005
When scouts started looking into this kid named Charles Rogers out of Michigan State, they came up with quite the comparison: Randy Moss. Similar in size to the cocky Hall of Famer, Rogers had the Detroit Lions salivating at the opportunity to have Rogers stretch defenses for them, and picked him with the 2nd pick in 2003. Sadly, the rookie broke his collarbone during practice following the fifth game of the season. Then, the ensuing year, Rogers broke his collarbone again and was out again. In 2005, Charles missed another four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy for a third time. Soon after, the Lions were fed up with his antics and released him. Rogers has yet to find a team willing to take a chance on him and judging from his most recent arrest in December of 2011, he is not on the road to recovery and redemption any time soon.
11. John Daly
Sport: Golf
Years: 1987-Present
In 1991, John Daly captured the imagination of the nation when he came out of nowhere to win the PGA Championship. He came out of nowhere again to win the British Open in 1995. But since that moment, Daly has maintained a life in golf even though there have been many off-the-field issues that have hurt Long John. From bouts with alcoholism to a gambling problem that has cost him somewhere in the range of $50-60 million, Daly's career never really took off the way he would've imagined after that day in Carmel, Indiana.
10. JaMarcus Russell
Sport: Football
Years: 2007-2009
After leaving a lasting impression in his final game with LSU at the Sugar Bowl, JaMarcus Russell was seen by Al Davis as the savior quarterback that his team so desperately needed. He was selected with the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and once Russell signed his name on the dotted line of his $68 million contract, the nightmare started all over again for the Raiders. Plagued by everything from weight issues to syrup issues to just plain ol' poor on-field performances, JaMarcus was released in 2010 by Oakland. You want to know how badly they didn't want him on the squad anymore? The front office took a $9 million hit for the action.
9. Adriano
Sport: Soccer
Years: 2000-Present
His name is Adriano Leite Ribeiro, but many know him as simply, Adriano. A striker with a strong build, the Brazilian was destined to be something special. But when he wasn't killing it on the pitch, Adriano was going a little too hard in the party scene. Soon afterwards, he was missing practices because of hangovers and gaining weight. Sadly, he was never able to regain his touch and was let go by Inter Milan in 2009.
8. Alexandre Daigle
Sport: Hockey
Years: 1993-2006
The hype was enormous. Alexandre Daigle was referred to as the next big NHL superstar when his name was brought up in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. With all the talk over Daigle, the Ottawa Senators admittedly lost games on purpose to score the first overall pick. When Ottawa made that happen and drafted the winger, the good times were just rolling in, right? Wrong. Constantly criticized for his lackluster effort, partying and possible drug habits, Alexander never could live up to the billing and spent a majority of his career bouncing between the NHL and the AHL.
7. Chris Washburn
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1986-1988
If DGAF was actually in the dictionary, there is a good chance Chris Washburn would appear next to the term. Starting with his SAT scores where he scored a 500 out of 1600. Mind you, you start off the test with a 400. Still, Washburn moved on to N.C. State where he posted 17 points and 6 rebounds per game. With a clear disinterest in the collegiate lifestyle, the center moved onto the NBA and was selected by the Warriors with the 3rd overall pick in the NBA Draft. After a brief stint in the L which included a kidney infection and a visit to drug rehab, Washburn was eventually named the 2nd-biggest NBA draft bust by Sports Illustrated. Hey, at least it wasn't the No. 1 spot.
6. Brian Lawton
Sport: Hockey
Years: 1983-1993
Brian Lawton is known for being the first U.S.-born hockey player drafted first overall in the NHL Draft. That's something no one can take away from him. We say this because in 1985, Minnesota's GM Lou Nanne confessed that "if I had it to do over again, I'd take Barrasso," which is in reference to Tom Barrasso who was taken 5th overall. With a statement that candid, you have to assume that Lawton just didn't live up to the lofty Wayne Gretzky comparisons. But honestly, who could?
5. Josh Booty
Sport: Baseball
Years: 1996-1998
Does the name Josh Booty ring a bell? It probably shouldn't unless you're a die-hard Marlins or baseball fan. You see, in high school, Josh was lighting up opposing pitching to the tune of a .429 batting average and 12 homers in only 70 at-bats. Florida snatched him up with the 5th overall pick and signed him to then-record signing bonus of $1.6 million. While his average was nowhere near MLB ready, Booty did manage to post a 20+ home run season with the team's single-A and double-A affiliate. Then, in a surprising turn of events, Booty retired from baseball at the age of 23 to pursue a career in the NFL. How'd that work out? Well, he's waiting by the phone for a team to take a chance on his services. Too bad, he's probably kicking himself for making that decision. #seewhatwedidthere
4. Matt Leinart
Sport: Football
Years: 2006-Present
During his days with the University of Southern California, Matt Leinart and the word "winner" went hand-in-hand. A Heisman Trophy in 2004, national championships in 2003 and 2004, NCAA QB of the Year in 2004 and 2005, just to name a few. In 2006, Leinart took his game to the NFL when he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals. Actually, scratch that. Leinart left his game in USC and swapped it for living the collegiate life after a photo surfaced of the quarterback involved in some drinking games, Matt has been feverishly trying to regain the magic he had with the Trojans. Unfortunately, it looks like Matty is destined for a career as a backup. But hey, if Jesse Palmer and that other Hasselbeck brother can make it after the NFL, anything's possible. Word to KG.
3. Michael Olowokandi
Sport: Basketball
Years: 1998-2007
Over the course of his NBA career, Michael Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.39 blocks. Hardly the work of a player taken in the 1998 Draft with the first overall pick, but could you blame the Clippers? In his senior year with Pacific, Olowokandi posted 22 points, 11 boards and 3 swats per game. At 7-foot-1, The Kandi Man looked like he could be a strong presence in the middle for any pro team. However, Olowokandi just couldn't put it together. Call it an inability to make the transition or just not living up to the hype, but whatever it was, he just didn't look like he belonged in the NBA.
2. Lawrence Phillips
Sport: Football
Years: 1996-1997, 1999
When the St. Louis Rams selected Lawrence Phillips with the 6th pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, they knew what type of player he was: high risk, high reward. In the last game of his collegiate career, Phillips lead the Nebraska to a 62-24 victory over Florida with 165 yards rushing on 25 carries and 3 touchdowns. The Rams were so convinced that Lawrence was their running back of the future that they traded away Jerome Bettis to make room for the Cornhuskers back. After two short years with St. Louis, which included inconsistent play and plenty of locker room conflicts with then-coach Dick Vermeil, Phillips moved onto the Dolphins and played only one season. Currently, Phillips is in prison serving time for attacking his girlfriend and driving his car into three teens. He won't be eligible for release until the age of 57.
1. Ryan Leaf
Sport: Football
Years: 1998-2002
In his last year with Washington State University, Ryan Leaf put himself high on draft boards with his performance. Finishing third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, Leaf seemed like a lock for a top 10 pick when he declared for the 1998 NFL Draft. The San Diego Chargers took him with the 2nd overall pick (right behind some dude named Peyton) and the rest is history. And by that, we mean, his short-lived NFL career. After being hampered by everything from consistently poor play to attitude issues which involved confronting reporters, Leaf eventually left the NFL after four years. Nowadays, the only arm he's associated with is the long arm of the law.