Greg Oden had a rough go in the NBA. A former number one overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, Oden was never able to live up to his draft status as injuries shortened his career. Oden played a total of 105 games in a career that spanned six seasons.
The former Ohio State star recently closed out his career, officially, having not played since the 2013-14 season. He is now working on getting a degree and finding a new career.
But that basketball career will follow Oden for a long time who spoke about his legacy to ESPN’s Outside the Lines:
“I’ll be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history,” Oden told Outside the Lines. “But I can’t do nothing about that.”
Oden also reiterated that his playing days were over.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Oden said. “If I was healthy, I would love to continue playing, but I’m not healthy.”
Greg Oden certainly wasn’t helped by Kevin Durant being drafted one pick after him. Nevertheless, it’s tough to consider the big man the biggest bust in NBA history. Much of his lack of success was not up to him as injuries ravaged his career. When Oden played for an extended amount of time, he was a more than solid player. But alas, history often does not include context and in this case, Oden may very well be right.
