It ’s no arcanum that one high-pitched draft selection can make or break a professional sports franchise ; choose the good participant , you ’re on the championship track ; opt the awry player , and you could set your franchise back by years as you attempt to shell out with the repercussions of drafting an unproductive player .
This hold truthful for most all sportswoman but perhaps most particularly for basketball game , where small rosters and hefty play fourth dimension make it imperative that squad make effective habit of their draft picks and ensure they are employing the best likely players at all meter .
With this in mind , we ’ve gathered together some of the worst draught pick in NBA history in hopes of educating both our reader ( and the masses head for the hills the NBA franchises of the Earth ) as to what can go wrong when you ’re gifted a high first rotund pick in the NBA draught .
After you ’re done , go over out ourUltimate NBA Trivia Quiz .
10. LaRue Martin (Portland Trail Blazers)
We ’re headed all the direction back to 1972 to kick thing off here , and we ’re take in a look at the first of what will be several appearances by the Portland Trail Blazers on this lean ( seriously , it ’s alarming how poorly managed that franchise has been ) . Gifted the first pick in the 1972 NBA Draft , the Trail Blazers took a new hotshot out of Loyola University in Chicago named LaRue Martin , a 6’11 center who turned a historic college calling into a eminent draft pick before busting monumentally in the pro . Often summon as one of the worst draft picks of all meter , Martin only played four seasons before recede from the NBA , averaging an incredibly poor 5.3 point per game and a lowly 4.3 bounce a game . Martin , who start on to finish his degree and employment for Nike after his retreat , was choose over the the likes of of Bob McAdoo and Julius Erving , two next Hall of Famers who aid to add up insult to injury when speaking of Martin as one of the NBA ’s genuinely dramatic draft disasters .
9. Shawn Bradley (Philadelphia 76ers)
We suppose there will be some debate about the inclusion of Bradley on this list , despite the fact that he has been view as by many as a monumental draft fizzle . A wildly intriguing prospect in college , Bradley ( who was born in Germany but grew up in Utah , where he reset the nickname “ The Stormin ’ Mormon ’ ) loom over his NCAA challenger by clock in at an astounding 7’6 ; however , his thin human body go out his interior plot without the necessary exponent to dominate in the NBA , and as such he never rightfully developed into the star he was projected to be . Despite his mediocre production totals over the line of his vocation , which saw him average 8.1 points per game and 4.2 rebound per game , Bradley managed to eke out a 12 class career in the NBA , wager for the Philadelphia 76ers , the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks .
8. Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis Grizzlies)
This Tanzanian born player is a very recent addition to the list of the NBA ’s greatest draft bust , as he was taken with the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 NBA draught . Chosen by the Memphis Grizzlies , Hasheem Thabeet was intended to be a groundwork for the franchise , invade the center position and producing at the same prima level that he did when playing college hoops at Connecticut . Of course , had things gone according to what was intend , Thabeet would n’t have ended up at turn eight on this listing , and he surely would n’t have ended up playing for the D - League Grand Rapids Drive , where he is currently rostered . Thabeet , who play only two seasons for the Grizzlies before being switch to the Houston Rockets , also spent time with the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder before fall flat out of the big leagues entirely .
7. Kwame Brown (Washington Wizards)
Michael Jordan ’s chosen son , Kwame Brown was chosen by the Great One himself with the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draught ; if only Brown ’s career had resembled Jordan ’s in any way , and perhaps he ’d discover himself on a different type of list . Brown , who struggled with immaturity and incompatibility early in his Wizards life history , never go back from the hype and expectation put upon him at a immature years . A continuing under - achiever , Brown was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers just three years after being taken first overall , and would go on to play for six other franchises before flop out of the league in 2013 , including the Memphis Grizzlies , Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State warrior . A classic example of waste potential , Brown will be forever labelled as a draft female chest chosen by one of the greatest hoops role player of all time ( rent ’s be honest , Jordan was always far better at pull off thing on the homage than he has been off of it , however ) .
6. Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers)
If you bet up Greg Oden on the internet ( as we often do for articles like this ) , you ’ll see that during his clock time play NCAA hoops , he manage to accumulate an uncanny turn of awards for excellence ; McDonald ’s All American MVP , Second Team All American , Pete Newell Big Man Award , etc . To many uninformed individuals , it might seem a curious thing then for Oden to have been a wildly unsuccessful NBA musician , where he ’s act as in a meagre 105 games over the course of 6 professional season ( NBA teams play 82 biz a season , for character reference ) . It ’s only after realize that Oden , who undergo a wide variety of surgeries during his time in the NBA ( including an encroaching microfracture operation on his knee immediately after being drafted ) , has fight with hurt for the integrality of his career does his status as a monumental conscription bust make good sense . Oden , who was enlist first overall by yes , The Portland Trail Blazers , also play for the Miami Heat very concisely before ending up with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association .
5. Michael Olowokandi (Los Angeles Clippers)
With a name like Michael Olowokandi , it would seem as though this Nigerian carry basketball player was destine for NBA stardom ; after all , “ Olowokandi ” is a sports broadcasters dream , a name so glorious it lends itself to innumerable puns , references and nicknames . Olowokandi never reach NBA stardom , however , even after being drafted with the first overall picking in the 1998 NBA draught . Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers , Olowokandi was bear in Lagos , Nigeria , before playing college basketball with the University of the Pacific , where he starred as marrow and averaged over 22 point per secret plan . His professional production never get through those heights , however , and Olowokandi only average 8.3 degree per game in the NBA ( although he did receive success as a rebounder , averaging about 6.8 per game ) . After being allow go by the Clippers , Olowakandi played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics before retiring in 2007 .
4. Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats)
The man with the moustache , Adam Morrison was a verifiable star for Gonzaga circa 2006 . A prolific small forward who commix versatility with unattackable movement attainment to arise a secure overall plot , Morrison wo nt the Player of the year Award after the NCAA ’s 2006 time of year , an accolade which helped make him the third overall pick in the first bout of that class ’s NBA Draft ( he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats ) . Another player hired hand - picked by Michael Jordan ( who was run out of the Bobcats front office at the time ) , Morrison is every bit the bust Kwame Brown was , and in fact only dally two season for the Bobcats before being dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers , where he also go wrong miserably . Now retired , Morrison played only four years of professional hoops , an astounding statistic count his high-flown draft position and legendary college career .
3. Jay Williams (Chicago Bulls)
One of the few small men on this list , Jay Williams ( who still registers a square 6’2 , well above the intermediate gentleman ) was a point sentry go who was blueprint by the Chicago Bulls second overall in 2002 . An electric player at Duke , Williams led the Blue Devils to the 2001 NCAA Championship and was assured a posture in the draft upper echelon ; unfortunately , he would never again occupy that echelon , as his professional career was spoil by a frightening motorcycle stroke that saw him tear three knee ligament , sever a major vein in his leg , and stop his pelvis . With blanket physiotherapy involve to just to take the air again ( countenance alone toy a professional sport ) , Williams would never again run professional basketball , although he did essay to mount a comeback in 2006 . Williams only started 54 games in his NBA career .
2. Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers)
We warn you there were plenty of Trail Blazers on this list , and military personnel do we feel good-for-nothing for the fans of that franchise . Between LaRue Martin , Greg Oden and now Sam Bowie , the Portland franchise has miffed on a record figure of elite muster picks , leaving little wonder as to the effort of the squad ’s struggles in the retiring several decades . Sam Bowie , who was take second overall in the 1984 NBA draught , was an average player in most every agency ; he scored 10.9 point per plot and averaged 7.5 backlash per game , mediocre but employable numbers racket . It ’s the numbers of the individuals drafted around him , however , that make Bowie ’s vocation seem bust - worthy in comparison ; Bowie had the stern misfortune of being drafted forrader of ace Michael Jordan , John Stockton and Charles Barkley .
1. Darko Milicic (Detroit Pistons)
Much like Sam Bowie , Darko Milicic is often spoken of as a bust not due to his own career , but rather due to the careers of the soul drafted behind him ( to be fair , his production is also extremely sub - par ) . The second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft , Milicic was chosen after LeBron James but before celebrated sensation Carmelo Anthony , Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade . While that ’s certainly excellent company to keep , it would be better if Milicic , who hails from Serbia and managed to carve out a 9 year NBA career , had make out some level of product of his own . Milicic , who also bet for the Orlando Magic , Memphis Grizzlies , New York Knicks and Boston Celtics in his NBA career , only average out 6 points per game in his 9 seasons , a far battle cry from the unbelievable statistic managed by his contemporaries .
