Written by Chris Hayes at ESPN.com
Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant has a message for Greg Oden, who told Outside the Lines last week that he’ll “be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history.”
“Nonsense. That’s nonsense,” Durant adamantly told ESPN on Sunday night. “In order for you to be a bust, you have to actually play and show people that you progressed as a player. He didn’t get a chance to.”
Oden and Durant were taken No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics. The debates about who would go No. 1 were minimal. Oden was viewed as a future Hall of Fame big man, the next coming of Shaquille O’Neal.
Portland elected to add the 7-footer to a team that featured rising All-Star Brandon Roy and a young, emerging inside-outside player named LaMarcus Aldridge. Oden missed his entire rookie season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee.
His best season was the 2009-10 campaign, when he averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21 games.
Multiple knee injuries led to multiple surgical procedures, cutting his career with the Trail Blazers short in March 2012 when the team waived him. In five seasons with the franchise, Oden played in only 82 games and did not play a single game in his final two seasons under contract.
After taking the 2012-13 campaign off to regroup and get healthy, Oden got a second chance when the Miami Heat signed him to a one-year deal for the 2013-14 season. He was never able to establish himself as a consistent rotation player and ended up appearing in 23 contests that season. Oden hasn’t played in the NBA since.
Meanwhile, Durant has become one of the faces of the league. He has won a Rookie of the Year award and an MVP and is a seven-time All-Star and a four-time scoring champ.
To continue reading this article, click here.
