NBA Draft: Ranking the last 25 first overall picks

While Anthony Bennett has no excuse for his failed career, other than his own adjustment to the NBA, Greg Oden’s disappointing career was a result of his constant health injuries. Not only did Oden fail to play a complete season, he also played just three seasons in the seven years after he was drafted.

Big men have always had issues when recovering from lower body injuries. This was never truer than when Oden failed to recover from nagging issues with both knees. A right knee injury kept Oden from playing in his “true” rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Constant left knee injuries kept him out of three straight seasons between 2010 and 2013.

The worst part about Oden’s shortened career is the promise he showed while he was healthy. In his first regular season, Oden played in 61 games, while averaging 8.9 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. All three averages increase in his second season, which was unfortunately cut short.

This would mark the beginning of the end for Oden. He would return to the NBA one more time with the Miami Heat, where he averaged just 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Oden would make several more attempts at returning to the game since 2014, but none of these opportunities stuck. Largely regarded as a bust, Oden could have been a solid player, if not for his poor health.

Despite that, his career can reasonably be considered better than Bennett’s, and his production when healthy keeps him off the bottom of this list.

Career averages: 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game