Greg Oden, No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft, made headlines again last week for calling himself the “biggest bust in NBA history.” (Never mind he said the same thing two years ago.)
Kevin Durant says it’s ‘nonsense’ to call Greg Oden a bust
Oden’s career was drastically shortened due to knee problems, but the player picked a spot after him doesn’t think that reflects poorly on him.
Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
But Kevin Durant, who went one spot after him, doesn’t agree with that at all.
“Nonsense. That’s nonsense,” Durant told ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “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 both seen as can’t-miss prospects coming into 2007, but Oden was the consensus first overall selection by nearly everyone. Portland picked him up, while Durant went No. 2 to the Seattle Supersonics.
But Oden missed the entirety of his first season because of microfracture surgery, and it never got much better. After 61 games the following season, Oden played just 44 games the rest of his career.
Durant continued: “He didn’t want to get hurt. That was the last thing he wanted to do was to get hurt. That wasn’t even in the cards, and he got injured and that was unfortunate. But when he did play, he was a force. Protecting the paint. They were so good with him and LaMarcus down low, with Brandon Roy [and] Andre Miller at the time. They had a nice team. So he was a big part of that. He’s not a bust. He just didn’t play a long time because of injuries, and that’s just what it is.”
Durant, of course, won the 2014 NBA MVP and has more than 20,000 career points.
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