The NBA Draft is where hope gets a handshake, a hat, and a whole lot of projection. Fans and teams alike shake in their sneakers just waiting for the next big name to get signed—and though sometimes it works beautifully, other times, you get a painful reminder that potential doesn’t cash itself in. Here are five bust draft picks that shone for their expectations, even though the payoff never matched the hype.
Anthony Bennett
Bennett is the modern poster child for draft confusion. The surprise of him going first only grew louder once he played. Injuries, conditioning questions, and an awkward fit kept him from finding a stable role, and his NBA impact never came close to No. 1-pick standards.
Greg Oden
Oden’s story wasn’t stunted because he refused to play—it was because he just couldn’t stay healthy. It was the kind of snuffed-out light that still hurts if you’re a Blazers fan. He had the size and defensive instincts to anchor a contender, but repeated knee injuries derailed his career before it could properly begin. The tragedy is that, in brief flashes, you could see what the hype was about.
Kwame Brown
Being the first high school player taken No. 1 came with an intense spotlight, and Brown never escaped it. He had a long NBA career, but despite it all, he just never really became the franchise-changing big man people imagined.
Darko Miličić
The 2003 draft was stacked with legends, which makes Darko’s selection even more infamous. He had talent. He had size. But he never developed into the cornerstone Detroit hoped for. Though, to be fair, if you were drafted ahead of LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, and Bosh, history’s going to be ruthless.
Sam Bowie
Bowie wasn’t a bad player in a vacuum, but drafts don’t happen in a vacuum, and that’s the problem. Portland picked him ahead of Michael Jordan, and injuries kept him from rewriting that narrative with his own greatness. Fair or not, you can’t be the guy chosen before MJ and expect to get gentle reviews.
