Striking gold in the NBA Draft is one of the toughest things to do. Scouts, analysts, and front offices are often making comparisons but sometimes, projections and intangibles are way off from reality.
There are multiple aspects that can end up defining a player’s path and career. Poor coaching, a bad work ethic, tough luck, and even an injury could take a toll on a talented player seemingly destined for stardom, and vice versa.
More often than not, we’ve seen prospects prove their critics wrong by outplaying their draft stock and demonstrating that they have what it takes to become an NBA superstar. And you can’t always measure that.
Bottom-feeding teams aren’t always known for making sound decisions. That’s why we’ve seen the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, and even Cleveland Cavaliers struggle despite constantly having top-10 draft picks.
With that in mind, let’s talk about those prospects who, despite being touted and considered to be “stars in the making”, could never live up to that status and failed in the league. Here, we share the top 20 biggest NBA draft busts of all time.
20. Joe Smith
Joe Smith is the perfect example of how not to use a Draft pick. The Golden State Warriors took him with the first overall pick in a stacked class of 1995, yet he didn’t even last three seasons with the team. Despite having a promising rookie season, he was never able to live up to the expectations that come with being first overall.
Averaging roughly 10 points per game, he played for the Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) over a sixteen-year NBA career.
Also, he went ahead of true NBA stars like Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, Jerry Stackhouse, and Michael Finley.
19. Greg Oden
This one always breaks my heart. It’s hard to blame a player for getting hurt and Greg Oden was actually pretty good when he was on the court. He was strong, physical, and a force on both ends of the floor.
The problem was that he was rarely healthy, missing his rookie season with a knee injury and only being able to play for two years before walking away for three seasons. You could constantly see the frustration and sadness on his face when escorted out of the court.
Oden was a beast in college and was taken first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, one pick ahead of Kevin Durant. The Portland Trail Blazers could’ve also taken Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Marc Gasol, or Mike Conley with that pick, but Oden looked like a can’t-miss talent.
18. Markelle Fultz
Even though it’s still quite early in his career, chances are that Markelle Fultz will never be able to live up to the hype and expectations around him. We’re talking about a guy who literally forgot how to shoot, and NBA scouts still can’t figure out exactly what went wrong with him or how to fix him.
Often injured, Fultz’s poor shooting and lack of confidence derailed what seemed to be a perennial All-Star kind of NBA career. He’s played in 14, 19, 72, 8, and 18 games in a season since entering the NBA, and he may not even be a starter for the Orlando Magic once he comes back from yet another injury.
Instead, the Philadelphia 76ers could’ve had Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, or Donovan Mitchell. Hopefully, he’ll prove us wrong and break out, but that seems unlikely.
17. Steve Stipanovich
Standing at 7’1”, the Indiana Pacers hoped that Steve Stipanovich would be as good if not better than Ralph Sampson, who went first overall. That’s why they didn’t sweat when the Houston Rockets won the coin toss for the first pick in that class. Stipanovich had shown glimpses of dominant play during his days in college and was quite efficient during his rookie season as well.
However, his NBA career was derailed by a degenerative left knee injury. He was only able to continue playing basketball for five seasons before being forced to retire. He underwent knee surgery but claimed that he ‘couldn’t even cut his own grass’ afterward.
Notably, the Pacers could’ve used that pick on Jeff Malone, Byron Scott, Darrell Harper, Doc Rivers, Dale Ellis, or Clyde Drexler instead.
16. Stromile Swift
An athletic freak, it was easy to realize why the Vancouver Grizzlies were enticed by Stromile Swift ahead of the 2000 NBA Draft. And, all things considered, he did have a solid career there as he stood put during their transition to Memphis, but he was never good enough to live up to what one would expect from a second-overall pick.
Swift averaged 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game on 47% from the floor and 7% from beyond the arc. Yeah, that’s not a typo. He shot SEVEN percent from the three-point range.
He also played for the Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, and Phoenix Suns in his nine seasons in the NBA. Notably, the Grizzlies could’ve used that pick to get Jamal Crawford, Mike Miller, Hedo Turkoglu, Michael Redd, or Quentin Richardson.
15. Bill McGill
Bill McGill was the first-overall pick of the 1962 NBA Draft, which was an easy call after watching him average nearly 40 points per game in his final season at the University of Utah. He was the inventor of the jump hook and was poised to dominate from start to finish. However, he was only a professional for seven seasons.
McGill bounced around the NBA and the ABA, playing for the Chicago Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Rockets, Los Angeles Stars, and Dallas Chaparrals.
He couldn’t handle the league’s competitiveness and was broke and on the streets by the end of his career. Instead, they could’ve drafted John Havlicek, Chet Walker, Terry Dischinger, or Zelmo Beaty.
14. Nikoloz Tskitishvili
The Denver Nuggets made a huge mistake when they took Nikoloz Tskitishvili with the fifth-overall pick in the 2002 Draft. He had thrived under Mike D’Antoni in Italy and looked poised to dominate overseas, but his game never translated to the NBA.
Standing at 7’0” and reeking of athleticism, Tskitishvili could play both forward spots and even at center. But he struggled with the NBA’s physicality and was back in Europe after just four years.
Moreover, the Nuggets took him ahead of the likes of Nene Hilario, Amar’e Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Carlos Boozer, and Tayshaun Prince.
13. Thomas Robinson
Thomas Robinson spent five years in the league and played for six different franchises. That should tell you just enough about how wrong the Sacramento Kings were when they took him with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 Draft. He left everything on the floor night in and night out, but the talent just wasn’t there.
Robinson made 319 career appearances but never scored more than 23 points. He struggled against bigger players and could never create any sort of separation on the offensive end.
He’s not even in the NBA anymore and was taken ahead of Andre Drummond, Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Khris Middleton.
12. Adam Morrison
Following an impressive stint at Gonzaga, Adam Morrison looked like one of the most promising players in the 2006 NBA Draft, up to the point where some debated whether he should’ve been taken first overall on the very same draft night. Fast-forward to today and he’s considered one of the worst NBA Draft picks of all time, as he was out of the league after just five seasons.
He was supposed to be an elite three-point shooter but his game never developed. His shot wasn’t falling at a high clip and he could never get back from a knee injury suffered in his second season.
To make things even worse, the Charlotte Bobcats took him before Brandon Roy, Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo, and Paul Millsap.
11. Kent Benson
Kent Benson made it to the NBA Draft with high regard from his days in college. He was a part of the legendary undefeated Indiana Hoosiers squad that won 31 games and the 1977 National Championship. But his days in the NBA were far as successful as his stint in the NCAA.
Benson went first overall to the Milwaukee Bucks but averaged roughly 7.7 PPG in his first year in the league and was mostly known for taking a big punch from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after elbowing him in the face two minutes into his first game in the NBA.
He spent most of his career with the Pistons and had brief stints with the Jazz and Cavaliers and was out of the league by 1988. He went ahead of Jack Sikma, Bernard King, and Norm Nixon.
10. Chris Washburn
What if I told you the Golden State Warriors were supposed to land a superstar but he was out of the league after two seasons? Moreover, what if I told you he played just one season there before being traded in his second year? Well, that was the case with Chris Washburn, who went third overall in the infamous 1986 NBA Draft.
Washburn could never shake off his issues with drugs and alcohol. He failed three drug tests and was handed a lifetime ban from the NBA. He averaged roughly 3 points and 2 rebounds per game despite being one of the most promising prospects.
Notably, that draft class also featured the late Len Bias, who died after overdosing on cocaine and was expected to be one of the greatest players of all time.
9. Robert Traylor
The Milwaukee Bucks made one of the biggest draft-night mistakes in league history back in the 1998 NBA Draft. They agreed to a trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor, who went sixth overall and was immediately traded for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity.
Traylor spent just two seasons with the Bucks before being traded away to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged under five a contest and never scored more than 22 points in an NBA game.
Nowitzki went on to become an All-Star and perhaps the greatest shooting big man of all time. But even if they weren’t sold on him, the Bucks could’ve still landed Paul Pierce or Rashard Lewis.
8. Mark Workman
Mark Workman looked like a sure-fire All-Star material after his impressive career at West Virginia. He was a bruising big man expected to help the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Hawks become a powerhouse, yet he looked lost and completely outplayed as soon as he set foot in training camp.
He was traded midway through his rookie season and was only able to play for two seasons before the Baltimore Bullets realized he simply wasn’t NBA material. That’s why not many young fans have even heard about him to this day.
Throughout his brief career, Workman averaged 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game on 33.1% from the floor. Also, the Hawks could’ve gone with Hall of Famer Clyde Lovellette, who slipped to the ninth pick.
7. Sam Bowie
Once again, the Portland Trail Blazers could’ve had a franchise-changing player but ended up with one of the biggest Draft busts instead. That’s just the way it’s gone for this franchise over the years.
They could’ve taken some guy named Michael Jordan out of UNC, but didn’t want him next to Clyde Drexler as they played the same position. Needless to say, that’s the kind of call that gets a President of Basketball Operations fired.
They took Sam Bowie with the second-overall pick. And while his numbers weren’t bad and his rookie season was quite solid, he just wasn’t Michael Jordan. It was somewhat of a waste of a lottery pick, as they could’ve also gotten John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, or Kevin Willis.
6. Hasheem Thabeet
Hasheem Thabeet was by far the best rim protector in his class entering the 2000 Draft. He averaged more than 4 blocks a game in college and nearly a double-double at 10+ points and 8 rebounds.
Thabeet was a 7’3” specimen poised to become an elite shot-blocker but that was never the case. He bounced around the NBA in four seasons and has spent most of the time in the G-League with little-to-no success.
Sadly, the Grizzlies could’ve used that pick on James Harden, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan, or Jeff Teague instead. Yikes!
5. LaRue Martin
A signature performance against Bill Walton’s UCLA granted LaRue Martin the opportunity of becoming a lottery pick. Moreover, the Portland Trail Blazers were bold enough to take him first overall before he came back for his senior season.
Then again, Martin’s poor play would show them how big of a mistake they had made as soon as he played in his first preseason game. He failed to step up and develop and was out of the league in no time.
Martin was out of the league after just four seasons in the NBA. He shot 41% from the floor despite spending most of the time in the restricted area and had a career-high of 22 points. To make things even worst, the Trail Blazers could’ve had Bob McAdoo, Paul Westphal, Don Buse, Jim Price, or Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving instead.
4. Michael Olowokandi
The Los Angeles Clippers weren’t exactly the team to beat back in the day. But they hoped to turn their franchise around when they took bruising big man Michael Olowokandi with the first-overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.
Olowokandi was a physical specimen who didn’t even play basketball until he was 18. The physical traits were there but he was a huge gamble nonetheless.
He ended up averaging roughly 8 points per game and was out of the league after eight seasons. Instead, the Los Angeles Clippers could’ve had a legit All-Star such as Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, or Dirk Nowitzki.
3. Darko Milicic
You don’t have to be a basketball savant to know that a player should be very good if you were drafted ahead of future Hall of Famers like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
But that’s not the case with Darko Milicic. The Detroit Pistons took him right after the Cleveland Cavaliers took LeBron James first overall in 2003, and they did win the NBA championship in his very first season.
Milicic, however, had little to do with that championship and was out of the league nine seasons later. A questionable draft pick regardless of how you see it, Milicic averaged roughly 6.0 points per game. He’s one of the biggest NBA Draft busts despite being a part of one of the best draft classes of all time.
2. Kwame Brown
For years, Kwame Brown has been the butt of the joke around NBA circles. Players, fans, and even analysts have had a field day talking about how bad of a pick and a player he was. Considered one of the worst busts in NBA history, the Washington Wizards took him straight out of high school.
He had small hands, wasn’t mobile, couldn’t score, and was mentally destroyed by both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Up to this day, he still goes online to defend himself after being constantly harassed and called out by the NBA community.
Brown played like a guy who simply couldn’t handle the pressure and averaged 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 11 seasons, and was drafted before Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, Tyson Chandler, Tony Parker, Gerald Wallace, Zach Randolph, and Gilbert Arenas.
1. Anthony Bennett
Even Cleveland Cavaliers’ insiders were shocked when they took Anthony Bennett with the first-overall pick in 2013. He looked out of shape, out of place, and mentally out of sync through his entire rookie season and things didn’t change much in the years after.
Bennett was out of the league after four seasons and played for four different franchises, averaging 4.4 points on 39% from the floor. He’s now playing in Taiwan after multiple failed stints overseas and isn’t likely to ever make an NBA comeback. Also, He was taken ahead of Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gobert, CJ McCollum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
At least, he was a part of the trade that sent Kevin Love to Cleveland, so he’s somewhat responsible for their title in 2016. I guess.
