The spring of 2016 saw some legends of the game call it a day… Superstars Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, among others. The same year, Greg Oden, once a star for the Portland Trail Blazers, retired from the sport after a short stint with the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association.
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Oden’s career, however, never reached the stellar heights it was expected to attain. In 2007, when Portland drafted the center, he was considered to be among the young talents who would replace the old guard in the NBA. The Ohio State star was even selected before Kevin Durant as the No. 1 pick in the draft that year.
However, Oden hung up his boots at 28, with just 66 career NBA starts to his name. Oden once appeared on ESPN and called himself the biggest bust in NBA history, adding that if he could play again, he would, but that is something he doesn’t have control over.
Oden’s career was plagued by injuries. He had significant knee and hip issues that had followed him since his childhood. He underwent multiple microfracture surgeries during his career. To make matters worse, he would also find himself in trouble involving alcohol and domestic abuse.
Former Denver Nuggets star Andre Miller remembered Oden on the All The Smoke podcast recently. Miller believes Oden could have had the world in the palm of his hands if his knees had shouldered the burden of his talents.
“I was actually on the court when Greg Oden blew out that knee,” Miller revealed. “He was like another version of the … the newcoming of Shaq,” Miller added.
“Another version like that big, that athletic, and he could play with both hands. To have him and Brandon Roy … both of those guys were special, man. I wish they were healthy,” the former Trail Blazers star asserted, comparing Oden to Shaquille O’Neal.
Miller doesn’t think that Oden was a bust since they did have a rather good run, even pushing the 2011 NBA championship-winning Dallas Mavericks to the brink.“I think the one year we lost to Dallas, Dallas ended up winning the championship that year … We pushed them. That was a good series,” Miller reminisced, with a hint of regret in his voice.
Oden would feel the same about that run the same way. Just that in his case, the heartbreak has to be far worse, considering the fate of his career was taken out of his hands.
Oden wished to play more with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy
When he became the No.1 draft pick over Durant, Portland had hoped that Oden would form a distinguished trio with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
“We were super young, and I rarely got to play with them. Those dudes were so talented. Brandon Roy, always welcome… LaMarcus, man, one of the most unstoppable guys,” Oden said on the Club 520 podcast last year.
Oden He had cherished the dream to help build that Portland squad, especially with the talent they had to play with at the time… Players like Steve Blake, Miller, and Gerald Wallace.
Notably, when Oden, Albridge, and Roy were active, Portland had an incredible 52-10 record to boast about. They were championship-caliber players. But somehow, that window slipped away.
