Several players enter the NBA every year with the dream of reaching the stars, however, only a handful succeed. Unfortunately, Greg Oden failed to etch his name among the stars, resulting in an abrupt end to his professional career. Years later, DeMarcus Cousins reminisced about the marvelous displays of the 2007 number-one pick, using Shaquille O’Neal as a reference.
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“Greg Oden was a f****** monster bro. That motherf***er was like 7’1″ with a 45-inch vertical. He had the jump hook action too. He can run the floor, he was catching lobs. He was the second coming of Shaq bro. He was f***ing 290 [lbs]”.
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This highlighted how Oden possessed the capability of disrupting the NBA. Throughout his high school and college days, the 6ft 11 center emerged as a two-way phenomenon, justifying his selection over an all-time great of Kevin Durant’s caliber. Furthermore, his physicality made him unguardable, paving the way for an impressive start to his journey.
During his rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers, Oden held the fort on his own, registering 8.9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. In the sophomore season, his game began to flourish with an average of 10 points, and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Sadly, he injured his left knee shortly after the start of this season. This was the beginning of his downfall. The player failed to recover properly ever again, forcing him to initially sit out the following three seasons.
Later, he was traded to the Miami Heat but failed to return to his old self. This resulted in an abrupt end to his NBA career, giving rise to one of the biggest ‘what if’ moments in the league’s history.
Just how good was Greg Oden?
Interestingly, Cousins’ remarks made him part of the long list of NBA contemporaries to rave about Oden. Previously, the latter’s one of the former teammates, Brandon Roy, did the same. Last year, he recalled his initial reaction after watching the center in action for the first time, stating,
“I remember calling my dad, and he was like, ‘How good is he?’. We can win a championship. For the first time in my life, playing with him, I was like, ‘We could win a championship’. He was that good”.
This further validated Cousins’ recent statement while justifying the hype around Oden. Much to the fans’ delight, the latter has found a way to attach to the game. Currently, for instance, he is the Director of Basketball Operations for Butler University. So, sooner or later, the 36-year-old could crawl his way back to the league to write the remaining chapters of his story.
