Greg Oden and Anthony Bennett: Comparing and Contrasting Biggest Big Man Busts

Greg Oden and Anthony Bennett. What do they have in common? Well let’s see: They we’re both the #1 pick in the NBA draft, they both were seen as stars coming out of college, and they both failed in the NBA. But what common fans might not know is that while they were plenty similar, they had some pretty major differences.

Greg Oden was the #1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft. He played one year of college basketball at Ohio State University and averaged 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game. He was a 7 foot tall center and weighed 250 pounds. He was also a McDonalds All-American in high school. After his one year in college, he was named the 2006-2007 big ten rookie of the year, the big ten defensive player of the year, the big ten tourney MVP, and was named to the big ten all freshmen team, all big ten team, all defense team, and all tournament team. After he accumulated all these awards, he was the #1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft.

Anthony Bennett was the #1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He played his one and only college season at UNLV, which stands for the University of Las Vegas. He is 6’8” and weighs 240 pounds. Bennett was also a McDonalds All American in high school. During his one and only season at college, he averaged 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. While he put up slightly better stats then Oden, he was playing in a less competitive conference, and was compared to Shaq on draft night, because of his dominance in high school and college.

The reason Greg Oden failed in the NBA was because of injuries. He had multiple injuries throughout the course of his career, and they caused him to retire early. It didn’t help his case that Kevin Durant was chosen with the #2 pick in the 2007 draft and is now the second greatest player of our generation.

Anthony Bennett, on the other hand, failed in the league because he lacked the fundamentals and got by on his frame and strength. Those two things were how he dominated in high school and college. He had no jump shot, wasn’t even an average defender in the NBA, and when he had to play against NBA competition, he fizzled out. It also didn’t help that Anthony Bennett was drafted WAY to early, and too much pressure was put on him. A lot of analysts had him pegged as going anywhere from 6th to 8th. The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, decided to draft him #1 when they instead could have drafted future all-star Victor Oladipo, or future MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Two #1 overall picks, two busts, and two completely different stories. When we look back, it’s amazing how different they are, even when we put them in the same category.

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