Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden revealed he wanted to stay at Ohio State rather than enter the 2007 NBA Draft, but his coach urged him to turn pro. Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers, Oden’s promising NBA career was ultimately derailed by chronic knee injuries.
One of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ in NBA history, Greg Oden has shared a story about his time before the 2007 NBA Draft, where he was chosen as the first overall pick.
Position
C
Age
38
Height
213 cm
Weight
129 kg
Birth place
Buffalo, United States of America
Talking on the Road Trippin’ Show, Oden revealed that he did not expect to be taken as the first pick in the Draft and wanted to return to Ohio State, where he had played before:
“I actually wanted to go back to college, but my coach actually laughed in my face when I told him that I wanted to come back. He said, ‘This dude, you’re going to be a top-two pick. Like, you have to go.’ He said he would do me a disservice if he let me come back to college.”
Greg Oden’s unfortunate NBA career
Oden was drafted in 2007 by the Portland Trail Blazers, but he made his debut only in 2008, since he had surgery on his knee in September of 2007 and had to miss the entire season.
He experienced minor injuries during the 2008-09 season, but missed most of the next season after another knee injury.
After suffering another few major injuries and missing a lot of time, Oden was waived by the Trail Blazers in 2012.
Oden signed a one-year deal with the Miami Heat in 2013, where he returned to court in January of 2014 after last having played a regular season game in 2009.
The center then had a stint in China and didn’t have any professional playing opportunities after that.
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