Biggest NBA Draft Busts of All Time

The biggest NBA draft busts are top picks whose careers fell far short of their selection, and the names that top almost every list are Anthony Bennett, Greg Oden and Sam Bowie. This is analysis rather than an official record, so treat the ranking as a widely-shared verdict, not a fixed stat.

A bust is not just a bad player; it is a bad outcome relative to expectation. A second-round flop is a footnote. A number-one pick who never starts is a franchise-altering mistake, because of everything given up to take him. With that definition in mind, here are the players most often called the NBA’s biggest busts, and the context that makes each case what it is.

The most notorious NBA draft busts

The table ranks the players most widely regarded as busts, with the pick that defines each case. “Drafted ahead of” is where several of these reputations were sealed.

Player	Pick (year)	Team	Why it stings
Anthony Bennett	1st (2013)	Cleveland Cavaliers	Averaged ~4.4 ppg, out of the NBA within four years
Greg Oden	1st (2007)	Portland Trail Blazers	Taken ahead of Kevin Durant; knees ended his career
Sam Bowie	2nd (1984)	Portland Trail Blazers	Taken one spot ahead of Michael Jordan
Kwame Brown	1st (2001)	Washington Wizards	First prep-to-pro number one; never a star
Darko Miličić	2nd (2003)	Detroit Pistons	Taken ahead of Anthony, Bosh and Wade
Michael Olowokandi	1st (1998)	Los Angeles Clippers	Number one in a loaded class, never delivered

Notice how many are number-one picks. That is the whole logic of the list: the higher the selection, the further there is to fall.

Anthony Bennett: the steepest fall

Bennett is the modern shorthand for a draft bust. Cleveland took him first overall in 2013, a surprise on the night, and he never came close to justifying it. He averaged roughly 4.4 points per game, bounced between teams, and was out of the league within a few seasons. For a number-one pick to wash out that fast is rare, and it is why his name leads most lists despite the many busts before him.

Greg Oden and Sam Bowie: the Portland double

Portland owns two of the most painful cases, and both hinge on the player taken next. In 2007 the Blazers chose Greg Oden first overall, one spot ahead of Kevin Durant. Oden had real ability, but a run of knee injuries limited him to around 100 games across a broken career. In 1984 the same franchise took Sam Bowie second, directly ahead of Michael Jordan.

Both picks looked reasonable at the time and disastrous in hindsight. Neither Oden nor Bowie was a fraud as a prospect; injuries did most of the damage. But because Durant and Jordan went right after them, the selections became permanent teaching examples of draft risk.

Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi: the number-one misses

Kwame Brown, the first pick in 2001, was the first high schooler ever taken number one, and he never grew into a star, though he did carve out a decade-plus as a backup big man. Michael Olowokandi went first in 1998, ahead of a class that included several long-term contributors, and remained a middling center throughout. Both are reminders that a bust does not have to flame out instantly; simply being ordinary is enough when you are the top pick.

Darko Miličić and the class that got away

The 2003 case is the cruelest, because of who followed. Detroit took Darko Miličić second overall, then watched Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade come off the board at three, four and five. All three became franchise players; Miličić never found a role. The pick is not remembered for how bad he was so much as for the parade of stars drafted right behind him.

How to read the “bust” label fairly

Calling a player a bust is a judgment, and the honest version accounts for context. Injuries wrecked Oden and Bowie. Bad development situations hurt others. A fairer framing weighs what a player could control against what he could not, rather than mocking a name because a legend went next. For the flip side of this story, our list of number-one draft picks in the NBA tracks the top selections who did deliver, and the most NBA championships by a player shows what a hit at the top of the draft can eventually build. Think you can spot talent better than these front offices? Draft your own roster and chase a perfect run in 82-0. The busts endure because the stakes at the top of the draft are so high, and the players taken next never let anyone forget.

Frequently asked questions

What makes an NBA player a draft bust?+

A bust is defined by the gap between draft position and production. A late pick who struggles is just a miss, but a top-five or number-one pick who never becomes a rotation-level starter is a bust, because so much was invested and passed up to take him. The label is about unmet expectation relative to where a player was chosen.

Who is considered the biggest NBA draft bust of all time?+

Opinions vary, but Anthony Bennett is the most common pick. He went first overall in 2013 and averaged about 4.4 points per game, washing out of the NBA within a few years, an unusually steep fall for a number-one selection. Greg Oden and Sam Bowie are the other names most often named the biggest bust.

Was Sam Bowie only a bust because Michael Jordan came next?+

Largely, yes. Bowie went second in 1984, one spot ahead of Jordan, so the pick looks catastrophic in hindsight. But Bowie was a genuinely skilled center whose career was wrecked by chronic leg injuries. Judged on his own, he was an unlucky injury case; judged against the player taken right after him, he is a permanent cautionary tale.

Which stars were drafted after Darko Miličić in 2003?+

Detroit took Darko Miličić second overall in 2003, ahead of Carmelo Anthony (third), Chris Bosh (fourth) and Dwyane Wade (fifth). All three became All-Stars and Hall of Fame-level players, while Miličić never established himself. That run of talent drafted just behind him is why the pick is a fixture on bust lists.

Did any famous bust still have a long career?+

Yes. Kwame Brown, the first pick in 2001, never became a star but played more than a decade in the NBA as a backup big man. A long career as a role player is not what a number-one pick promises, which is why he is still labeled a bust, but he lasted far longer than harder busts like Anthony Bennett.

Is Greg Oden a bust or just an injury case?+

Both, depending on how you frame it. Oden showed real ability when healthy, but repeated knee injuries limited him to a handful of seasons and 100-odd games. Taken first ahead of Kevin Durant, the pick is a bust by outcome, though most fans view it as a tragedy of injuries rather than a failure of talent.

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