Top 10 Worst NBA Draft Busts 2008-2013
10. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, drafted number two overall in 2012 finds himself just on the edge of bust territory. While it's still early to tell whether or not MKG will be a true bust like some of the others on the list, he is certainly trending in the wrong direction. After being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets (Bobcats at the time) for his athleticism and ability to slash, Kidd-Gilchrist has disappointed tremendously. Many believed MKG would be able to develop into a usable perimeter player, but that has not worked out. With a career 3-pt average of 20.6%, MKG is one of the worst shooters in the league. To accentuate this point, he actually shot 0% from beyond the arc in the '14-'15 season. The reason Kidd-Gilchrist finds himself in the better part of this list comes from his ability to be serviceable on both ends of the floor. He has the length and athleticism to score opportune baskets on the offensive side and can be a warm body on the defensive end. Being drafted ahead of guys like Damian Lillard and Andre Drummond leaves MKG in bust territory.
9. Michael Beasley
During the 2008 NBA draft, many actually believed that Beasley would compete with Derrick Rose for years to come. As we know, Rose ended up becoming the youngest MVP in league history and Beasley became a fixture on benches throughout the league. Beasley actually started his career as a solid rotation player with the Heat and Timberwolves, but has since been unable to find a long term option in the NBA. He has since bounced around between NBA benches and China, but will likely forever be known as the guy drafted after Derrick Rose. Oh and he was also drafted ahead of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, both of whom Miami would have taken in a heartbeat, but alas hindsight is 20/20 and Miami ended up doing alright.
8. Ekpe Udoh
Golden State drafted Udoh out of Baylor with the 6th pick of the 2010 NBA draft. Udoh certainly never reached the potential that the Warriors thought they were getting from the big man as his career averages are that of a player who got garbage time minutes exclusively. Drafted ahead of studs like Paul George and Gordon Hayward puts Udoh in the "bust" category. There are multiple players drafted after Udoh who ended up having stellar careers such as Greg Monroe, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, and Avery Bradley. It's obviously easy to look back and see how terrible of a pick Udoh would have been, but one could argue that wiffing in 2010 kept the Warriors in the lottery for years to come which eventually led to being in a position to draft Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Harrison Barnes, all of whom helped carry Golden State to their first title.
7. Evan Turner
As another bust from the 2010 NBA Draft, Evan Turner who was picked by the Philadelphia 76ers has been able to salvage a serviceable career in the NBA so far. The reason Turner gets the nod over Udoh is the fact that he was the number two pick who never seemed to live up to the potential he had. Everything I mentioned about Udoh can be said for Turner as well, while also adding in the fact that Turner was drafted ahead of All-NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins as well. Passing on Cousins, Paul George, and Gordon Hayward is hard to defend knowing what we know now, but at the time Evan Turner looked like an amazing young start with many all-star games in his future. Unfortunately, like everyone on this list, Turner didn't live up to expectations.
6. Derrick Williams
A theme begins to emerge here as Derrick Williams was the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite his freakish athleticism, Williams was never able to live up to the potential he showed while playing at Arizona. Caught between a too-small power forward and a too-big small forward, Williams was unable to find his place topping out at a measly 12 PPG and 5.5 RPG on an awful Minnesota team in his second year. Williams was selected ahead of a swath of future star players including Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler, all of whom have since found their way onto All-NBA teams in recent years. The talent he was selected ahead of is the primary reason he finds himself at number six on this list.
5. Jan Vesely
The Washington Wizards drafted the Czech prospect with the sixth pick in the NBA, thinking they had just found themselves a starting big for years to come. Instead, Vesely spent a mere three seasons with the team before being shipped off to Denver. Vesely has since found some success in the EuroLeague, securing a EuroLeague title with Fenerbahce this past year. Vesely was also picked ahead of Klay, Kawhi, and Jimmy Butler, but even if the Wizards would have simply gone with one of the Morris twins they would have at least had a serviceable big man. Vesely produced nearly nothing in the NBA, which is why he finds himself at the mid-point of this list.
4. Thomas Robinson
The Sacramento Kings took Thomas Robinson with the fifth pick of the 2012 NBA draft, and as many Kings picks tend to do, Robinson was an utter disappointment. While the 2012 NBA draft is known for being very shallow, the Kings still had the opportunity to take Damian Lillard or Andre Drummond, both of which were drafted in the picks following Robinson. Part of the reason for Robinson's lack of growth as a basketball player likely falls on the dysfunctional organization he was drafted into, but Robinson was quickly traded that year to Houston. Robinson has since played for six teams in seven years and has never really had the opportunity to find his niche on any team. Even with all this going against him, Robinson still makes this list due to his sheer disappointment after looking so promising coming out of college at Kansas.
3. Jonny Flynn
Flynn actually has some of the better career averages on this list, but much of that is due to the horrible Minnesota team that drafted him with the sixth pick of the 2009 NBA draft. All of Flynn's career high averages came in his rookie season, primarily due to the volume of minutes he played by being thrust into the starting lineup of a very bad team. Flynn managed to play only four years in the NBA due to being unable to return to form after hip surgery. The biggest reason for Flynn taking a spot so high on this list is the group of players at his position that he was drafted ahead of. Here's the quick list: Steph Curry, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Patrick Beverley, and Patty Mills, all of whom have had at least servicable careers with Steph Curry being the best of the bunch.
2. Hasheem Thabeet
Hasheem Thabeet comes in at number two on this list for a variety of reasons. Firstly, he was selected with the number two overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft ahead of the likes of James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Steph Curry, who have all gone on to make an All-NBA team. Secondly, Thabeet has some of the lowest career averages of all of the players on this list. At 7'3, Thabeet should have at least averaged more than 2.7 RPG. Thabeet just never seemed to understand the game at an NBA level where the bigs were stronger and faster than he was and bullied him in the paint. Thabeet easily could have been number one on the list after being drafted ahead of two, potentially three, hall of famers.
1. Anthony Bennett
Anthony Bennett will likely go down as one of the worst number one picks in the history of the NBA. Part of me wanted to put Bennett lower on the list due to the fact that the 2013 draft class is notorious for being one of the worst in history, but being the number one pick and producing what really amounted to a pocket full of spare change seemed like the right fit for the top spot on this list. Probably the best thing that Bennett did for his team was being traded by the Cavaliers along with Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. After just four measly years of bouncing between the NBA and the D-League, Bennett took his talents to Europe where he won a EuroLeague championship with the number five player on this list, Jan Vesely. The pressure started the day Bennett was drafted as the pick was met with large amounts of criticism due to the fact that Bennett was not seen as a top overall talent. Such is life though and Bennett will still go down as one of the most disappointing picks of the modern era.
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