Former No. 1 Pick Reflects on Tenure With Heat

Former No. 1 pick Greg Oden reflected on what it was like to play his lone season with the Miami Heat. On the September 3 episode of “The OGs Podcast”, Oden talked about his time with Miami alongside Heat alumni Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.

Oden singled out LeBron James and Dwyane Wade during his brief time there.

“Being around that team, I seen a different level of basketball,” Oden said. “The things that LeBron James and [Dwyane Wade] would do that a f***ing 13-year-old wouldn’t even do right now.”

The Heat signed Oden a year after Oden’s last season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Oden was not much of a factor when the Heat went on their 2014 NBA Finals run. He appeared in 23 games, averaging 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 9.2 minutes a game. He only appeared in three playoff games for the Heat.

Miami was Oden’s last NBA stop before he went overseas for one more season of professional basketball. Oden was not their only reclamation project; they also brought back Michael Beasley, who didn’t factor much into their success that season.

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Greg Oden is Regarded Among NBA Busts

Oden came into the NBA with lofty expectations. The Trail Blazers drafted him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft over Kevin Durant, whom the Seattle SuperSonics took with the next pick.

He came into the NBA expecting to be a franchise player, but injuries hindered his career. He suffered a season-ending knee injury before his rookie season started in 2007. His lone reasonably healthy season was the 2008-09 season with the Trail Blazers. In 61 games, Oden averaged 11.1 points,seven rebounds, and 2.3 blocks while shooting 56.4% from the field.

Oden looked like he was improving before suffering another season-ending injury the following year. He then missed the next three seasons rehabbing from injuries. After his brief tenure in Miami, Oden was done in the NBA.

Oden is regarded as a bust because he never reached his potential as the No. 1 pick. However, his career did not pan out for reasons beyond his control. When he had a clean bill of health, Oden’s talent was unquestionable. His lack of availability proved to be too big of an obstacle.

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Greg Oden Comments on Bust Label

In 2016, Oden went on the record saying that, “I’ll be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history,” while talking with ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. While talking with Haslem on the podcast, he revised that sentiment. Oden explained why he sees it a little differently now compared to then.

“Once I said it, a lot of people came out and was like, ‘no, he’s not,’ but at the time, I was a number one pick, I got injured all the time, I rarely played… Technically, if I’m looking at it and KD is just so great that when you look at it, I’m technically one of the biggest busts of all time.”

Oden never got a fair chance to show how good he was. Because Durant panned out as well as he has, he unintentionally makes Oden look worse, knowing what the Trail Blazers could have had.

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