What Happened to Greg Oden? He was slender and jumped through the air with the youthful enthusiasm of someone half his age. As the ball dropped in his hand, he had a look of wonder and pure joy on his face. It’s a picture that college basketball fans of a certain age will never forget: Ohio State student Greg Oden grabbing a loose ball with one hand free and the other hand wrapped in black medical tape.
The country went crazy over Oden’s outstretched board, mostly because 2K Sports insisted on using it as the main image for its college hoops video game “College Hoops 2K8.”
Oden was a big deal on campus in Columbus. He was a quick jumper with a drop step that made it hard for defenders to keep up with him. His skill was so great that he was taken with the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. That year’s No. 2 pick? Future NBA MVP Kevin Durant.
Injury after injury put an end to Oden’s career quickly and without much fanfare. Many people wrongly called Oden the biggest draft bust in the history of the league. His name became a symbol of bad luck for the Blazers, right between the LaRue Martin and Sam Bowie picks and Brandon Roy’s knee problems. Oden’s time in the NBA ended before it should have. But he didn’t stop being involved in the sport when he took off his shoes.
What Happened to Greg Oden?
Injury-prone is the best way to describe Greg Oden‘s success as a player. That probably doesn’t give a true picture of Oden’s health. Before he joined the NBA, there was no reason to think that Oden, a skinny but strong 7-footer, would spend as much time on the bench as he did as a pro.
The man from Indianapolis wasn’t just good, he was amazing. Oden was a star on the same AAU team as future NBA players Josh McRoberts, Mike Conley, Daquan Cook, and Eric Gordon. He was the kind of intriguing possibility that makes general managers dream. He was strong enough. He knew how to move. He had a light touch around the basket and moved in a way that made it look like he would play in All-Star games in the future.
Oden’s freshman year at Ohio State was hard because he hurt his right wrist. He still scored more than three blocks and 16 points per game.
Things didn’t work out that way for Oden, though, because he kept getting hurt and couldn’t get over it. He only played in 105 NBA regular-season games, and all the stops and starts made it hard for him to find a flow. By 2014, he was no longer good enough.
Oden accepted his early retirement and went back to Columbus to work as a student manager while he got his bachelor’s degree in sport business. After he graduated, Oden joined Edyoucore Sports & Entertainment, a group that helps people in the sports world learn about money. Oden was a sports advisor for the company.
In 2022, he went back to college sports. At Butler, he worked with Thad Matta, who had been the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. His job is to run the business side of basketball. Oden has become a key member of Matta’s team and gives the Bulldogs’ big men advice and tips.
“Just being able to pick his brain, asking him how it was going against other guys, bigger guys, being able to ask him those questions, is great,” center Jalen Thomas told The Ringer. “[He’s] definitely a big part of why I came.”
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Greg Claimed his Injuries Made Him “the Biggest Bust in NBA History”
Greg was so good in high school that college teachers and recruiters came from all over the country just to see him play. The 7-footer chose Ohio State University in the end, but he only played there for one season. Still, Greg helped the team win the Big Ten tournament in 2007 and led them to the title game of the NCAA tournament.
After a short time in college, Greg entered the 2007 NBA Draft. The Portland Trail Blazers picked him with the first overall pick, and he was supposed to be their star player. Things didn’t work out that way, though.
In September 2007, he had surgery on his knee that ended the season. Because of this, he missed the whole 2007-08 NBA season. Greg came back the next year, but he missed most of the season because his knee hurt and he hurt his foot.
Greg hurt his left knee on December 5, 2009, and had surgery right away to fix a broken patella, which is another name for the kneecap. In November 2010, he had another microfracture surgery on his left knee, which meant that his 2010–11 NBA season was over.
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After arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in February 2012, the Trail Blazers chose to let him go to make room on the roster. Soon after, he got a one-year deal with the Miami Heat. After the 2014 NBA Finals, he left the league for good.
Conclusion
Greg Oden, a 7-footer from Ohio State University, was a star on the AAU team and was taken with the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was a quick jumper with a drop step that made it hard for defenders to keep up with him. However, his career ended quickly due to injury, which many people wrongly called the biggest draft bust in NBA history.
Oden accepted his early retirement and worked as a student manager before joining Edyoucore Sports & Entertainment, a group that helps people in the sports world learn about money. In 2022, he returned to college sports, working with Thad Matta, the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Oden claimed his injuries made him the “biggest bust in NBA history.”
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