Greg Oden Talks NBA Draft Failure and Mike Conley

Greg Oden is giving himself a little grace.

The 2006 IndyStar Mr. Basketball, No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and current Butler assistant basketball coach is no longer considered the biggest bust in NBA history.

Oden joined “The OGs Podcast,” hosted by former Miami Heat teammates Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, and addressed his comment from years ago that he considered himself the biggest failure.

Oden recalls his mindset in 2016: “No. 1 pick. Injured all the time. I played very little. (Kevin Durant is) just great. Technically, when you break it down, I’m one of the biggest failures.”

He said many people disagreed with that assessment at the time and that he has come to terms with his career. He appeared in 105 games over three seasons with Portland and Miami, averaging 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds. He missed four full seasons because of injuries.

Durant was the second pick in the 2007 draft.

Haslem noted that Oden’s situation differs from that of Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft who appeared in 151 games and scored 4.4 points without suffering any major injuries.

Oden noted his excitement about joining the Bulldogs’ coaching staff, adding that he earned a master’s degree from Ohio State this summer. He played one season for the Buckeyes before turning pro, leading them to the 2007 national championship game.

Greg Oden says Mike Conley once pissed him off

Oden and Conley were teammates at Lawrence North High School, where they won three consecutive state championships, and for one year at Ohio State. Conley is one of the nicest people in the NBA and it seems like no one has a bad word to say about him. But Conley did anger Oden once during a practice.

“We never played on the same team when we were playing pickup. He had my brother (on his team). It was one of five times in my life that I got the ball dunked on, he assisted my brother. I swear to God I dunked in the next 20 plays. I was kicking everybody’s ass for the fact that he (assisted) my brother to dunk on me. That hurt me. I was actually pissed. There were a couple (illegal) interceptions, shoulder shoves.”

Here is the full podcast.

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Greg Oden Talks NBA Draft Failure and Mike Conley

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Greg Oden says Mike Conley once pissed him off

By S. Jacob

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