Okay, so last night I was just scrolling through old basketball clips, right? The usual stuff after a long day. Then I remember this old headline floating around – something like ‘worst NBA player ever drafted’. It sounded crazy, so I was like, “Alright, let’s actually track down this story for real.”
Diving Into Draft Night Disaster
First thing I did was grab my laptop, open up a simple search page, and just typed in variations of that phrase. Ended up down this rabbit hole of draft bust talk. Names like Anthony Bennett kept popping up – dude got picked first overall in 2013! I remember watching that draft live and scratching my head even back then.
Then I started poking around actual stats. Found his rookie season numbers with Cleveland: 4.2 points and 3 rebounds per game? On less than 36% shooting? Broke out my cold brew reading that – almost spilled it. For a number one pick? That felt… bonkers.
The Trainwreck Unfolds
Next step? I pulled up some grainy game footage from that season. Watched him play a few minutes. Looked lost out there sometimes, honestly. Slow on defense, couldn’t finish at the rim reliably. You could see the physical talent was there, maybe, but the NBA game seemed way too fast.
- The Warning Signs Were There: Checked his college stats right before the draft. Just one year at UNLV – 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. Solid, sure, but nothing screaming “future superstar”. Why #1?
- Consensus Surprise: Dug up some old articles from the time. Lots of experts were shocked too! Saw quotes like “reached” and “unexpected”. Teams got fooled by potential instead of proven performance.
- The Rapid Slide: Timeline hits hard: Traded by year two, bounced around a few teams like Minnesota and Brooklyn, ended up out of the league entirely by 2017. Less than 5 seasons? Ouch.
What the Mess Teaches Us
Sitting back after putting all these pieces together, the big picture was clear. Teams drafting high sometimes get blinded. They see a body type or some workouts and ignore actual game tape and production levels. They gamble on “what if” instead of “what is”.
Bennett wasn’t the only shocking pick, for sure. His story just sticks out ’cause he was literally #1. It shows how the draft is part skill, part serious luck, and sometimes, like that year, a big old gamble that blows up right in your face. Makes you wonder how many other ‘project’ picks are sitting in the draft archives waiting to disappoint. Scary stuff.
