His career is over, and he may very well be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history. It is not a label, but something he admits to himself. “I’ll be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history. But I can’t do nothing about that.”
Greg Oden, the 7-foot first overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, is done with basketball, and he is currently taking classes toward his degree and is a student assistant coach at Ohio State University. “Don’t get me wrong,” he says, “If I was healthy, I would love to continue playing, but I’m not healthy.” What hurts Greg even more is when fellow player Kevin Durant continues to succeed. You see, Durant was picked second that same year. Oden told Sports Illustrated that “it would only get worse as Kevin Durant continues doing big things.”
Yes, we predicted that Durant was destined for stardom before either player came out of the league. (Not only that, we told the NBA team that selected him, before the draft, the vast differences between the #1 and #3 BT.) While Kevin Durant is a #1 FEAR, arguably the best Brain Type all-around in the NBA these days, Greg Oden is a #3 FEAL. You switch the last letter, the R(ight) to an L(eft), and you are now looking at a completely different ‘Type’ of player. The #3s are natural defenders, and high-energy performers with good strength and body balance. However, their movements are mechanical, and their mental mood swings can greatly affect their play. As dominant Animates, not possessing the #1‘s vision excellence, his #3 Type feeds off praise and affirmation from others, and when they don’t get it, they can easily break down. While relaxed, #3s possess good spatial awareness, but under pressure their vision turns into a narrow telescope. Oh yes, and they are very, very prone to injury, especially as big thin men (due to innate robotic movements).
For Oden, he missed his entire rookie season because of microfracture surgery on his right knee. “Two seasons later, in 2009-10, he was averaging 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game when he broke his left kneecap. Oden had two more microfracture knee surgeries — both on his left knee — and didn’t play at all in his final two seasons under contract with Portland.” Still, while he did play, “he was averaging 15.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the seven games leading up to that injury.” In short, he had potential to be a decent NBA center, yet likely less than #3 max achiever’s Rasheed Wallace or John “Hot Rod” Williams.
And so, while Mr. Oden was not genetically destined to become the biggest bust in NBA history, the concept is not so far-fetched knowing his inborn design. If such a title was to be given to any Brain Type, it is no surprise that it should fall upon a Left brain dominant player. We feel extremely sorry for Greg, sympathizing with him as only few others can, knowing his inborn makeup. Pursuing academics should be a good thing for him. The #3 FEAL is often diligent and hard-working, excelling in school when they set their minds to it. Additionally, his innate design loves to help others, and he has much potential in the field of coaching.
Written by: Staff
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