The biggest stories from the NBA Draft relate to outcomes. Was there a bust? Did the best player get picked first? The answers to these questions are the difference between years of praise or scrutiny on behalf of organizations. Every so often external factors out of the control of teams or players can be the real story, as is the case with Greg Oden getting picked over Kevin Durant in the 2007 Draft.
One would be out of the league by 2014 and the kid from the DMV area became an MVP and Champion. The sudden launch in Virginia would have fans betting KD would become the superstar, but Portland’s front office didn’t agree and paid for it with decades of underwhelming seasons. This was not simply a skill disparity that would result in what became known as a historical bust. The facts are far more tragic.
PORTLAND PICKED GREG ODEN #1 OVERALL OVER KEVIN DURANT IN 2007 DRAFT
Greg Oden missed the entirety of his rookie season due to a right knee injury in what would become the common arc of his career. He would then exit his debut game in 2008 with a foot injury and would not return for two weeks. Things looked up for a little while as he scored his career-high 24 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, but that right there lies the problem. His career-high came in just his first year.
Oden injured his left knee later that season, then suffered another knee injury the next year. He required surgery in 2010 and 2012, and would ultimately be waved by the Blazers before falling out of the league in 2015. Kevin Durant meanwhile started his career as a Seattle Supersonic with a bang earning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2008. He made his first All-Star team in 2010 and earned his first scoring title as well.
Despite never bringing a championship to the Supersonics/Thunder franchise, Durant is perhaps the greatest individual player they ever had. He left them after nine seasons in 2016 for Golden State to win two consecutive championships before departing again, this time for Brooklyn, joining Kyrie Irving. It is unfair to compare Oden’s career to Durant’s all things considered but they will always be related to each other. Portland’s entire franchise would look a lot different if they went with KD instead of Oden, that’s for sure.
June 28, 2007: During the 2007 NBA Draft, Kevin Durant fell to Seattle at #2 overall after Portland selected Greg Oden with the 1st pick. Oden didn't play much after knee injuries while Durant became arguably the greatest player in Sonics/#Thunder historypic.twitter.com/eXYL2SV8ib
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) June 28, 2021
Kevin Durant’s 2007-08 ROY season for the Seattle #SuperSonics was full of buckets https://t.co/g3k2WnH851
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) June 28, 2021
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