Top 10 Biggest Draft Busts In the Past 10 years (1995-2005)

My Criteria:

- Position Selected
- Career performance
- Strong/Weak Draft
- Any Potential To Improve?

10. Joe Smith #1 1995- Smith has had a decent career but not the superstar that he was in college. The number one pick should be reserved for superstars, I know it doesn’t always happen but in 1995 there were a few superstars that did come out of that draft.
Selected ahead of : Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Damon Stoudamire, Kevin Garnett.

9. Tony Battie #5 1997- Career averages of 6 ppg and 5 rpg is not exactly what Denver thought they were getting with the #5 overall pick in 1997. Known as a rebounding, shot blocking machine in college, Battie never really panned out in the NBA. Has spent most of his career playing for mediocre teams. He certainly isn’t the worst center available but definitely not worthy of being selected #5 overall. In his defense it was one of the weakest drafts in this ten year period.
Selected ahead of: Tim Thomas, Tracy McGrady, Danny Fortson, Austin Croshere

8. Darko Milicic #2 2003- Call it what you want but the only thing that is keeping him from being lower on this list is the fact that he is only 20 years old and that he was drafted by one of the strongest, deepest teams in the league. On top of that he is coached by Larry Brown who is notoriously hard on rookies. But being the #2 pick in the draft has its pressures and expectations and Darko has done absolutely nothing in the NBA. Unlike some of the players on this list he does have upside, but when will we see it? If Detroit could do it over don’t you think they’d take any of the players below instead?
Selected ahead of: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Kirk Hinrich

7. Kwame Brown #1 2001- A player with upside here but has had many issues on the court as well as off the court. 2001 was a strong draft ,full of superstar quality players but Washington thought that they were catching the next Kevin Garnett. Far from it, he won’t even be back with the team that drafted him next season. Much like Darko, it’s a little too early to give up on him.
Selected ahead of: Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Eddy Curry, Jason Richardson

6. Jonathan Bender #5 1999- A player that people have been waiting on to “break out” for years now. This wiry thin SF who can stick the three but not much else has proven to be nothing more than a guaranteed injury every year he has played. In one of the strongest drafts in recent memory how he got himself drafted #5 remains a mystery.
Selected Ahead of: Wally Szcerbiak, Andre Miller, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion

5. Shawn Respert #8 1995- Another bust from the 1995 draft. Whether his lack of success was due to the cancer of his abdomen or not, being drafted this high should lead to results on the court. The cancer issue came out after his career was finished but this guy was a superstar in college but had serious flaws in his game that were exposed in the NBA. On a positive note, he did end up beating cancer which makes him a success off the court in my book. Overall, he still had too many issues to be picked this high.
Selected ahead of: Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Damon Stoudamire, Kevin Garnett.

4. Trajan Langdon #11 1999-.At Duke he was a very good college player. His main attribute was his ability to shoot the lights out. In the NBA he could still shoot but the problem with Langdon was his ability to get open. He had no shot off the dribble and was extremely weak on defense. Played in a total of 119 games in his career.
Selected ahead of: Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Jeff Foster

3. Sagana Diop #8 2001- Looking back it’s interesting to think how a player even gets drafted like this guy .Just a horrifying pick here in a loaded draft. Diop came straight out of High School and was drafted due to his size and his size only. His game was ridiculously raw and was a project of a lifetime and still is. Diop is still in the league but will never live up to his #8 pick status.
Selected Ahead of: Joe Johnson, Vladimir Radmonovic, Richard Jefferson,Troy Murphy, Zach Randolph

2. Fredric Weis #15 1999- New York shocked everybody with this gem. I’ve even heard that this was the worst pick EVER! Considering who was on the board after this pick I could easily see the point there as Weis had one of the shortest careers out of any player drafted this high ever .Weis is best known for being dunked on by Vince Carter in the Olympics. Words cannot do this dunk justice, google it for yourself if you haven’t seen it. I mean his stats over in France weren’t even that great which is unacceptable when your 7-3 and playing in France. Not picking Ron Artest here proved to be a huge mistake for NY.
Selected ahead of: Corey Maggette, Ron Artest, James Posey, Jeff Foster

1. Michael Olowokandi #1 1998- Wow what a draft! It’s amazing how bad the Clippers can find a way to screw themselves. This was THE best draft in recent memory, 6 out of the top ten picks have become all stars. The rest of the draft was full of solid players as well which makes this pick even more appalling. Drafted due to size, will never pan out or live up to the hype.
Selected Ahead of: Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Larry Hughes, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki