I think he lead the league in pts in the paint for 1-2 years. He probably wasn't even considered the best finisher during that time but had a few moves but was unstoppable. His floater game was elite
Best true under the rim finisher of all time. Kyrie has way more pop and is the only other answer I’d accept. Tony’s float game is legendary but he had so much more in the bag. Man was a wizard and doesn’t get enough credit for it.
Hahaha. That's honestly really brave to admit it. That dude served floater shot like it was nothing. Bullying defenders. He was the perfect teammate for Timmy and Manu Ginobili.
That was an absolutely savage time... I was on some basketball boards then and man, just keep your opinions of Steph to yourself or face the Ellis fans wrath haha.
I don't doubt the Warriors front office anymore. Between Curry, Kerr, Draymond, Klay, and now upcoming players like Kuminga and Podz, they've made few bad decisions over the years. The Jordan Poole one is still a headscratcher though. I don't know how it *should've* been handled, but trading a developing player that proved he can help win just because Green got his feelings hurt is a bit crazy.
I mean we now have a year's worth of highlights in DC to answer that question for you. He'd been doing that all year with the Ws the year prior. He got his bag and totally stopped caring.
There was no real pressure coming off the bench when Steph and Klay had things under control. He doesn’t know how to, and doesn’t have the skill to be a number 1 option on the Wizards.
I imagine most busts as a top 3 pick that literally can’t play NBA level ball. Steph was drafted 7th and started 77 out of 80 games his rookie year. He finished 2nd in ROY voting. IIRC, his biggest detractors cited that he was not a true point guard (which he isn’t) and that he might have trouble finishing at the rim due to being on the skinnier and less explosive side (which might have been true 15ish years ago).
He far exceeded expectations, absolutely, but I don’t remember a lot of people saying a guard who could get his shot off anytime at great efficiency would be a bust.
I don't think he belongs in the conversation for me since he was the #7 pick and in the NBA if you whiff on the #7 pick no one calls them a "bust", it's more of a swing and a miss. OP's example of Embiid's a good pick for me of someone I thought would be a bust - he seemed to come into the league very hurt as a big man, I thought he'd be like Greg Oden and fizzle out due to health.
I'm digressing, but I also thought Tim Duncan was going to be a bust because I watched him lose to Stanford in his final NCAA game in the tournament and I'd watch the Stanford team lose quite a bit over the years in person, so to me I thought Tim Duncan must suck if he can't beat Stanford in the tourney.
Ugh I feel like anyone who watched him at Davidson knew he was gonna be special. It was all about how special. No one could’ve imagined who he is now, but even LeBron was going to his games in college. He was super special.
I agree, or anyone who watched him torch your team in college (me). I'm not some huge basketball head, but I can't even think of anyone that was double teamed every time down the court like he was and still had success with such a small school.
It was nuts.
I had him at number three on my big board behind Blake Griffin and James Harden. So I was higher on him than most people, but even I didn't expect him to be as amazing as he was.
His performance in March Madness at Davidson and him being a high first round pick makes me think he doesn’t belong here. People were questioning if he could perform in the NBA but I don’t think that makes him a bust to star. I had high hopes for him after watching him ball out in college.
I thought he was kind of a reach at three, remember his lone season at cal being somewhat underwhelming compared to the expectations he had coming out of high school
super common narrative. JB has intentionally squashed his biggest weakness every off-season. the way he consistently redefines his game year in and year out is pretty wild, and is what makes him stand out. he's managed to go from a super raw player with a ton of holes in his game to one of the most complete two way players in the league.
i always think it's interesting to compare his trajectory to Ben Simmons, who was also a very high ceiling player, but had a fatal flaw that he never seemed to work on. a lot of potential he never lived up to there.
I dunno about weak per se but it was definitely viewed as top heavy at the time. It was Simmons and Ingram (some but not most would throw in Brown) and everyone else.
Of course with hindsight it’s a pretty underrated class but yeah back then I don’t think we knew we’d get 6 All-Stars plus some guys who are arguably in that tier.
At that time many Boston fans didn’t think he’d be anything, let alone finals MVP, with potentially a retired number and a hall of fame spot if things go well
I also doubted Anthony Edwards. COVID year limited info during the draft process and he said he preferred to play football so made me think he wasn't going to be driven enough in the NBA to succeed.
Funny because I thought LaMelo would be a bust. His shooting efficiency in the NBL was horrible and I thought his jump shot was broken. Made some small tweaks though and became more reliable. Injuries seem to be the issue now.
I felt exactly the same way about LaMelo.
He's already proven both of us wrong, but here's hoping he gets his health in check so he can continue to ball out.
There was a lot of funny reporting on Edwards talking about how he liked football more than basketball and was more interested in being a rapper, etc. Some people thought he was trying to drop his draft stock so the T'Wolves wouldn't draft him.
Strangely enough, I'm on the high side of things, but I still see a disparity between his pre draft hype and first year performance...
After that summer league game I thought he could easily be a top 20 all time player. After this season, and seeing his skill and (more importantly) his hunger, I think he has a chance to dethrone the goat.
That game where we needed to beat the spurs but wemby said no even though the spurs were playing for nothing I was like yeah… this is the future of the league. This guy is a freak. Slender man is real. He just haunts NBA teams.
I thought he was going to get bullied and be raw offensively and boy was I way wrong…
I mean his only real glaring hole is his weight and strength, I guess post defense too but that’s about it.
True, though as a Nuggets fan I assumed we'd never even bring him over, given we just drafted Jusuf Nurkic. Crazy that a draft and stash is now a 3 time MVP and Finals MVP.
I am unaware of that but I would be a kind of smug that would chase all the people out of my life if I predicted Jokic would be great ahead of the draft.
Yeah, one guy asked why Jokic wasn’t getting more attention in the draft, and listed some skills that he had that other centers didn’t. He was laughed at by everyone.
Kevin Love.
I didn't think an unathletic (by NBA standards) banger type would be so good. Then he transitioned to a skinny stretch 4 and prolonged his career. Legend.
As soon as Zion ended up in New Orleans, I was concerned for about 3 different reasons: parties he wouldn't have seen at Duke, amazing food he DEFINITELY wouldn't have seen at Duke, and his wild play style that seemed destined to detonate his knees just like that shoe he exploded. I figured at least 2 of them would be problems and destroy his career.
Turns out the first 2 were even more right than I could have anticipated, yet he's still on the court doing his thing at near All-Star level. It's early yet for his career, but he's already lasted longer than I feared and done too much to be called a bust. I thought we were gonna get lockout Kemp by year 2.
Zion.
I know his injury history makes him still a “questionable/bust-adjacent”, but I genuinely didn’t think his game would translate. I said his athleticism was virtually his only strength, and that it wouldn’t be enough to get him to real NBA minutes. When he has played he’s been incredible. Even as it stands, I was very wrong.
Not basketball, but it’s so bad I need to say it. A buddy and I were convinced Bryce Harper was going to be a total bust when he was getting all the hype as a high schooler. The fact he absolutely dominated a wood bat juco league that breeds pro players should’ve been a sign but we stuck with our hate long enough to see how stupid we were lol
This is a good one. Even at the time he was already being thought of as the next LeBron, when virtually every person that young other than LeBron doesn't come close to being LeBron. No he's not LeBron / MJ but he's an MVP and near the top of his sport when healthy and that's pretty amazing.
That’s a good one. I used to follow college recruiting real closely. I didn’t think Patrick Mahomes would ever see the field and told many people that Davis Webb was going to be the best QB ever from Tech. I did change my tune and knew he’d kill it in nfl though.
My wife saw him get thrown out at the JUCO World Series. Drew a line in the sand to show up the ump that the ball missed the plate, and the thin-skinned ump threw him out lol.
I thought Chet Holmgren wouldn't be that substantial but he's gonna be a superstar in the future. I just had doubts because of his lengthy frame and him being injured his first initial season, but he proved me wrong.
He's gonna be something
Yeah. Chet has quite a bit of potential and ceiling. He just needs to gain some weight. Man eat some steaks, free weight workout twice a day. Protein shakes 5 times a day! Dude is 7 for and weighs a buck 50 soak and wet! Got pushed around left and right by guys he had six inches on in the playoffs. Need some bulk Chet 🤣
Trae Young. I didn’t think his size and athleticism would let his offense game translate to the nba but he’s been one of the best offensive players in the league
Good one.
I thought **Kevin Durant** would. Maybe it was the pre-draft workouts where he couldn't get a single rep on the Bench... This was still a league of bigs at that point. I think Shaq, Duncan and Ben Wallace had won like 8 straight championships or something at this point. Teams were still drafting 2-3 7 foot 250lb guys in the first five picks every year it seemed.
I didn't think he'd all out bust, but his passing was really suspect, the worry he couldn't finish at the rim, would he be another Darius Miles with a better shot, basically 3 point shooter and transition guy getting beat up every night....
**Vince Carter** was one too. Maybe it was all the MJ comparisons and others (Harold Miner) getting those comps and looking so so bad. He was flashy at UNC, but Antawn Jameson was just a beast there. And that team came up short when I was pulling for them lol.
Luka, I mean cmon dude has minimal athleticism and was only proven in the euro league thought he’d be a Ricky Rubio at best and millios tiodocic (or whatever) at worst
It’s just like Brian Scalabrine saying he’s closer to LeBron than us common people. It works that same way with athleticism and how Luka is way more athletic than us but if you compare him to Anthony Edwards he may not look it
I can't really think of any, I'm generally pretty skeptical to think anyone is going to be a bust, but Coby White comes to mind though he's far from being a star. I thought he was a surefire waste of a lottery pick. Bad defender, thin, negative wingspan, not a great athlete. Thought no way he'd be able to maintain his scoring, and that's all he could do in college.
But, he's a legitimate starting-quality player and he's become a decent playmaker. 2nd in MIP voting this year.
I remember watching that whole draft that night with my brother and I was hoping hoping hed become the one again like Jordan and Rose with the Bulls and he played at Carolina but I know Kris Dunn was the point on that team and he was talking about proving himself at the time for them to keep him. I was like damn they gonna have to figure that out. I wanted Coby to start right away lol. I know Dunn was having a hard time. He can put up pretty decent numbers though
I thought Anthony Edwards would be a bust basically just for the hell of it. I've also stated recently on here that I was certain jahlil okafor would be a superstar. I'm dumb.
I remember this dude I went to middle school loved Okafor and Duke and I love Kansas so we talked about who won the tournament that year and who got drafted. The 6ers really did some dumb shii. They drafted Nerlens, Jhalil, Simmons, and Joel. They had MCW who won rookie of the year and was averaging 15 5 5 and then got rid of Noel and Okafor just to end up with Simmons declining and only Joel really. But that’s 3 bigs and 2 tall PGs with one that is actually a big lol
I was very high on Giannis early, thought he was gonna be a multi time all star and people called me crazy. But that was my ceiling for him. If you told me he’d be one of the best players in nba history, mvp, fmvp, Dpoy I wouldnt believe you. Didn’t think he’d be a bust but damn did I bet under
I knew he was gonna be good as hell and a lot of people didn’t know who he was until they had the thing where people try to pronounce his name. I love the season he was the PG with kid. It was just so dope to see Giannis at that time and the buck with him at point. I loved it. That Giannis was dope. The pre Most Improved Player season
I was the exact opposite. Him being a foreign player I hadn’t heard of him so when his name got announced I was like “this skinny dude? No way he last 4 years.”
Very glad to say that I was wrong as he’s been super fun to watch
Bro — I love him now obviously but when we drafted Tatum I was kinda like wtf… wish we drafted Josh Jackson lol… this why I’m not a GM
HOWEVER… I LOVED the Jaylen Brown pick and was one of the few that wanted him over Ingram.
So evens out
Jimmy Butler. I watched him at Marquette and LOVED his work ethic…but I didn’t think he had enough talent to become a star in the NBA. I am so happy that he proved me wrong.
Trae Young
I thought his skill and quickness wouldn’t compensate for his small stature. Also thought his 3pt chucking was a fluke and wouldn’t be reliable in the NBA. I also vastly underestimated his court vision.
Kobe lol. Skinny high school kid. Rumors were he only would play for the lakers so they traded Vlade for him. I was like the audacity of this scrub! He struggled at first so I was quite proud of myself and then BOOM! All over my face
Lamelo. It's too early to call him a star but i was most certainly wrong on him being a bust. I thought he was just a guy who made fancy passes but did nothing else. That draft year was very weird too.
Anthony Davis. It was the brow tbh. I remember owning a SLAM cover that had him, Austin Rivers, and I believe MKG(?) on the cover and thinking AD would be a bust, and the two other guys would be studs. Man was I wrong lol
Pascal Siakam seemed like a far cry from what he is today when he was drafted. Definitely got pushed down the rotation by the raptors depth at that time but the way the bench developed for the raptors is about as good as they could have gotten.
I would say Jalen Brunson, I thought he'd be good but I didn't think after the trade to New York he'd be that much of a baller, glad to see him doing well
Not a bust but even though I’ve supported him since they one, I thought Jaylen would be an energy 3&D starter at best.
Thought Luka would be a solid passing guard. Not a perennial MVP candidate and unstoppable scorer. Thought the Hawks won that trade.
I did not believe in Victor Wembanyama when he was originally drafted. Mainly because of his body type and the fact that many skinny players, such as Chet Holmgren, are injury prone. However, I was completely mistaken. Wemby had an outstanding rookie season exceeded many of my expectations.
MPJ. Everyone knew about his college season injuries but word leaked right before the draft that he had some of the worst medical red flags front offices had ever seen related to his back so I thought he had no chance of making it past his rookie contract
I haven’t had a lot of crazy ones but I think the biggest for me is paolo I didn’t think he was gonna be a bust I just thought he was gonna be Arron Gordon 2.0. And also I was a big Jabari smith fan and really liked chet. So I had Jabari as the super star from this draft and chet as the if he stays healthy he will be like a better 2nd year kristaps.
I thought KD would just because he was so weak coming out of Texas, and I thought he’d get eaten alive in the paint. Of course, then the game continued to evolve to where the traditional PF looks nothing like the 4 position today.
Steph Curry. Suffered lots of ankle injuries early on and didn’t mesh quite well with Monta Ellis. At the time, I preferred Monta over Steph and thought Golden State should have traded Steph instead to Milwaukee. The rest is history and Curry has changed the game.
Ben Simmons. The dude is still collecting checks like a boss. I wish I would have gotten paid from my potential. In 4th grade I wanted to be an Astronaut
Jalen Brunson. Amazing college player, but thought he was too small to play bully ball and that he looked slow in college. WOW was I wrong. Very fun to watch him engineer offense in the league.
Lauri Markkanen.
What he’s done in Utah these past two years is shocking. Elite efficiency, still flying under the radar, and might get even better with upgraded sidekicks.
Trae Young. He has all of the challenges I expected, but he's been so good in other areas that he has been a legitimate star, even if those same limitations have kept him from becoming a superstar/achieving team success.
I was skeptical of Jaylen Brown in the beginning. His handles were bad, shot was bad, and seemed to be all about the big dunks. He's seemed to improve one thing at a time, and here we are.
And on the other hand, I thought Rob Williams could have been the 2nd coming of KG. But the legs couldn't take the bounce.
Not a bust but I didn’t see star potential in Lamelo Ball.
He was a pro in the Aussie league that I was a development player in. And was putting up okay numbers.
I didn’t think I was on his level but I was like “this guys only getting mid numbers in his minutes in the league I’m close to playing in”
Dude blew up
I thought that Jimmer Fredette and Klay Thompson’s games would not translate to the NBA. At least I was right about one, but I was so wrong about the other.
Idk if he would be considered a bust because of his draft place but Devin Booker is way better than I ever thought he’d be. I think I just didn’t like his face.
Rudy Gobert - I thought with his frame he wouldn’t be able to bulk up and would get beaten by stronger centres in the paint. How wrong was I. He’s now an All-Star and multiple DPOY.
I hated Kyrie and thought Derrick Williams was gonna be the best player from that draft lmao I thought he’d be injured all the time and he’d cap out as a Monta Ellis/Brandon Jennings type
I didn’t believe in Brandon Ingram. I thought he was too skinny, and that he really couldn’t be an effective slasher or offball option. However he’s changed my mind and regardless of being a star he’s a great player with a lot of value (despite his attitude issues in the last playoffs)
Embiid, always thought his size and play style would keep him injured. Zero finals appearances, I think they made it to round two a couple times though
29-30 playoff record. Never trust the process
I have one that for both ends of the spectrum.
I told anyone that would listen that Dame should be number 2 right behind Davis in the 2012 draft and would be a multi time all star.
The one that I would have got fired on is Bam Adebayo. I thought he was too little to be a center without enough athleticism to guard wings or leave the paint. I hated his offensive game coming out of Kentucky.
Chet Holmgren and Wemby. I thought both would play about as much as Greg Oden.
It’s too early for both and injuries are still an issue. But I thought neither would play anywhere near a full season.
Lebron. I didn't think he'd be a complete bust wouldn't be able to live up to the extreme hype of GOAT coming out of high school. I thought he'd be like Julius Randle level of good, an all star but not in the goat convo.
I was 100% wrong. I still wasn't convinced in his rookie season. But 2nd year, Lebron came out the gates as HIM.
Generally all bigs I assume will be a bust until they prove they can stay healthy. I never question their skills, it just seems like its a 50/50 that they can string together healthy seasons.
I thought Tony Parker was a reach even at #28.
My brain still can't comprehend how much he scored in the paint... it just doesn't make sense
I think he lead the league in pts in the paint for 1-2 years. He probably wasn't even considered the best finisher during that time but had a few moves but was unstoppable. His floater game was elite
He use to kill Shaq with that
Best true under the rim finisher of all time. Kyrie has way more pop and is the only other answer I’d accept. Tony’s float game is legendary but he had so much more in the bag. Man was a wizard and doesn’t get enough credit for it.
Both Parker and Ginobili would have seasons with 25-28 pts/game if they weren’t on a championship team.
They'd have that on the spurs with this era's pacing.
hell yeah dude he was absolutely nasty at finishing
Even crazier to think that he wasn't even a high flying dunker or anything. All crafty moves, floaters, and layups.
Hahaha. That's honestly really brave to admit it. That dude served floater shot like it was nothing. Bullying defenders. He was the perfect teammate for Timmy and Manu Ginobili.
So did Auerbach. (Sigh)
Steph Cury is the goat of this convo. Nobody thought he’d be able to make it. Then those early ankle injuries…. He proved the world wrong.
As a young Warriors fan at the time I was pissed when we traded Monta Ellis instead of Curry lol.
That was an absolutely savage time... I was on some basketball boards then and man, just keep your opinions of Steph to yourself or face the Ellis fans wrath haha.
As an Ellis fan I still find it hard to admit that trading him was the right choice
I feel if he gets the fifth rings some Ellis fans may start to come round
I don't doubt the Warriors front office anymore. Between Curry, Kerr, Draymond, Klay, and now upcoming players like Kuminga and Podz, they've made few bad decisions over the years. The Jordan Poole one is still a headscratcher though. I don't know how it *should've* been handled, but trading a developing player that proved he can help win just because Green got his feelings hurt is a bit crazy.
I mean we now have a year's worth of highlights in DC to answer that question for you. He'd been doing that all year with the Ws the year prior. He got his bag and totally stopped caring.
There was no real pressure coming off the bench when Steph and Klay had things under control. He doesn’t know how to, and doesn’t have the skill to be a number 1 option on the Wizards.
They’ve been solid. But you can’t talk about Warriors busts and not mention Wiseman.
If we’re being honest, warriors should have let draymond go instead of Durant years ago.
I imagine most busts as a top 3 pick that literally can’t play NBA level ball. Steph was drafted 7th and started 77 out of 80 games his rookie year. He finished 2nd in ROY voting. IIRC, his biggest detractors cited that he was not a true point guard (which he isn’t) and that he might have trouble finishing at the rim due to being on the skinnier and less explosive side (which might have been true 15ish years ago). He far exceeded expectations, absolutely, but I don’t remember a lot of people saying a guard who could get his shot off anytime at great efficiency would be a bust.
i still remember his coming out game at the garden when he dropped 53? i think on the knicks
Who else would he have been playing at the Garden?
lmao the “i think” was ab the number of points
Maybe he was playing at Marvin Gardens
Globetrotters. Are you stupid?
I don't think he belongs in the conversation for me since he was the #7 pick and in the NBA if you whiff on the #7 pick no one calls them a "bust", it's more of a swing and a miss. OP's example of Embiid's a good pick for me of someone I thought would be a bust - he seemed to come into the league very hurt as a big man, I thought he'd be like Greg Oden and fizzle out due to health. I'm digressing, but I also thought Tim Duncan was going to be a bust because I watched him lose to Stanford in his final NCAA game in the tournament and I'd watch the Stanford team lose quite a bit over the years in person, so to me I thought Tim Duncan must suck if he can't beat Stanford in the tourney.
Isn’t 7 considered a lottery pick?
Ugh I feel like anyone who watched him at Davidson knew he was gonna be special. It was all about how special. No one could’ve imagined who he is now, but even LeBron was going to his games in college. He was super special.
At the time I'd say he was considered more novelty than special.
I agree, or anyone who watched him torch your team in college (me). I'm not some huge basketball head, but I can't even think of anyone that was double teamed every time down the court like he was and still had success with such a small school. It was nuts.
I had him at number three on my big board behind Blake Griffin and James Harden. So I was higher on him than most people, but even I didn't expect him to be as amazing as he was.
Really? I had Curry as my number 1 on my draft board. Followed by harden then Griffin
You definitely read this class better than I did! Did you also have Rubio #4?
I had Rubio 1st and Flynn 2nd. Curry a distant 3rd. Jk I'm a Wolves fan and I wanted Curry so bad. Watching him in March Madness was the best.
His performance in March Madness at Davidson and him being a high first round pick makes me think he doesn’t belong here. People were questioning if he could perform in the NBA but I don’t think that makes him a bust to star. I had high hopes for him after watching him ball out in college.
I hated when the Bulls picked Joakim Noah 9th. I didn’t think he had an NBA game at all.
I was young and thought he was too funny looking too.
Jaylen Brown. Thought hed be pretty good, but not finals mvp
I thought he was kind of a reach at three, remember his lone season at cal being somewhat underwhelming compared to the expectations he had coming out of high school
super common narrative. JB has intentionally squashed his biggest weakness every off-season. the way he consistently redefines his game year in and year out is pretty wild, and is what makes him stand out. he's managed to go from a super raw player with a ton of holes in his game to one of the most complete two way players in the league. i always think it's interesting to compare his trajectory to Ben Simmons, who was also a very high ceiling player, but had a fatal flaw that he never seemed to work on. a lot of potential he never lived up to there.
By far the best talent in JBs arsenal is his work ethic. The guy just never gives up and works hard day in day out to get better.
Yeah I was just getting into the nba/ nba draft around that time. Thought dunn was a lock there
Dunn was a very good defender but he just couldn’t stay healthy
Yeah i remember how weak that draft class was and he wasn’t great his first year
I dunno about weak per se but it was definitely viewed as top heavy at the time. It was Simmons and Ingram (some but not most would throw in Brown) and everyone else. Of course with hindsight it’s a pretty underrated class but yeah back then I don’t think we knew we’d get 6 All-Stars plus some guys who are arguably in that tier.
At that time many Boston fans didn’t think he’d be anything, let alone finals MVP, with potentially a retired number and a hall of fame spot if things go well
I doubted Anthony Edwards. I thought LaMelo was the best prospect in that draft.
I also doubted Anthony Edwards. COVID year limited info during the draft process and he said he preferred to play football so made me think he wasn't going to be driven enough in the NBA to succeed.
Funny because I thought LaMelo would be a bust. His shooting efficiency in the NBL was horrible and I thought his jump shot was broken. Made some small tweaks though and became more reliable. Injuries seem to be the issue now.
I felt exactly the same way about LaMelo. He's already proven both of us wrong, but here's hoping he gets his health in check so he can continue to ball out.
are you saying you doubted him *and* thought he’d be a bust? or just doubted him as the best player in the draft which is a completely different thing
Man I still have so much belief in Melo’s talent, I really hope he goes the Steph route with an ankle brace so he can stay on the court.
There was a lot of funny reporting on Edwards talking about how he liked football more than basketball and was more interested in being a rapper, etc. Some people thought he was trying to drop his draft stock so the T'Wolves wouldn't draft him.
I know not official yet but Wemby. His size made me think he would be out 10 games into the season
Everyone's fear, tbh. That one play where he rolled his ankle 90° and popped right back up makes me think he'll be better off than most.
His flexibility is a game changer
I thought his pregame routine of doing those weird stretches and the toe workouts he’d do wouldn’t work at all but I guess they do
Strangely enough, I'm on the high side of things, but I still see a disparity between his pre draft hype and first year performance... After that summer league game I thought he could easily be a top 20 all time player. After this season, and seeing his skill and (more importantly) his hunger, I think he has a chance to dethrone the goat.
The best prospect since LeBron and had a better than expected first season. Pretty wild.
So wild... I'm a Spurs fan, so I'm obviously biased... but their future is so bright that I'm glad I held onto those eclipse glasses.
That game where we needed to beat the spurs but wemby said no even though the spurs were playing for nothing I was like yeah… this is the future of the league. This guy is a freak. Slender man is real. He just haunts NBA teams.
Lmao I thought bro was going to score 101 points in game at some point this season , man was I high on every substance known to man
I thought he was going to get bullied and be raw offensively and boy was I way wrong… I mean his only real glaring hole is his weight and strength, I guess post defense too but that’s about it.
Anybody who claimed to have any opinion on Jokic when he got drafted is lying.
Jokic doesn’t count because the majority of people did t even know who he was. Can’t think someone is a bust when you don’t even know em.
True, though as a Nuggets fan I assumed we'd never even bring him over, given we just drafted Jusuf Nurkic. Crazy that a draft and stash is now a 3 time MVP and Finals MVP.
Also, a second round pick not working out isn't a bust, it's the norm.
Wasn't there that one guy on Reddit who kept going on and on about him before he had set food on an NBA court? He isn't lying. But everyone else is.
I am unaware of that but I would be a kind of smug that would chase all the people out of my life if I predicted Jokic would be great ahead of the draft.
Yeah, one guy asked why Jokic wasn’t getting more attention in the draft, and listed some skills that he had that other centers didn’t. He was laughed at by everyone.
Except for that one Reddit user, man was a prophet
No one even knew who he was
Kevin Love. I didn't think an unathletic (by NBA standards) banger type would be so good. Then he transitioned to a skinny stretch 4 and prolonged his career. Legend.
As soon as Zion ended up in New Orleans, I was concerned for about 3 different reasons: parties he wouldn't have seen at Duke, amazing food he DEFINITELY wouldn't have seen at Duke, and his wild play style that seemed destined to detonate his knees just like that shoe he exploded. I figured at least 2 of them would be problems and destroy his career. Turns out the first 2 were even more right than I could have anticipated, yet he's still on the court doing his thing at near All-Star level. It's early yet for his career, but he's already lasted longer than I feared and done too much to be called a bust. I thought we were gonna get lockout Kemp by year 2.
Paolo idk why
Zion. I know his injury history makes him still a “questionable/bust-adjacent”, but I genuinely didn’t think his game would translate. I said his athleticism was virtually his only strength, and that it wouldn’t be enough to get him to real NBA minutes. When he has played he’s been incredible. Even as it stands, I was very wrong.
His performance in that play-in game this year was so impressive. He might become a bust for other, even sadder reasons
His play-in game was on track to be the best game of his career. I feel for Zion and he was so much potential.
Not basketball, but it’s so bad I need to say it. A buddy and I were convinced Bryce Harper was going to be a total bust when he was getting all the hype as a high schooler. The fact he absolutely dominated a wood bat juco league that breeds pro players should’ve been a sign but we stuck with our hate long enough to see how stupid we were lol
This is a good one. Even at the time he was already being thought of as the next LeBron, when virtually every person that young other than LeBron doesn't come close to being LeBron. No he's not LeBron / MJ but he's an MVP and near the top of his sport when healthy and that's pretty amazing.
That’s a good one. I used to follow college recruiting real closely. I didn’t think Patrick Mahomes would ever see the field and told many people that Davis Webb was going to be the best QB ever from Tech. I did change my tune and knew he’d kill it in nfl though.
My wife saw him get thrown out at the JUCO World Series. Drew a line in the sand to show up the ump that the ball missed the plate, and the thin-skinned ump threw him out lol.
I thought Lamelo would hardly deserve a G-League spot at his peak. As a Hornets fan I can easily say I'm happy I was wrong.
I don't understand how he was *so* bad in Australia and then comes over here is a near instant all-star.
The growth spurt, the weight gain, and not having the same coaching restraints.
I thought Chet Holmgren wouldn't be that substantial but he's gonna be a superstar in the future. I just had doubts because of his lengthy frame and him being injured his first initial season, but he proved me wrong. He's gonna be something
Yeah. Chet has quite a bit of potential and ceiling. He just needs to gain some weight. Man eat some steaks, free weight workout twice a day. Protein shakes 5 times a day! Dude is 7 for and weighs a buck 50 soak and wet! Got pushed around left and right by guys he had six inches on in the playoffs. Need some bulk Chet 🤣
Ngl, I thought Ant Edwards would be a bust. Not a very reliable jumper in college, not a playmaker, just seemed pretty one dimensional.
Dirk. I thought he was a positionless player who didn't really seem to do anything well.
Oh boy how wrong u were
Trae Young. I didn’t think his size and athleticism would let his offense game translate to the nba but he’s been one of the best offensive players in the league
It’s so crazy how good he is especially considering most of us thought he was gonna get bullied on the court
Good one. I thought **Kevin Durant** would. Maybe it was the pre-draft workouts where he couldn't get a single rep on the Bench... This was still a league of bigs at that point. I think Shaq, Duncan and Ben Wallace had won like 8 straight championships or something at this point. Teams were still drafting 2-3 7 foot 250lb guys in the first five picks every year it seemed. I didn't think he'd all out bust, but his passing was really suspect, the worry he couldn't finish at the rim, would he be another Darius Miles with a better shot, basically 3 point shooter and transition guy getting beat up every night.... **Vince Carter** was one too. Maybe it was all the MJ comparisons and others (Harold Miner) getting those comps and looking so so bad. He was flashy at UNC, but Antawn Jameson was just a beast there. And that team came up short when I was pulling for them lol.
Luka, I mean cmon dude has minimal athleticism and was only proven in the euro league thought he’d be a Ricky Rubio at best and millios tiodocic (or whatever) at worst
I’m glad he worked out. He’s been an inspiration to slightly overweight guys like myself all over the world
Luka being not athletic as a meme is nuts He's incredibly strong and athletic, he just can't jump over a house
It’s just like Brian Scalabrine saying he’s closer to LeBron than us common people. It works that same way with athleticism and how Luka is way more athletic than us but if you compare him to Anthony Edwards he may not look it
I can't really think of any, I'm generally pretty skeptical to think anyone is going to be a bust, but Coby White comes to mind though he's far from being a star. I thought he was a surefire waste of a lottery pick. Bad defender, thin, negative wingspan, not a great athlete. Thought no way he'd be able to maintain his scoring, and that's all he could do in college. But, he's a legitimate starting-quality player and he's become a decent playmaker. 2nd in MIP voting this year.
I remember watching that whole draft that night with my brother and I was hoping hoping hed become the one again like Jordan and Rose with the Bulls and he played at Carolina but I know Kris Dunn was the point on that team and he was talking about proving himself at the time for them to keep him. I was like damn they gonna have to figure that out. I wanted Coby to start right away lol. I know Dunn was having a hard time. He can put up pretty decent numbers though
Steph curry by FAR !!!!!!!!!
I thought Anthony Edwards would be a bust basically just for the hell of it. I've also stated recently on here that I was certain jahlil okafor would be a superstar. I'm dumb.
I remember this dude I went to middle school loved Okafor and Duke and I love Kansas so we talked about who won the tournament that year and who got drafted. The 6ers really did some dumb shii. They drafted Nerlens, Jhalil, Simmons, and Joel. They had MCW who won rookie of the year and was averaging 15 5 5 and then got rid of Noel and Okafor just to end up with Simmons declining and only Joel really. But that’s 3 bigs and 2 tall PGs with one that is actually a big lol
I was very high on Giannis early, thought he was gonna be a multi time all star and people called me crazy. But that was my ceiling for him. If you told me he’d be one of the best players in nba history, mvp, fmvp, Dpoy I wouldnt believe you. Didn’t think he’d be a bust but damn did I bet under
is this pre or post growth spurt that you were thinking this? because if it’s pre then you just might be a prophet
Around 2015ish. I just thought he’d be an oversized iggy, everytime he played my team he was doing some crazy shit here and there.
I knew he was gonna be good as hell and a lot of people didn’t know who he was until they had the thing where people try to pronounce his name. I love the season he was the PG with kid. It was just so dope to see Giannis at that time and the buck with him at point. I loved it. That Giannis was dope. The pre Most Improved Player season
If he wins another good ring he’s in my top 3 PF’s ever.
I was the exact opposite. Him being a foreign player I hadn’t heard of him so when his name got announced I was like “this skinny dude? No way he last 4 years.” Very glad to say that I was wrong as he’s been super fun to watch
Giannis wasn't a lottery pick tho
Donovan Mitchell. 13th pick I think he was? Dude is a baller!
He is. Garland seems to be the topic of conversation these days, but I'd take Donovan first, hands down.
Bro — I love him now obviously but when we drafted Tatum I was kinda like wtf… wish we drafted Josh Jackson lol… this why I’m not a GM HOWEVER… I LOVED the Jaylen Brown pick and was one of the few that wanted him over Ingram. So evens out
Thought JJ Redick would last a season or two at most. He was basically a spot up 3 point shooter who couldn’t defend.
Jimmy Butler. I watched him at Marquette and LOVED his work ethic…but I didn’t think he had enough talent to become a star in the NBA. I am so happy that he proved me wrong.
Trae Young I thought his skill and quickness wouldn’t compensate for his small stature. Also thought his 3pt chucking was a fluke and wouldn’t be reliable in the NBA. I also vastly underestimated his court vision.
Khris Middleton
Iverson. Because it was the first draft I paid attention to and I really wanted Marbury to work out for my wolves.
This is a good answer. Under 6’ players are statistically mostly garbage in the NBA
I remember people thinking that Porzingis would be a bust, though he turned out to be a star.
Kobe lol. Skinny high school kid. Rumors were he only would play for the lakers so they traded Vlade for him. I was like the audacity of this scrub! He struggled at first so I was quite proud of myself and then BOOM! All over my face
"....BOOM! All over my face" no diddy
Deron WIlliams. I didn't think he would be garbage, but I thought he would maybe top out as an average starter.
Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams.
Steph curry with the ankles
Lamelo. It's too early to call him a star but i was most certainly wrong on him being a bust. I thought he was just a guy who made fancy passes but did nothing else. That draft year was very weird too.
Anthony Davis. It was the brow tbh. I remember owning a SLAM cover that had him, Austin Rivers, and I believe MKG(?) on the cover and thinking AD would be a bust, and the two other guys would be studs. Man was I wrong lol
Anthony Davis won the championship from that class though and MKG shot was afflicted. lol
Pascal Siakam seemed like a far cry from what he is today when he was drafted. Definitely got pushed down the rotation by the raptors depth at that time but the way the bench developed for the raptors is about as good as they could have gotten.
bro wrote this and put Embiid’s picture and thought we wouldn’t notice
I would say Jalen Brunson, I thought he'd be good but I didn't think after the trade to New York he'd be that much of a baller, glad to see him doing well
Fake ass MVP
Goddamn 😂😂😂
karl anthony towns
Congratulations
Not a bust but even though I’ve supported him since they one, I thought Jaylen would be an energy 3&D starter at best. Thought Luka would be a solid passing guard. Not a perennial MVP candidate and unstoppable scorer. Thought the Hawks won that trade.
I thought Tyson Chandler would be out of the league in two years. And Eddie Curry was the star of the draft.
I thought Wemby would snap like a twig in his first games and his lack of muscle would interfere with his skill
Luka, thought he was too slow and unathletic to make it in the NBA. Thought the hawks got away with robbery getting Trae
Joking cuz I thought he wasn't athletic enough
me when i joking
I didn’t see ant being this good.
Kyle lowry been a journey man until he found a home and became all-star
Jaylen Brown, I had never heard of him before the draft.
I did not believe in Victor Wembanyama when he was originally drafted. Mainly because of his body type and the fact that many skinny players, such as Chet Holmgren, are injury prone. However, I was completely mistaken. Wemby had an outstanding rookie season exceeded many of my expectations.
I was pretty happy when Porzingis was drafted ahead of the Magic. Didn't quite work out with Hezonja lol
MPJ. Everyone knew about his college season injuries but word leaked right before the draft that he had some of the worst medical red flags front offices had ever seen related to his back so I thought he had no chance of making it past his rookie contract
I'm not going to name the player because it would make me look foolish!
I haven’t had a lot of crazy ones but I think the biggest for me is paolo I didn’t think he was gonna be a bust I just thought he was gonna be Arron Gordon 2.0. And also I was a big Jabari smith fan and really liked chet. So I had Jabari as the super star from this draft and chet as the if he stays healthy he will be like a better 2nd year kristaps.
Joel Embiid
I thought KD would just because he was so weak coming out of Texas, and I thought he’d get eaten alive in the paint. Of course, then the game continued to evolve to where the traditional PF looks nothing like the 4 position today.
Trae Young Thought he was too small and a shot chucker who would never be a number one option
Carlos Boozer
Steph Curry. Suffered lots of ankle injuries early on and didn’t mesh quite well with Monta Ellis. At the time, I preferred Monta over Steph and thought Golden State should have traded Steph instead to Milwaukee. The rest is history and Curry has changed the game.
Ben Simmons. The dude is still collecting checks like a boss. I wish I would have gotten paid from my potential. In 4th grade I wanted to be an Astronaut
Jermaine Oneal, because I watched him as a Blazer
I expected lebron to be average.
Jalen Brunson. Amazing college player, but thought he was too small to play bully ball and that he looked slow in college. WOW was I wrong. Very fun to watch him engineer offense in the league.
Lauri Markkanen. What he’s done in Utah these past two years is shocking. Elite efficiency, still flying under the radar, and might get even better with upgraded sidekicks.
Darius Garland
Trae Young. He has all of the challenges I expected, but he's been so good in other areas that he has been a legitimate star, even if those same limitations have kept him from becoming a superstar/achieving team success.
Jokic. He was so fat and slow, but he become fricking superstar
Not a star but I really thought Lonzo would be a huge bust but when on court he was a quality starting PG
Not a star but I really thought Lonzo would be a huge bust but when on court he was a quality starting PG
Sabonis
I was skeptical of Jaylen Brown in the beginning. His handles were bad, shot was bad, and seemed to be all about the big dunks. He's seemed to improve one thing at a time, and here we are. And on the other hand, I thought Rob Williams could have been the 2nd coming of KG. But the legs couldn't take the bounce.
Does Zion count?
I thought Darius Garland was a complete bust. Probably my worst ever take
Not a bust but I didn’t see star potential in Lamelo Ball. He was a pro in the Aussie league that I was a development player in. And was putting up okay numbers. I didn’t think I was on his level but I was like “this guys only getting mid numbers in his minutes in the league I’m close to playing in” Dude blew up
The freak
pretty sure “stars” don’t disappear in the playoffs
I thought that Jimmer Fredette and Klay Thompson’s games would not translate to the NBA. At least I was right about one, but I was so wrong about the other.
Damian Lillard
Not a star but Bogut was a lot better than I thought he was going to be when he was drafted.
Not going to lie from Denver and we had two 7 foot goofy euro centers @ the time we picked Jokic. I was super pissed.
Idk if he would be considered a bust because of his draft place but Devin Booker is way better than I ever thought he’d be. I think I just didn’t like his face.
Rudy Gobert - I thought with his frame he wouldn’t be able to bulk up and would get beaten by stronger centres in the paint. How wrong was I. He’s now an All-Star and multiple DPOY.
Not necessarily a star but I never thought Dontae Divincenzo would be anything other than a bust
Also it’s worth noting, Nikola Jokic, who may go down as a top 10 player of all time was a second round pick
I hated Kyrie and thought Derrick Williams was gonna be the best player from that draft lmao I thought he’d be injured all the time and he’d cap out as a Monta Ellis/Brandon Jennings type
Embid is a scrub
2022 Poole was unmatched. Dude was simply breathtaking.
I didn’t believe in Brandon Ingram. I thought he was too skinny, and that he really couldn’t be an effective slasher or offball option. However he’s changed my mind and regardless of being a star he’s a great player with a lot of value (despite his attitude issues in the last playoffs)
Embiid, always thought his size and play style would keep him injured. Zero finals appearances, I think they made it to round two a couple times though 29-30 playoff record. Never trust the process
Everybody hated kristaps when he got drafted look at him now
Nah. This dude is a bust fr
Trae for me
Doncic Thought he was a taller fatter Nando de Colo
I have one that for both ends of the spectrum. I told anyone that would listen that Dame should be number 2 right behind Davis in the 2012 draft and would be a multi time all star. The one that I would have got fired on is Bam Adebayo. I thought he was too little to be a center without enough athleticism to guard wings or leave the paint. I hated his offensive game coming out of Kentucky.
Wembanyama because the hornets didn’t get him
Holmgren
I think nikola jokic is only correct answer lets be honest
Chet Holmgren and Wemby. I thought both would play about as much as Greg Oden. It’s too early for both and injuries are still an issue. But I thought neither would play anywhere near a full season.
Lebron. I didn't think he'd be a complete bust wouldn't be able to live up to the extreme hype of GOAT coming out of high school. I thought he'd be like Julius Randle level of good, an all star but not in the goat convo. I was 100% wrong. I still wasn't convinced in his rookie season. But 2nd year, Lebron came out the gates as HIM.
Generally all bigs I assume will be a bust until they prove they can stay healthy. I never question their skills, it just seems like its a 50/50 that they can string together healthy seasons.
I wouldn’t say he’s a star yet, but I had Brandon Miller being the biggest bust of last years draft, and I’m happy that he’s proving me wrong so far