Greg Oden is well-known for being a player that once held immense amounts of potential, but ended up suffering many injuries and never reaching it. He was a dominant big man in college, and it looked like he was going to be a star for years to come when he entered the league.
Recently, an NBA fan on Reddit has compared Greg Oden to another promising prospect that is in the league currently, Zion Williamson. User PZinger6 revealed that if Zion Williamson were to miss the rest of the season, he will have played only 3 more games during his first 3 years than Greg Oden.
Greg Oden played 82 games over his first 3 seasons
Zion will have played 85 games over his first 3 seasons assuming he's out for this year
Zion Williamson has not yet played this season, and there has been a recent update that suggested he may need a second surgery on his foot, though that has not yet happened. There are definitely some similarities between the two in terms of struggling with injury during their career.
However, there have been other big men that have successfully bounced back from injuries in the past. Joel Embiid was injured during the start of his career, but he is now a superstar and an MVP candidate. Zion Williamson could still come back and do the same exact thing.
Zion Williamson still has a lot of potential left, and there is no doubt that he and Greg Oden are in separate tiers as players. Zion Williamson averaged 27.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG during the 2020-21 season, and none of Greg Oden's seasons come close to that. However, it is true that his durability has been an issue for the New Orleans Pelicans. Hopefully, Zion Williamson is able to get past these early injuries and develop into the superstar player he was projected to be.
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