Who is the biggest draft bust for every NBA franchise?

There was hype surrounding Williams after a standout college career at Duke, so much so that in the 2006 draft, the Hawks snapped him up with the fifth pick, over guys like Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo. In the pros, though, Shelden rarely made a significant impact. After a year and a half in Atlanta, the team moved on and traded him, and he bounced around the league from there.

Moiso stood at 6'10" and was long and athletic. There was a lot of raw potential there, but it was ultimately never realized, despite Boston picking him up with the 11th overall selection. Boston traded him after one year, and he didn't last much longer in the league after that.

O'Bannon looked like a lock coming out of college. The 6'8" forward from UCLA led his team to the 1995 NCAA championship and won the Naismith and Wooden awards. So, the Nets snagged him with the ninth overall pick, but after failing to break through, he was out of the league within two years.

Expectations are high for any third-overall pick, but especially Morrison, who was college basketball's biggest star at Gonzaga. He didn't set the NBA on fire in his rookie season, but he did OK. An ACL injury, though, derailed his development, and he never played any significant NBA basketball again.

Williams showed flashes of strong potential in his rookie season with the Bulls, including a 26-point triple-double in an early-season game. In 2003, though, he had a horrific motorcycle accident. The incident left him with major leg and pelvic injuries and ultimately ended his promising career prematurely.

Once upon a time, the Cavs had a major win by selecting LeBron James first overall. A decade later, they had the first choice again, but Anthony Bennett didn't work out nearly as well. Between poor conditioning, poor performance, and injuries, Bennett just didn't work out and was, infamously, the first-ever No. 1 pick sent to the G League.

Garnett was a strong rebounder and inside defender in college and the Mavericks liked him enough to use the No. 4 pick on him in 1982. There were occasional flashes with some big rebounding nights, but he only managed to average about 6 points and five rebounds in a couple of seasons in Dallas. After two similar years in Indiana, he was out of the league.

A late-first round pick isn't necessarily expected to be a career All-Star, but some level of long-term productivity is certainly envisioned. That wasn't in the cards for Hodge, though, who only rarely saw the court in Denver and later Milwaukee. His development certainly wasn't helped when he was the victim of a drive-by shooting in 2006, though he did enjoy a long international playing career after the NBA.

Darko is the player most people think of when they think about busts. Miličić did enjoy a 10-year NBA career, which is more than most players can say, but he still fell well short of expectations as a No. 2 pick. That's especially true when compared to the careers of the other top-five picks in 2003: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh.

Washburn, the third pick in 1986, is a tragic case of wasted potential. He failed to make an impact for the Warriors before they traded him to the Hawks. Then, he was banned from the NBA for repeated violations of the league's drug policy, after appearing in just 72 career games.

In the middle of the first round in 2012, White was seen as a versatile prospect, a forward who could both score and facilitate. Unfortunately, White was plagued by anxiety and mental health challenges, which prevented him from effectively living the NBA lifestyle. He never suited up for the Rockets and appeared in only three career games for the Kings.

The Pacers selected Williams at No. 17 in the 2006 draft, citing his athleticism and potential as a shot blocker. That never quite worked out, though. He was inconsistent and was unable to crack Indiana's rotation consistently. He toured the league during his time in the NBA, playing for seven franchises over seven seasons, carving out consistent bench roles with some of those squads.

Unlike a lot of the players on this list, Olowokandi had a decent career. He played for nine seasons and during his five years with the Clippers, he put up a respectable 10 points, seven rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. You want more than "respectable," though, out of a No. 1 pick.

It was thought that Crittenton could develop into a solid combo guard, so the Lakers took a swing on him with the 19th pick in 2007. He was quickly dealt as part of the Pau Gasol trade, though, and while he saw more meaningful minutes in Memphis, he still wasn't setting the world on fire. His career was extinguished for good in 2011, when he was charged with murder, and in 2015, he pled guilty to manslaughter and spent time in prison before his release in 2023.

Standing at 7'3" and a deft shot blocker, Thabeet was claimed by Memphis with the No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft. That said, he proved to lack the mobility and skill needed for the NBA game, earning only minimal minutes for the Grizzlies in his rookie season. He played for a few other teams before finding himself out of the league, going down as one of the biggest busts in NBA history.

Beasley actually had a nice career and was a memorable player of his era. His rookie year was solid, too, averaging 14 points and five rebounds per game. While he proved to be a great role player, however, he just didn't live up to the expectations placed on a second-overall pick.

After a nice three-year college career at West Virginia, Alexander found himself as a top-ten pick with the Bucks in 2008. His physical tools were promising, but they didn't translate to NBA success, as he failed to crack the team's rotation. HE played a few games with the Bulls the next season, but after that, he was done.

Flynn is perhaps most infamous for being picked at No. 6, immediately before another point guard in the 2009 draft: Stephen Curry. Still, Flynn had a nice rookie campaign, averaging 13 points and four assists per contest. He quickly faltered from there, though, and was out of the NBA after just three seasons.

The Hornets had a pretty bad 2006 draft, in which they had two top-15 picks. At 12 was Hilton Armstrong, who made only minimal contributions to the team over three seasons. At 15 was Cedric Simmons, who had a similar fate and only played in 75 career games.

A 6'8" guard from France, the Knicks selected him with the 8th pick in the 2017 draft. The hope was that he'd be a strong defender and playmaker, but it just never clicked for him offensively. After three years as a part of the rotation, he fell out of favor and was traded after four seasons in New York.

Aldrich was technically picked by the Hornets (at 11 overall in the 2010 draft), but a draft-night trade sent him to OKC. The Thunder have a stellar draft history, but this one just didn't work out. Aldrich played only sporadically before being traded after two seasons.

The 6'7" Croatian was one of the hottest prospects of 2015, evidenced by his being selected with the No. 5 pick. He never became a star, though, topping out at 9 points a game as a bench player in his final Orlando season, his third there. After one-year stints in New York and Portland, he was out of the NBA.

In 2017, the Celtics famously traded out of the No. 1 pick in order to land Jayson Tatum at No. 3 and Romeo Langford (himself also a bust) in 2019. For their trouble, the Sixers had the privilege of grabbing Fultz with the first pick. While he became a decent starter in Orlando, in Philly, he struggled with shoulder injuries and mysterious shooting issues.

The 7-foot stretch big seemed like he had a ton of promise when the Suns nabbed him at fourth overall in 2016. He just couldn't get consistent, though, and spent the bulk of his career coming off the bench. Over three years with Phoenix and cups of coffee in Milwaukee and Golden State, Bender managed career averages of 5 points and four rebounds per game.

Oden was seen as a generational talent when Portland used the No. 1 pick on him in 2007. Every now and then, there were even flashes of it. But, infamously, Oden just couldn't stay healthy, dealing with injury after injury, including missing his entire rookie season. He was never able to build momentum and ultimately appeared in 105 games over the course of six seasons.

After leading Kansas to the NCAA title game, Robinson was picked fifth overall in the 2012 draft by Sacramento. His game didn't end up translating to the NBA, though, and the Kings traded him partway through his rookie campaign. His next team, the Rockets, offloaded him not long after, and Robinson was quickly out of the league.

Primo landed with the Spurs via the 12th pick in the 2021 draft. After an uneventful rookie season, he made headlines for a bad reason. San Antonio waived him, and it was later alleged that he had exposed himself to multiple women.

During the 2014 draft broadcast, when Caboclo was picked 20th by the Raptors, he was famously described as being "two years away from being two years away." This was due to his raw potential, a potential that was never realized. His personal peak came in 2019, when he averaged 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a block for Memphis, but that was his best season by a wide margin.

The Jazz had a lot of faith in Exum's potential upside when they drafted the Australian with the fifth pick in 2014. He had a bit of a "what if" career, as injury after injury stunted his development. Later, though, he revived his career in Europe and returned to the NBA as a serviceable role player.

Brown was the first player ever chosen at No. 1 after having entered the league straight out of high school. He didn't give others who opted to skip college a good name, as he has gone down as one of the most underperforming top picks ever. He managed a 12-year career, but never reached the height of being a team's focal point, let alone one of the league's best players.