The worst NBA players in history are not talked about too often. Instead, we tend to focus on the GOATS. LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry. Those types of talents.
That won’t be the case here. Below, we check in on the 20 worst NBA players in history. They span generations of ineptitude on the court and include both No. 1 overall picks and second-round selections.
From Michael Olowokandi to Cherokee Parks, here are the 20 worst NBA players in history.
20. Michael Olowokandi
Selected No. 1 overall in the 1998 NBA Draft out of a small California college named Pacific, this 7-foot center was expected to be the next great thing. Boy, was Clippers front office head and all-time NBA legend Elgin Baylor wrong about this one.
The “Kandi Man,” as he was known, went on to average 9.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in five uneventful seasons with the then-downtrodden Clippers before stops with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics. In his final two NBA seasons, Olowokandi averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds. What makes him especially a failure in Southern California is the fact that Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce were all selected behind him in the draft.
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19. Keith Closs
There were some within the Clippers who believed Closs was going to break out after a decent rookie season back in 1997-98. He averaged 4.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in limited action. That never came to fruition.
Over the course of his final two seasons, this Central Connecticut State product (that’s a thing) averaged 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds before bombing out in the Association. In his final NBA season, Closs joined Olowokandi in helping Los Angeles post a 15-67 record. How fun.
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18. Elliot Williams
After bombing out with Mike Krzyzewski and Duke as a freshman back in 2008-09, this former top recruit transferred to Memphis under then-coach Josh Pastner. It proved to be a boon for Williams as he averaged 17.9 points and 4.0 rebounds as a sophomore.
Well, Williams should have stayed in school. After being a first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010, he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. It was all downhill for the guard from there. Williams would finish his professional career averaging 4.9 points while shooting 42% from the field in parts of five seasons, including averaging 1.6 points on 20% shooting in his final campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015-16.
17. Javaris Crittenton
A former Mr. Georgia Basketball, Crittenton seemingly had the world as his oyster heading to Georgia Tech in 2006. He was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and the Senior Beta Club in high school and acted the part of a team leader with the Yellow Jackets in his only season with the team.
That led to the guard being selected No. 19 overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The rest represents a cautionary tale. Crittenton played only two seasons in the NBA and 22 games with the Lakers. He averaged 5.3 points in stops with three teams. The Georgia native is best known in league circles for confronting then-Washington Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas with a gun in the locker room. Crittenton would never see the court again. He’s now serving 23 years in prison after being charged for manslaughter in the killing of a 22-year-old mother of four back in 2011.
16. DeSagana Diop
Diop somehow found a way to play parts of 11 seasons in the NBA despite averaging a mere 2.0 points and 14 minutes per game. Even at 7-foot, the Senegal native never averaged more than 3.4 rebounds in a single season.
The No. 8 pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2002 NBA Draft, there was hope that this big man could help provide some balance for LeBron James. As you can see, that never came to fruition. The likes of Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph and Gilbert Arenas were all picked after Diop that June. Funny enough, Johnson is back in the NBA.
15. Hamed Haddadi
Here’s an interesting story. An Iranian born big man, Haddadi is still somehow playing professionally overseas at the age of 36. He was originally undrafted by the Memphis Grizzlies after the 2004 NBA Draft. That came after he received offers for multiple teams in the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.
It never panned out in the United States with Haddadi averaging 2.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in parts of five seasons. The good news? Haddadi has won three Asian Cup Gold Medals while earning the Asian Cup MVP four times. Sometimes, international ball just doesn’t translate to the NBA.
14. Mark Madsen
We children of the 1990s know full well just how much of a larger-than-life figure Madsen was with the Stanford Cardinal. He helped lead the team to four NCAA Tournament births with the Cardinal earning a trip to the Final 4 in 1998 due to some heroics on the big man’s part.
The Los Angeles Lakers hoped that this would translate to the NBA when they selected “Mad Dog” in the first round back in 2000. Despite the success this team was having under Phil Jackson, it never happened. Madsen finished his Lakers career averaging 2.6 points in three seasons. He ended up playing another six seasons with the Timberwolves, averaging 0.4 points in his final two campaigns. Madsen does, however, have the distinction of being the worst basketball player ever to win two NBA titles. There’s that.
13. Lazar Hayward
A four-star recruit, “Money Man” had a brilliant college career at Marquette — earning AP All-American honors in 2010 and leading the program to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Unfortunately for the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves, this success didn’t transfer to the NBA. After being selected with the 30th pick in the 2010 draft, Hayward averaged all of 2.9 points on 35% shooting in parts of three seasons. He played all of 72 games. Oh, and the dude was arrested in September of 2021 for attempting to enter Hawaii with a fake negative COVID-19 test.
12. Hasheem Thabeet
What do James Harden and Stephen Curry have in common aside from being future Hall of Famers? Each one was selected immediately after Thabeet in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Considered a raw player at the time when the Memphis Grizzlies picked him up No. 2 overall, the Tanzania native went on to have one of the most unassuming careers for a top-three pick in Association history. This big man averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in parts of five NBA seasons. Did we mention James Harden and Stephen Curry went behind him in the draft? I am sure we did.
11. Darko Milicic
The Detroit Pistons will never live this one down. Ever. The same 2003 NBA Draft that saw LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade come off the board within the top five also included Miličić going No. 2 overall behind King James.
You don’t need to be a genius to realize how this turned out for Detroit. The dude averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds while shooting 34% from the field in parts of three seasons with the Pistons. Those are real stats. Factual stats. And they have Miličić as one of the biggest busts in NBA Draft history.
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