Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn, and Buddy Hield are just a few of the many rookies who are very excited about the 2016-’17 NBA season getting underway. With that said, in a few years, these rookies will be examined and probed in debates about who is the biggest bust of their draft class. We can make a few predictions now, however, we would rather the season play out before we start naming players.
Every sports organization is going to have a bust in their annual draft. It’s guaranteed like death and taxes that somebody is going to drop the ball. A player could be a bust for a number of reasons, as he can never fulfill his potential, get hurt constantly, or have a life altering accident. Our apologies if we stirred any old memories for the Portland Trail Blazers fans, but they know exactly what we’re referring to. You can also research the 1984 NBA Draft and read about how Michael Jordan was passed over by the Trail Blazers for Sam “Who” Bowie. If Jordan can be passed over for a bust, anything can happen in this league.
We decided to cover the last 20 years of the NBA Draft starting with 2015. You may remember some of these players, while others will have you shaking your heads as to why a team picked them. Either way, we hope you enjoy.
20. 2015 – Mario Hezonja
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
It’s still too early to tell who the biggest disappointment of the 2015 NBA Draft will be, but after one season under their belt, Mario Hezonja is the first name that comes to mind. Drafted fifth overall by the Orlando Magic, the Croatian small forward averaged a measly 6.1 points and 1.4 assists per game last season. If you double his points average, it still wouldn’t be better than the first four players in last year’s draft (Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor, and Kristaps Porzingis).
Even several players that were drafted behind Hezonja outperformed him last year. This includes Willie Cauley-Stein, Emmanuel Mudiay, Myles Turner, and Devin Booker. There’s still a lot of time for Hezonja to turn into a better player, but as the moment, the Magic thought they were getting pixie dust but instead just got the dust.
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