Greg Oden is going to the BIG 3
By Kareem Gantt
Greg Oden and his knees are giving this basketball thing another shot.
Greg Oden left the NBA world too soon, but thanks to the BIG3 league, he may finally get the chance to make his comeback.
According to Daniel Rapaport of Sports Illustrated, Oden is aiming for a summer debut at the growing league. He will be participating in the BIG3 combine later this year, in which he will try to prove to the league that his knees can hold up to the rigors of professional basketball.
Those darned knees are what torpedoed Oden’s short-lived NBA career. If you don’t know of the tragedy that is Greg Oden, here’s some historical context to get you caught up. Get a box of tissues, because this short tale is truly tragic.
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After starting along with Mike Conley Jr. in high school in Indiana, Odeb was a highly coveted big man for college recruiters. Ohio State wound up winning the prize, but before he headed to Columbus, he had surgery on his right wrist.
After starting at Ohio State (and leading the Buckeyes to the 2007 National Championship game), Oden was widely projected to the be the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Mind you, this was the same class that produced Kevin Durant, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, but the Portland Trail Blazers, who owned the first pick, drafted Oden.
See? Told you it would get tragic.
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To make a long story short, Oden would have an injury-plagued career, with his knees failing him every time. So can Oden make a comeback? We don’t know. He’s been out of basketball since the 2013-14 season, and it remains to be seen if his knees will allow him to finally have the career he was originally destined to have.