10 NBA players who were born in the wrong era

10. Greg Oden

Greg Oden starts off the list because injuries were legitimately a major factor in his career going off the rails as quickly as it did, but there’s an argument that he could have made it work in a different era with his size and skill alone. Oden was one of the great college players of this era, carrying the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship Game in 2007.

He came into the league and immediately had microfracture surgery. Maybe he tries to tough it out the first year because that’s pretty much how players did it back in the 50s and 60s. Not saying it’s the smartest move, but it also couldn’t have gone worse.

Oden would have been the greatest weapon in the 50s and 60s basketball. He would be a dominant force that would get 20-30 points a game. Nobody could stop him when he got going. He would probably get four blocks per game. Oden would just be a massive advantage on both sides of the ball.

His body had to survive somewhat. Just because it was the early days doesn’t mean he can be unhealthy. Honestly, maybe he even does a little better now with the massive advances in athletic surgery we’ve seen over the past decade. Either way, Greg Oden’s career came at the wrong time.