Greg Oden‘s career ended the same time the Miami Heat dynasty did
When LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, the Miami Heat built their rosters the same way the four years LeBron was there.
Pay Dwyane Wade, LeBron and Chris Bosh. Give Ray Allen the mid-level exception and fill in the rest of the roster with salary minimum vets that were filling in positions of need. Sometimes it worked (Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Chris “Birdman” Anderson) and then there were some that did not work. Greg Oden was on the list that just didn’t.
Greg Oden was selected with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. His career only gave Portland fans frustrating reminders of the storied injuries of Bill Walton in the ’70s and Sam Bowie in the ’80s.
After five seasons in Portland where he only appeared in a total of 82 games, Oden joined LeBron James as a member of the Miami Heat in 2013 on a two-year deal. He didn’t last the duration of the contract as Oden played in only 23 appearances for Miami that season. He watched from the bench as the San Antonio Spurs ran past the Heat in the NBA Finals. After the season, LeBron went back to Cleveland and Oden ended his NBA career.
It was not all gloom and doom for LeBron playing with the top picks in the draft. Business picked up big time when he got back to Cleveland.