Greg Oden‘s NBA career started with immense promise when he was drafted first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007. However, recurring injuries limited him to only three seasons in the league, split between the Blazers and the Miami Heat.
Despite his well-documented injury struggles, Oden‘s biggest regret isn’t just about the missed games but also the timing of his departure, as he retired in October 2016, just before the NBA salary cap saw a massive spike.
Not long after, the NBA salary cap saw an unprecedented increase of over 30 percent, making contracts more lucrative than ever.
During a recent appearance on “The OGs Show” with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Oden opened up about his feelings on missing the financial benefits that came with the increase, expressing frustration about the timing of his exit from the league.
“The year I retired was the year Timofey [Mozgov] got that $50M,” Oden said.
“And I wanted to kill everybody in the f***ing world. I hated life. I was depressed. If they threw him 50 mil, I’m like, all I need to do is be on the team-that’s 20 easy.”
Struggled with injuries
His career was off to a tough start as a knee surgery forced him to miss his entire rookie season. Oden eventually made his long-awaited NBA debut with the Trail Blazers in the 2008/09 season, where he played 61 regular-season games and posted averages of 8.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game.
Injuries, however, continued to derail Oden‘s path. He managed to play just 21 games in his second season, though his performance saw a boost with 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.
Unfortunately, injuries would force him to sit out the next two seasons entirely, prompting the Trail Blazers to waive their once-promising first-round pick in 2012.
In 2013, Oden attempted a comeback by signing with the Miami Heat. However, his time with the team was brief; he played in only 23 games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, marking his final stint in the NBA.