Greatest player who didn't meet pre draft expectations?

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Thinking about someone who achieved less than what people were expecting, but still a lot.
Could it be Patrick Ewing?

[UcanUwill]

My first thought was Anthony Davis, tho Patrick Ewing probably an answer.

[SimonFish]

Odom

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[bonita_the_frog]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

[Tomtolbert]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

Many projected him as the next Bill Russell.

[OleSchool]

Darko

Edit

Sorry didn't fully understand the question

[makubesu]

LeBron?

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

Ewing would have gone #1 in 1984, according to many sources, had he left early.

[Snotbubbles]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

Many projected him as the next Bill Russell.

Ewing was a total beast in college. When he came out, people thought it wasn't a matter of if, but when, he'd win championships. He still had an excellent career, but nowhere near where he was projected. I thought he'd impact the pro game the way Shaq did, but he didn't.

[Tomtolbert]

I'd go with Ewing, though it's hard to know what expectations were like for older players.

Some others: Walton, Webber, Iverson.

[MoneyTalks41890]

There are players who had higher expectations but Andrew Wiggins gets a vote for me. He had a lot of hype.

[Saints14]

Towns? He is much worse defensively than he was billed as as a prospect, and wasn’t really a franchise altering player, still a great career though

[UcanUwill]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

Many projected him as the next Bill Russell.

Wasn't Ewing top 3 prospect ever? At least thats what I learned from RealGM, I wouldn't know.

[MartyConlonJr]

I mean, I am probably not old enough to know what Patrick Ewings pre-draft expectations were, but all you have to find is someone who had higher expectations than what they achieved in their career, and then find the highest ranked player out of that lot.

So even if someone thought Patrick Ewing was going to be the greatest NBA player of all time and he drastically undelivered, or someone thought Shaq would have won 5 titles if he maintained his fitness in the offseason, but he didn't and only won 4 (slightly under delivered), then Shaq would be the answer, because he is the greater player who did not meet the expectation. How much he missed the expectation by is irrelevant.

[TheGeneral99]

Not the greatest one, but Wiggins was someone who had enormous hype before the draft and was heralded as a sure fire star. Looking back he's had a nice career, made 1 all-star team, and won a chip, but he's fallen way short of what was expected.

[Haldi]

Towns? He is much worse defensively than he was billed as as a prospect, and wasn’t really a franchise altering player, still a great career though

This or Wiggins makes more sense to me than Ewing. Its a tricky question but when I make sense of whats being asked here, the description of that player has to somewhat fit a “bust”. Wiggins definitely fits the bust requirement, in comparison to his expectations, Towns somewhat fits it too I think, but Ewing I don’t really see it. I get he had GOAT expectations but even though he didn’t get anywhere near the GOAT conversation, his career overall is what I’d call an “All NBA career”.

Wiggins sure as hell is not having an “All NBA career” and I would say Towns either despite having a few third team nods. Ewing also had massive knee problems, and of course likely has an even better career if not.

I think the minimum for guys that are expected to be all time greats to not be considered a bust is an “all NBA career” or at least a bunch of all star teams. Making it into the top 10 all time is not a requirement and you are not a bust for not making it. Its an absurd expectation to start with lol.

Anyways, that’s the way I see this topic.

[Sofia]

Was Ewing expected to be as good as Olajuwon or Shaq?

Many projected him as the next Bill Russell.

Wasn't Ewing top 3 prospect ever? At least thats what I learned from RealGM, I wouldn't know.

There have been about 12 of those in the past 10 years

[ReggiesKnicks]

LeBron?

How? He is seen as the GOAT in many people's eyes and at worst Top 2-3 of all-time.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Not the greatest one, but Wiggins was someone who had enormous hype before the draft and was heralded as a sure fire star. Looking back he's had a nice career, made 1 all-star team, and won a chip, but he's fallen way short of what was expected.

The Wiggins hype sort of swayed after his college season, which was disappointing. He was still taken #1 overall, but by the time of the draft, his hype had waned a considerable amount.

He was taken #1 overall as the draft was relatively weak. Embiid was a phenomenal prospect, but had a major injury, while Jabari Parker was a large scoring wing and a good, not great, prospect.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Many projected him as the next Bill Russell.

Wasn't Ewing top 3 prospect ever? At least thats what I learned from RealGM, I wouldn't know.

There have been about 12 of those in the past 10 years

At the time of his draft, he might have been arguably that.
Even now, the top tier of prospects I can remember, post merger, is:
Sampson
Akeem
Ewing
Robinson
Shaq
Timmeh
LeBron
Oden
Davis (maybe, probably a tier below)
Wemby