25 NBA Players Who Wasted the Most Talent

[Andrew]

According to Bleacher Report.

1. Len Bias
2. Derrick Coleman
3. Chris Washburn
4. Javaris Crittenton
5. Jay Williams
6. Eddy Curry
7. Isaiah Rider
8. Eddie Griffin
9. Vin Baker
10. Terrence Williams
11. Keon Clark
12. Bonzi Wells
13. Kwame Brown
14. Oliver Miller
15. Latrell Sprewell
16. Stephon Marbury
17. Sean May
18. Ricky Davis
19. Gilbert Arenas
20. Steve Francis
21. Jason Williams
22. Antoine Walker
23. Rashard Lewis
24. Shawn Kemp
25. Allen Iverson

Not a bad list, though for a couple of them it's probably more a case of their talent being overrated in the first place as they turned out to be busts. Players like Kwame Brown, Keon Clark, Oliver Miller and Terrence Williams probably don't belong, in hindsight I'm not sure there were ever realistic expectations for them to be all-time greats. The top ten should really be made of players who could've been great but threw it away through one reason or another. Derrick Coleman, Chris Washburn and I'd say even Eddy Curry all deserve their spots in the top ten for that reason.

The list is also a little inconsistent as to what constitutes wasting talent and in particular, a player actively wasting their talent. The laziness of Coleman and Curry is a definite example of talent going to waste, as is Washburn's drug problems. With Jay Williams and even Len Bias, it's one fateful decision that turned out really bad, particularly in Bias' case. We can certainly say "What a waste", but they didn't necessarily waste their talent, at least not in the same sense some of the other players on the list did.

[Mavs4Life]

I feel like J-Will should get a higher spot, & Kemp IMO deserves a top 15.

[Kenny]

I'm not quite sure why Latrell Sprewell is so high, particularly above Steve Francis and Antoine Walker

[Andrew]

Kemp's a difficult one to place. On one hand I'd agree you could place him in the top 15, but at the same time he's a case of his career being derailed later on, admittedly by his own choices but that's still different to someone like an Eddy Curry whose talents went to waste with a poor work ethic from day one. Tough call.

[Mavs4Life]

I see your point, Kemp's derail did happen as he was getting older, but still could've been stopped.

[Andrew]

Absolutely. Shawn Kemp was my cousin's favourite player back in the day and as such one of mine too, it's a shame how things turned out.

[Axel The Great]

Me being a Rockets fan and all, I think it's way too early to put Terrence Williams on that list, much less the top 10. He may not have the best of attitudes and could possibly be heading down the same road of others in that list, but for god's sake he's only been in the league for two years.

[Andrew]

I agree, I think the list should only include players who could've been so much more and had ample opportunity to do so, but threw it away. Terrence Williams doesn't qualify in that respect.

[jettdaking!]

great find. Gil should get a lil higher spot

[rise]

I'm not sure Crittenton should be that high up. He didn't have much talent to begin with. He also proved he couldn't shoot very well.

[Andrew]

Exactly. Like Terrence Williams, I wouldn't be inclined to list him at all.

[jettdaking!]

I'm not sure Crittenton should be that high up. He didn't have much talent to begin with. He also proved he couldn't shoot very well.

he was young though, but he always gets in and out of the D-League, so i guess you have a point

[jettdaking!]

I'm not sure Crittenton should be that high up. He didn't have much talent to begin with. He also proved he couldn't shoot very well.

he was young though, but he always gets in and out of the D-League, so i guess you have a point

[Spotlight]

JR Smith should be in the top. He was the closest I've seen to Kobe Bryant - amazing athlete cabable of makin incredible shots. Very few people have combination to do both. If he just worked on other things in his game like Bryant... Wasted talent. Every year I'm expecting him to wake up and start working, improving his game, but at this point it seems it's too late for him. Too bad. Eddy Curry should be in the top 3 as well. However Bias is the fair call at number 1.

[[Q]]

what about tmac?

[Patr1ck]

Is "wasted"supposed to be some kind of drug pun?

[Andrew]

what about tmac?

He didn't waste his talent. A series of injuries ended up shortening his prime and forcing him into a smaller role earlier than he likely would have had he still been healthy the past five or six years.

[Patr1ck]

What did Steve Francis do?

[Oznogrd]

what about tmac?

He didn't waste his talent. A series of injuries ended up shortening his prime and forcing him into a smaller role earlier than he likely would have had he still been healthy the past five or six years.

How was that different from Gil or others? This is a weird list. Like you said in the original post: lots of inconsistency

Sean May belongs nowhere near this list, he never had talent. He just shoved people out of the way (think like an out of shape shaq) and hoped the foul got called for him. He was only dominant the 1 year, and never really seemed in shape enough to be a true athlete.

Yes i'm still bitter from when he shoulder checked luther head and there was no call.

[shadowgrin]

You guys shouldn't even be discussing the (in)consistency of that list, it is from Bleacher Report after all.

[rise]

JR Smith should be in the top. He was the closest I've seen to Kobe Bryant - amazing athlete cabable of makin incredible shots. Very few people have combination to do both. If he just worked on other things in his game like Bryant... Wasted talent. Every year I'm expecting him to wake up and start working, improving his game, but at this point it seems it's too late for him. Too bad. Eddy Curry should be in the top 3 as well. However Bias is the fair call at number 1.

JR Smith? Even if he worked on his defense, he'd still be a borderline All-Star at best. He was never going to be a Kobe.

[NovU]

Formula in JR Smith's case...

Aesthetic shot maker(but inconsistent) = Much wasted talent

[[Q]]

i dunno, i still felt like tmac couldve done more (before the injuries) if he tried harder

[Andrew]

How was that different from Gil or others? This is a weird list. Like you said in the original post: lots of inconsistency

Indeed, it's not different. Arenas is another one I'd be inclined to strike from the list.

[_Steve_]

How was that different from Gil or others? This is a weird list. Like you said in the original post: lots of inconsistency

Indeed, it's not different. Arenas is another one I'd be inclined to strike from the list.

I agree on that.
Am I the only one to find it disturbing to find Len Bias on that list? He is as much of an Nba player as Rubio is right now. Both got drafted but never played in the Nba (in case of Rubio at least not until now).
I'd also say, as many do here, that Critterton could not waste something he'd never had.
In my opinion Coleman or Baker should be #1.