Greg Oden, and his body’s demise, has been harped upon many times by any Blazers fan. ESPN caught up with the center to talk about his post-NBA life.
Greg Oden and his body collapsing is something that will always haunt Blazers fans.
He was supposed to be the franchise-altering big man of the future. He’d not be another Sam Bowie, pull the Blazers out of the Jail Blazers era and hope to bring a championship like Bill Walton.
But, rather, Oden suffered a multitude of injuries that he could never return from.
ESPN The Magazine, for their Body issue, caught up with Oden, as the former Ohio State center is returning to classes to finish up his degree.
Oden, his body and the Blazers
The piece goes in-depth on how Oden was a celebrity on campus, taking “45 minutes to walk one block,” as well as the pain the big man feels today. Stairs are a task for the seven footer.
Another task was dealing with the “bust” title so many three down upon him. He got hooked on alcohol and painkillers; he got charged with domestic assault on his then-girlfriend.
An interesting bit of information comes when detailing Oden’s body’s transformation:
"Oden explains that when he was in sixth grade, he grew so volcanically — 6 inches in less than a year — that his right hip detached from its socket. After surgery to place two pins in the joint, Oden enjoyed swinging his gangly legs on crutches down the hallways at school. But though the procedure worked, it left his right leg 8 millimeters shorter than his left."
This comes into play when the Blazers selected him No. 1 overall. A special orthotic given to Oden was intended to help, but may have had the inverse effect:
"“Three weeks later, I’m in surgery,” he says. Oden can’t prove that the orthotic is the sole reason his body collapsed in the NBA."
The connection between the Blazers’ medical staff and Oden’s injuries further progressed:
"His knee injury after wearing the orthotics wiped out his first season. At the beginning of his second year, the team gave him an insert so thick that it pushed his right ankle past the rim of his high-tops. Thirteen minutes into his regular-season debut, he sprained his right foot and missed two weeks."
The Oden what-if
I’ve read before that Oden was hard to reach when injured, and this piece goes on to confirm that. It’s said that Oden was an easy text but hard to get on the phone. And really, it’s not hard to blame him.
The weight of the team’s future was thrust onto his frame (and knees). He’s the butt of many jokes, and one of the biggest busts in the eyes of many.
As Kevin Durant blossoms and challenges LeBron James in the NBA Finals, it rings a what-if.
Portland could have drafted Durant, and maybe with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers win a title, maybe many, and become a premier NBA franchise.
That scenario, picking Durant over Oden, will always hang over the franchise.
Next: Blazers beat top-seeded Raptors, advance to quarterfinals
They had Oden, for better or worse. And they had Roy, who became an important figure because of his likability and ability on the court. He was there when Oden wasn’t, but then he too wasn’t there because of his own injuries.
Oden still seems haunted by the injury, but he’s on the right track. You can read the whole recovery process and the struggle it’s taken here.