8 Stars the Portland Trail Blazers missed drafting by a single pick

6. Kevin Durant - 2007

Trail Blazers pick: Greg Oden No. 1

Other pick: Kevin Durant, No. 2 (Seattle Supersonics)

Outside of Sam Bowie, the most disappointing draft selection in Portland Trail Blazers history has to be Greg Oden. Oden's lack of success in the NBA was mainly a result of his multiple injuries and knee surgeries, so it's not entirely fair to compare him to Sam Bowie. The pick made sense then - Oden was dominant as a Freshman at Ohio State. Steve Kerr, back when he was a Yahoo Sports writer, even called him a "once-in-a-decade player."

" I've talked with a lot of people around the league, and everyone is saying that if they trade a first-round pick in next year's draft, they'll lottery-protect it. Oden is a once-in-a-decade type player, and if a team has any chance of getting him, it has to hang on to that chance."

- Steve Kerr

At the time, the perception around the league was that the Blazers were extremely lucky to land the No. 1 overall pick and have the opportunity to select a generational prospect like Oden. But in retrospect, like these other Blazers picks, it was another unfortunate selection.

It didn't help the Blazers' case when a Hall of Fame prospect like Kevin Durant was available. Despite still being in the league, The Athletic ranked Durant as the 13th-best player of all time. By the time Durant's career is up, he could be considered a top-ten player, given his continued success and high level of play. He's one of the best scorers the league has ever seen as a 6-foot-11 forward who nearly averages 50-40-90 shooting splits in his career.

Durant is a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, league MVP, 14-time All-Star, and four-time NBA scoring champion. At 35, his resume already ranks among the best. Portland significantly missed out on this one.