The NBA Draft is one of the most interesting things to watch each year. That's because analysts spend the entire time telling you how special each player is. While most of them are because it's a huge deal just to get to the NBA, some of them just aren't cut out to succeed there.
These experts end up with egg on their faces whenever one of these players misses the mark. Each Draft has a player or two who gets taken with a high pick, only to have a career that never lives up to expectations. They're known as busts and the 2000s had some memorable ones.
10 2000 - Marcus Fizer
It's widely known that the 2000 NBA Draft wasn't a great one. While #1 pick Kenyon Martin put together a solid career, names like Stromile Swift (#2), Darius Miles (#3), and DerMarr Johnson (#6) couldn't live up to the hype.
Those guys at least had some decent years. #4 pick Marcus Fizer, taken by the Bulls, never panned out. He had two years where he averaged double-digit scoring but still wasn't rebounding enough for a guy his size. By the time Fizer was 27, he was out of the league.
9 2001 - Kwame Brown
Before LeBron James did it, Kwame Brown was the first high school player taken with the number one overall selection. Unlike James, Brown proved to be nowhere near the caliber of player you want in that slot.
Michael Jordan has been heavily criticized for this pick. Brown managed to last 11 seasons with the league but only averaged double figures once. He never developed into much of a rebounder, defender, or anything else noteworthy. Brown is most known for being the punchline to a famous Stephen A. Smith rant.
8 2002 - Nikoloz Tskitishvili
It's too easy to put Jay Williams here. As the #2 pick, he was supposed to turn the Bulls around but a motorcycle accident ended his career after one season. So, the biggest bust goes to Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
Taken #5 by the Denver Nuggets, Tskitishvili played just four seasons and had a career scoring average of 2.9ppg. He still plays overseas to some success but was once ranked as the worst lottery pick in history.
7 2003 - Darko Miličić
The 2003 NBA Draft class is arguably the greatest ever. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and a barrage of good role players were taken that year. That's what makes Darko Miličić such a huge bust.
Miličić was drafted #2 by the Detroit Pistons, ahead of everyone but James. While the Pistons were on the verge of an NBA Title and didn't need a star like Wade or Anthony, they got nothing from Miličić. His nickname was the "Human Victory Cigar" because he only played when his team was ahead by a lot.
6 2004 - Rafael Araújo
This was a hard year to pick a bust. Most of the class went on to have solid careers. Dwight Howard, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Devin Harris are among them.
However, #9 pick Rafael Araújo gets the distinction of being 2004's top bust. The Brazilian big man played just three seasons and racked up career averages of less than three points and three rebounds per game.
5 2005 - Sean May
2005 might as well as have been called the UNC Draft. The defending NCAA Champions produced four of the top 14 picks. Marvin Williams never shined as a #2 pick but had a few good years. Raymond Felton (#5) also carved out a nice career.
Even #14 Rashad McCants had good seasons. #13 Sean May, taken by the Bobcats, had two alright seasons. That's it. He never amounted to much on defense or as a presence inside and stopped being productive by 2007.
4 2006 - Adam Morrison
Adam Morrison was a big deal in college playing against lackluster competition at Gonzaga. The high-scoring forward was put on the level of guys like JJ Redick and taken ahead of players like Rudy Gay and Brandon Roy.
In his rookie season, Morrison (the third bust taken by Michael Jordan on this list) averaged 11.8ppg but shot a paltry 37%. After a knee injury, he returned to ride the bench en route to two NBA TItles with the Lakers but was a massive disappointment.
3 2007 - Greg Oden
While Jay Williams was spared from the list for his freak accident, Greg Oden still makes it. That's because he was taken #1 overall and he famously went ahead of Kevin Durant, who went on to become an all-time great player.
Oden missed his entire rookie season with an injury. He played just 82 games over the next two seasons and was then gone from the league. Oden tried a comeback a few years later but it went nowhere.
2 2008 - Joe Alexander
To be fair, not many expected big things from Joe Alexander. Still, he was taken by the Bucks with the #8 pick and it's safe to say that it didn't go well. The West Virginia product played in just 67 games over two years.
During that time, Alexander failed to make an impact. To make it worse, some good players were taken after him. They include Brook Lopez, D.J. Augustin, Roy Hibbert, Serge Ibaka, George Hill, and DeAndre Jordan.
1 2009 - Hasheem Thabeet
UCONN has a history of sending good players to the NBA. However, #2 pick in 2009, Hasheem Thabeet proved to be the exact opposite of that. For starters, consider that he was taken ahead of James Harden and Stephen Curry.
If that's not bad enough, Thabeet never averaged more than 3.1ppg or 3.6rpg. He didn't even become a quality shot blocker, which was his biggest skill coming out of the draft. Somehow, he hung around the NBA for five seasons.