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No NBA team has had worse injury luck throughout their existence than the Portland Trail Blazers. The team has somewhat frequently drafted near the top of the draft, but they've regularly selected some of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. Even now, 2023 third-overall pick Scoot Henderson has been looked at as a draft mistake, although he showed signs of life in year two. The Trail Blazers will pick 11th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, and they need to select a prospect who can help get them out of mediocrity. Portland's track record in the draft might prevent that from happening, though, so check out the gallery to see the worst NBA Draft day mistakes in Trail Blazers history.
10. Jeff Lamp – 1981
Jeff Lamp was taken 15th overall in 1981, but he only started one game in total for the Trail Blazers. Lamp's Portland tenure lasted two seasons and amounted to 825 points in total before he was waived. After taking a season off, Lamp actually would find some team success as a bench player on two championship-winning Los Angeles Lakers teams. Lamp contributed even less on the Hardwood for Los Angeles than he did for Portland, though.
9. Nolan Smith – 2011
Nolan Smith was in the spotlight coming out of college because he was a key player on Duke's national championship team in 2010. He rose up draft boards after finding March Madness success in 2010 and becoming a First-Team All-American in 2011, so the Trail Blazers drafted him 21st overall.
Smith only lasted two seasons before he was out of the league. However, he did find some success in a brief career overseas. In Croatia, Smith made an All-Star team, won a cup championship, and won a league championship. He'd opt for coaching quickly into his professional career, though. Smith is now an assistant coach at Memphis.
8. Ronnie Murphy – 1987
Six assists, 36 points, and 11 rebounds. That is all Ronnie Murphy produced statistically after the Trail Blazers drafted him 17th overall in 1987. Murphy broke his foot as a rookie and was twice suspended for being overweight. Reported attitude problems and a sense of entitlement were other issues that led to Murphy playing just one season.
7. Barry Parkhill – 1973
While the NBA is the quintessential basketball league, the ABA was giving them a run for their money in the early-mid '70s before the merger in 1976. Barry Parkhill was drafted to a Trail Blazers team in the NBA, but he ditched them for the ABA's Virginia Squires. Parkhill's rookie season was the Squires' first without Julius Erving, and they struggled without their star. Parkhill never ended up joining an NBA roster.
6. Wally Walker – 1976
Wally Walker was on Portland's championship-winning team in 1977 as a rookie, but he was not the piece that got them over the hump. The 1976 fifth-overall pick averaged just 5.2 points per game in what was his only complete season with the Trail Blazers. Less than six months after the championship, the Trail Blazers would trade Walker to the Seattle SuperSonics. He did win another championship, again as a bench player, but he'd become most known for his front office days. Walker helped build the '90s SuperSonics roster.
5. Martell Webster – 2005
The Trail Blazers owned the third overall pick in 2005, but they traded it to the Utah Jazz just hours before the draft. With their newly acquired sixth overall selection, Portland selected Martell Webster out of Seattle Preparatory School. Webster would become the highest-drafted player to be assigned to the D-League. The third overall pick, meanwhile, turned into Deron Williams. Williams had a brief stint as arguably the best point guard in the NBA. Chris Paul was even picked fourth overall in 2005.
4. Mychal Thompson – 1978
Mychal Thompson was a decent NBA player, but the expectation for first-overall selections is greatness. Thompson was a career 13.7-point-per-game scorer. While he wasn't a bad player, he is one of the worst number-one picks ever, and he has perhaps become more known for being the father of Klay Thompson. Five picks after Thompson was taken first, the Boston Celtics scooped up Larry Bird.
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The expectation for first overall picks is that they become the face of the franchise and eventually a Hall of Fame Talent. Many number-one picks, such as Magic Johnson and LeBron James, hit the mark in that regard. The top picks that failed usually did so because of injuries. Rarely has a number-one pick just been as average as Thompson was, which is why his selection was one of the worst draft day mistakes in Trail Blazers' history.
3. LaRue Martin – 1972
Clearly, the '70s were hard on the Trail Blazers when it came to the draft, excluding the pick of Bill Walton first overall in 1974. Even Walton had a short, four-year stint with the Trail Blazers before injuries decimated his career, though. Although he did win a championship and an MVP before his time in Portland ended.
LaRue Martin was the failed draft pick that started the trend of Trail Blazers' draft busts, especially at the center position. Martin was picked first overall in 1972, just one pick ahead of Bob McAdoo. The next two players on this list busted out because of injury issues, but Martin just lacked talent and motivation.
The center out of Loyola Chicago only averaged 5.3 points per game over his four-year career. He never surpassed 20 minutes per game because he didn't have the trust of his coaching staff. Martin was arguably a worse player and bigger bust than the next two players on this list; they just happened to be drafted ahead of even bigger stars than McAdoo.
2. Greg Oden – 2007
Many fans consider Greg Oden the biggest NBA Draft bust ever. The center from Ohio State entered the 2007 NBA Draft as one of the most talented prospects in recent memory, which is why Portland took him first overall. His career was derailed by injuries, though.
Knee surgery prevented Oden from playing in what would have been his rookie season, and a minute's restriction limited his time on the court the following season. He was then limited to 21 games because of a fractured patella the next year, and he missed the entirety of the next three seasons before he attempted a brief comeback with the Miami Heat.
Overall, Oden played just 82 games with the Trail Blazers. He was talented, but he spent a lot more time in street clothes than in a basketball uniform. To make matters worse, Kevin Durant was drafted with the pick after Oden.
1. Sam Bowie – 1984
Both Oden and Martin have a case as a bigger draft bust than Sam Bowie, but the big man from Kentucky is certainly Portland's worst draft mistake ever. Owning the second overall pick in 1984, the Trail Blazers missed out on the chance to draft Hakeem Olajuwon by one pick. They felt Bowie could be just as dominant of a big man, though. Bowie, like seemingly every Portland big man, was talented but struggled with injuries.
That is not why he ranks as the biggest Trail Blazers draft day mistake, though. Instead, his placement here is justified by who went the exact pick after Bowie. The third pick in 1984 was Michael Jordan, the player who would finish his career as the greatest NBA player of all time.
Bowie's career saw him limited to 38 games as a sophomore, and then he suffered the second broken tibia of his professional career after only five games in year three. The center missed all of year four and was out of Portland after a fifth injury-plagued campaign. Jordan, meanwhile, has a resume that is too long to list, but his career highlights include six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, and nine All-Defensive First-Team nods.
