Dukes biggest busts in NBA Draft history

Dukes biggest busts in NBA Draft history

Duke basketball has produced some of the biggest names in the NBA.Kyrie Irving has become one of the league's best point guards. Jayson Tatum just powered the Celtics to the NBA Finals. Grant Hill delivered a Hall of Fame career and was a seven-time All-Star.On Thursday, five more Blue Devils Paulo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Mark Williams, Trevor Keels and Wendell Moore could hear their names called in the first round which would tie Kentucky's record for the most first-round picks from one school in a single draft.But for all the succe s the pro Duke players have found in their careers, there are also several that did not live up to the hype. Some could even be saddled with the dreaded "b" word.NBA DRAFT: | | Of course, the term "bust" is subjective, with different interpretations depending on whom you ask. For this list, we're considering not just the player's performance in the NBA, but where they were drafted. The higher the pick, the higher the Tennessee Titans Home Office standards.Enough with the small talk. Without further ado, counting down the 10 biggest draft busts from Duke... 10. Justise Winslow, F 2015 NBA Draft, 10th overall to HeatWinslow was a standout one-and-done player for the Blue Devils. During the 2014-15 season, he averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 a sists, and established himself as one of the top prospects in the 2015 cla s. But it has not clicked for Winslow in the NBA. He has averaged double-digit point totals only four times in his career, and has had only one season (2018-19) in which he started at least half of his team's games. He's been a contributor in the paint as he's averaged 5.1 rebounds per game acro s his career, but he has not been the impact performer many thought he would be. Getty Images 9. Danny Ferry, F 1989 NBA Draft, 2nd overall to ClippersFerry was a regular starter for the Blue Devils in four years, but turned it up in his fourth year at Duke when he averaged Larrell Murchison Jersey 22.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.7 a sists per game. The Clippers took him second overall in 1989, but Ferry refused to play and instead spent the season in Italy. In 1990, he signed a 10-year deal with the Cavaliers that secured his spot in the league for a while. It wasn't until the 1995-96 season that he started a bulk of the season. He averaged 13.3 points in 82 games (79 starts), but then saw his playing time diminish over the remainder of his career, starting 96 games over his final seven years in the NBA. He finished his career with an average of 7.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game acro s 917 games. A long career, but perhaps not as succe sful as one would expect out of a second overall pick.MORE: Getty Images 8. Cherokee Parks, F 1995 NBA Draft, 12th overall to MavericksOnce Parks became a starter in Durham, he was a consistent double-digit scorer. He averaged at least 12.3 points per game from his sophomore through senior years, and capped off his career with 19 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in his senior year that helped him get selected 12th overall by the Mavericks in 1995. Parks spent nine years in the NBA, but he was never an impact player. His best season came in the 1997-98 campaign when he averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 43 starts (79 games) with the Timberwolves. He wound up spending time with seven different teams after just a single year with Dallas. Getty Images 7. William Avery, G 1999 NBA Draft, 14th overall to TimberwolvesAvery did not start in his first season with the Blue Devils and came exclusively off the bench, but in the 1998-99 campaign, he became an impact player for Duke, averaging 14.9 points for the national runner-up squad. The Timberwolves believed A.J. Brown Jersey he could have that type of impact as a scorer and took him 14th overall in 1999, but it was not to be. Avery started one game in his three-year NBA career and averaged a career-best 2.8 points in the 2000-01 season. His option was declined after the 2001-02 season, and he never returned to the NBA.MORE: 6. Tate Armstrong, G 1977 NBA Draft, 13th overall to BullsArmstrong exploded on the college basketball scene in his junior year with the Blue Devils. He averaged 24.2 points per game and replicated that against in the 1976-77 season when he averaged 22.7 points per game. His succe sful collegiate career led him to be selected 13th overall by the Bulls in 1977. The same level of scoring did not follow him to the NBA, however. He averaged 4.3 points per game in his rookie season in 66 games. He played in only 26 games in his second season with just 2.5 points per game. 5. Nolan Smith, G 2011 NBA Draft, 21st overall to Trail BlazersDuring his junior and senior years, Smith was about as impactful as any player for the Blue Devils. He averaged 19 points and 4.0 a sists acro s the two seasons, helping lead Duke to a title in the 2009-10 season and another tournament run the following year. The Eddie George Jersey Trail Blazers opted to selected him 21st overall. However, his NBA career was short-lived. He started four games in his first year in the NBA and averaged only 3.8 points, 1.4 a sists and 1.3 rebounds in 44 total games. The next year, he appeared in 40 games in what would be his final year in the league. He signed with the Celtics in the 2013 Summer League, but later signed with a team in the Croatian League.MORE: Getty Images 4. Trajan Langdon, G 1999 NBA Draft, 11th overall to CavaliersThe Alaskan A sa sin was a consistent performer as a four-year starter at Duke, but he saved his best for last, averaging 17.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in the 1998-99 season just as he was preparing to go to the NBA. The Cavaliers took him with the 11th overall pick in the 1999 draft. He made history as the first Alaskan-born NBA player, but otherwise, did not have a major impact on the league. He never averaged more than six points per game and started in only five games in 119 games acro s his three-year career before going to play in Europe.DRAFT PROSPECT RANKINGS A J Brown T Shirts : | | 3. Jabari Parker, F 2014 NBA Draft, 2nd overall to BucksIn his lone season with Duke, Parker was a scoring machine. He averaged 19.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and scored at least 20 points in more than half of his games played. Milwaukee selected him second overall in 2014, and immediately plugged him into the starting five. Early in his rookie year, he tore his ACL, cutting short his first year. He has continued to be plagued by injuries throughout his career, and has only once started in more than 50 games. Though he has averaged 14.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, Parker has been waived twice in the past two seasons and has not started a game since the 2019-20 season.MORE: 2. Jahlil Okafor, C 2015 NBA Draft, 3rd overall to 76ersOkafor arrived in Durham as the No. 1 recruit in the nation with lofty expectations that he met in college. Playing on a team filled with futu