What Happened to Oden? An NBA Mystery
What happened to Greg Oden? It’s a mystery that has baffled NBA fans for years. Some believe he was cursed, others think he just wasn’t cut out for the NBA. But the truth may never be known.
Oden’s NBA Career
His early years with the Portland Trail Blazers
Oden was drafted first overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He signed a two-year, $24.9 million deal with the Blazers. In his debut, he had two points and two blocks in eight minutes off the bench in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. A few days later, he made his first start and recorded eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in a win over the Golden State Warriors.
He quickly became a starter and averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a rookie. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, becoming just the fifth player in Trail Blazers history to receive that honor.
During his second season with the Blazers, Oden averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, but he missed 21 games due to a foot injury. Despite his injuries, he was still selected to play in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game as a replacement for Shaquille O’Neal
His injuries and surgeries
Oden was drafted first overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He missed the entire 2007–08 season due to a microfracture surgery on his right knee. The next season, he played in 61 games as a rookie. In the 2009–10 season, he played in just 21 games due to more knee injuries. In 2010, he underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee; he missed the entire 2010–11 season as a result. He played in 23 games during the 2011-12 NBA season before suffering a fracture in his left patella that ended his season. The following year, he signed with the Miami Heat, but only played in nine games before having surgery on his right knee again, which caused him to miss the rest of the 2012-13 season. In 2013-14, he appeared in just two games for the Heat before being waived by the team. Oden did not play in an NBA game for over two years until he was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies on April 11, 2015. He appeared in four games for them during the 2014-15 playoffs
His comeback with the Miami Heat
After a few years out of the league, Oden made a comeback with the Miami Heat in 2013. He played in 23 games for the Heat, averaging 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game. He was released by the team in 2014 after appearing in just nine games.
Oden’s Disappearance
One morning, NBA superstar Kevin Durant woke up to a shocking sight. His close friend and former teammate, Greg Oden, was nowhere to be found. Durant would later say that Oden had “disappeared into thin air.” Oden’s family and friends haven’t seen or heard from him in years. So, what happened to Greg Oden?
His last game with the Heat
In his last game with the Miami Heat, on April 10, 2013, Oden played a total of nine minutes. He scored six points on 2-for-3 shooting and had two rebounds in Miami’s 109-102 victory over the Orlando Magic. It would be the last time Oden would play in an NBA game.
Oden signed with the Heat a little over a year later, on September 28, 2014. He was hoping to make a comeback after more than two years away from the game. But his comeback never materialized. He played in just seven games for the Heat’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, before being ruled out for the season due to recurring pain in his surgically repaired knees.
Oden was released by the Heat on November 3, 2015. And that was pretty much it for his NBA career.
Oden last posted to Instagram on June 1, 2017, when he shared a photo of himself with the caption “Getting ready for life.” On Twitter, his last post was from May 31, when he retweeted a fan who had made a comparison between Oden and Shaquille O’Neal. Prior to that, his activity on social media had been erratic; he would go for long stretches without posting anything, only to return with a flurry of activity and then disappear again.
His current whereabouts
Oden has seemingly disappeared from the public eye ever since he was last seen in 2017. So, what exactly happened to him?
After being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007, Oden had a promising start to his NBA career. However, his career was plagued by injuries, and he only ended up playing in parts of four seasons. He last played for the Miami Heat in 2013-14 before taking a break from basketball to focus on his health.
In December 2016, Oden announced that he was making a comeback and signed with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played 10 games for the Dragons before returning to the United States in February 2017.
Since then, Oden has not been seen or heard from publicly. His social media accounts have been inactive since 2017, and there have been no reports of him playing basketball anywhere.
So, what happened to Greg Oden? It’s hard to say for sure. It’s possible that he simply doesn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore and is enjoying a quiet life out of the public eye. Or, he could still be dealing with health issues that prevent him from playing basketball. Unfortunately, we may never know what happened to Greg Oden.
Theories About Oden’s Disappearance
He’s retired from the NBA
There are a few different theories about what happened to Oden. The first is that he simply retired from the NBA. This isn’t too farfetched, as Oden has had a number of injuries throughout his career, including microfracture surgery on his knee. It’s possible that he decided to retire due to health concerns.
Another theory is that Oden went back to school. This also isn’t too farfetched, as Oden did not finish his college degree before entering the NBA. It’s possible that he decided to go back and finish his degree, or that he decided to pursue another line of work altogether.
Finally, there is the theory that Oden was abducted by aliens. This one is a little more out there, but it’s possible that Oden was taken by aliens and is now living on another planet. This would explain why he hasn’t been seen in years.
He’s playing in China
The most popular theory about what happened to Oden is that he’s playing basketball in China. This theory gained a lot of traction when a photo of a man who looked a lot like Oden surfaced on social media playing for a team in China.
However, there’s no concrete evidence that the man in the photo is actually Oden. And even if it is him, there’s no telling if he’s actually happy with his life or not. After all, we don’t know what his situation is like in China. For all we know, he could be miserable and homesick.
He’s taking a break from basketball
The most popular theory about Oden’s disappearance is that he’s taking a break from basketball. This theory is based on the fact that Oden hasn’t been seen or heard from since he left the NBA. There’s no evidence to support this theory, but it’s the most popular one.
Other theories include:
-Oden is injured and can’t play basketball
-Oden is dead
-Oden is in hiding
-Oden has been kidnapped
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is still a mystery as to what happened to Oden. It is possible that he was not cut out for the NBA and that his injuries were just a coincidence. It is also possible that he was never given a fair chance due to the Blazers’ preference for more athletic players. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that Oden’s career was a disappointment.
