Greg Oden

Gregory Wayne Oden Jr. (born January 22, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player.

Oden, a 7 foot (2.1m) center, played college basketball at Ohio State University for one season, during which the team was the Big Ten Conference regular season champion and Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament champion with Oden as the tournament MOP.

Additionally, Oden and the Buckeyes were the tournament runner-up in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

Oden and Durant were the first freshmen voted to the All-American First Team since 1990, and the third and fourth overall.

Throughout his high school and college career, Oden never lost a home game.

He was named Parade's High School Co-Player of the Year 2005 (along with Monta Ellis) and 2005 National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

On June 29, 2005, Oden and Lawrence North teammate Mike Conley Jr.. announced that they would be attending Ohio State University starting with the 2006–07 season.

Oden then relocated with his mother and brother and attended Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Indiana which he led to three consecutive Indiana Class 4A basketball championships before graduating in 2006.

He repeated as Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2006.

Oden was named the 2006 Indiana Mr. Basketball.

He was also on the McDonald's All-American Team and played in the All-American game, and earned first-team Parade All-American honors for the second straight year.

Oden had surgery on his right wrist on June 16, 2006, in Indianapolis to repair a ligament injury that occurred late in his senior high school season.

As a result, he sat on the Ohio State bench during the beginning of the 2006–07 season, during which the Buckeyes were ranked as high as #1 before losing to North Carolina.

He made his college debut on December 2, 2006, against Valparaiso, coming off the bench.

He finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

In December of that year, Steve Kerr described him as a "once-in-a-decade player".

On June 28, 2007, Greg Oden was selected first overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

He underwent microfracture surgery of the knee in September 2007, and missed the entire 2007–08 NBA season as a result.

The Big Ten honored Oden as Player of the Week, along with Wisconsin's Alando Tucker, on January 29, 2007.

In the previous week, he had averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds.

On March 6, 2007, Oden was named First Team All-Big Ten as well being voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.

Oden fouled out for the first time in his college career against Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and was bothered by foul trouble throughout the tournament.

In the Sweet Sixteen, Oden blocked a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds against Tennessee to preserve an 85–84 victory and went on to lead Ohio State past Memphis and Georgetown to advance to the 2007 National Championship.

In the title game, Oden scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in a losing effort against the Florida Gators.

Oden, alongside Kevin Durant, Arron Afflalo, Alando Tucker and Acie Law were named to the Associated Press All-American Team.

On April 20, 2007, Oden announced that he would be entering the 2007 NBA draft.

On June 28, 2007, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the #1 overall pick.

To begin his Trail Blazers career, Oden chose the uniform number 52.

On July 1, before his first NBA practice, Oden was signed to a contract which provided for two guaranteed seasons and team options for third and fourth seasons.

On September 14, 2007, Oden had microfracture surgery on his ailing right knee.

He missed the entire season.

Oden's progress was recorded on the Trail Blazers' website and his blog.

He recovered and made his NBA debut on opening night 2008.

In March 2012, he was waived by the Trail Blazers after missing the previous two seasons due to injuries.

He signed with the Miami Heat in August 2013, more than three years after last appearing in an NBA game, and played with the team through the 2014 NBA playoffs.

After playing in the Chinese Basketball Association during its 2015–16 season, Oden stated in October 2016 that he was done with basketball and would not be returning as a player.

In July 2018, he played in The Basketball Tournament 2018.

In May 2019, Oden was selected as the 7th overall pick in the 2019 Big3 Draft.

Oden was born in Buffalo, New York, and moved with his family to Terre Haute, Indiana at the age of nine.

He attended Sarah Scott Middle School in Terre Haute, where he first played interscholastic basketball.