The top picks of the 2026 draft class have hit the ground running, with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Petersen and Caleb Wilson turning heads with sensational performances in the NBA Summer League. While it's too soon to pass judgment regarding their prospects in the big league, it's clear to anyone watching that these young studs have star potential.
However, for every AJ, Darryn or Cam Boozer who's already doing well before the season tips off this October 2026, there were also a bevy of highly-touted players who never lived up to their draft potential. From Anthony Bennett to the oft-injured Greg Oden to Kwame Brown to Darko Milicic, there have been many players teams picked high in the draft who never panned out.
One prominent name on many all-time draft busts lists is 7'3" center Hasheem Thabeet . According to his teammate on the Memphis Grizzlies at the time, Tony Allen , the writing was already on the wall during his sophomore season, as he wasn't at all receptive to the veterans' instructions, especially when it came to nutrition.
After a spectacular junior year in which he averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game, the Grizzlies selected Thabeet second overall in the 2009 NBA Draft (ahead of future all-time greats like James Harden and Steph Curry and All-Stars Jrue Holiday and DeMar DeRozan ), adding him to a tough frontcourt led by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph .
After a rough rookie campaign that saw him average just 3.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, the Grizz still had faith in the young big man. In fact, Allen, who joined the Grizzlies during the 2010-11 season, sought to mentor him and share the lessons he learned from Kevin Garnett , Paul Pierce and Ray Allen .
Unfortunately, Thabeet wasn't having any of that. Allen recalled there was a time when he saw the big man eating fast food less than an hour before a game and called him out for it.
"He was a bad young fella for me. He ain't listened to me. When I got to Memphis, he wasn't listening to s–t," Allen remembered . "I told him, 'Bro, big fella, you can't be eating hot dogs and hamburgers with 35 minutes on the clock.'"
"He looked at me and said, 'Says who?'" Allen added. "I said, 'All right. I got something for you.' I was on his head after that."
Regardless of how talented a player is, the NBA is a different beast from either the NCAA, G League, or whatever international league the young player previously balled in. And one of the best things a young stud can do, especially in his early years in the Association, is keep his head down, listen, watch what the vets are doing, and get used to the grind.
Thabeet, though, thought he didn't need any of that.
"I was talking to him because I'm trying to structure the locker room, bro. He didn't give a damn. He was like, 'Give me the ball,'" TA remarked. "I'm trying to make sure guys are focused. 'Look at this laptop.' The boy wasn't listening. He wasn't hearing none of that."
Thabeet's approach put him on the fast track towards an NBA exit. He was soon traded to Houston and played for Oklahoma City and Portland. He played his last NBA game in May 2014 and later suited up overseas in leagues in Taiwan, Japan, and his home country of Tanzania.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
