Gregory Wayne "Greg" Oden, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played
for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. Oden is a 7 ft 0 in, 273-pound
center. Oden played college basketball at Ohio State University for one season, during
which the team was the Big Ten Champion and the tournament runner-up in the NCAA Men's
Division I Basketball Championship. On June 28, 2007, 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. He recovered and made his NBA debut on opening night 2008. On March 15, 2012,
he was waived from the Trail Blazers after a long history of injuries. He signed with
the Miami Heat on August 7, 2013, more than three years after last appearing in an NBA
game.
Early years 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. 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 was named Parade's High School Co-Player of the Year 2005 and 2005 National
Boys Basketball Player of the Year. 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.
College career 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 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".
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. On March 26, 2007, Oden, along with Kevin
Durant, Arron Afflalo, Alando Tucker, and Acie Law IV, was named to the Associated Press
All-American Team. 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. College statistics
NBA career Portland Trail Blazers
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.
Although drafted in 2007, Oden was classified as a rookie for the 2008–09 season because
of the knee injury. Entering the 2008–09 season, he was listed at 250 lb, but according
to Blazers' trainer Jay Jensen he weighed about 290 lb in July. Oden left his NBA debut
with a foot injury after playing thirteen scoreless minutes against the Los Angeles
Lakers. He returned on November 12, 2008, after missing two weeks, and scored his first
NBA points in the first quarter against the Miami Heat. On January 19, 2009, Oden had
a career-high 24 points while also grabbing 15 rebounds in a 102–85 win against the
Milwaukee Bucks. On February 13, 2009, he injured his left knee in a game against the
Golden State Warriors, by bumping knees with opponent Corey Maggette, and missed three
weeks due to a chipped knee cap. On November 23, 2009, Oden matched his career-high
for points in a game again with 24. He set a new career-high for rebounds in a game with
20 on December 1. On December 5, 2009, Oden injured his left knee in the first quarter
of a game. He was taken off the court on two connected stretchers. Later, he underwent
surgery for a fractured left patella and missed the rest of the season. That injury marked
the second time Oden had missed major playing time due to injury.
On November 17, 2010, the team announced that Oden would have microfracture surgery on his
left knee, ending his 2010–2011 season. The injury marked Oden's third NBA season
cut short due to a knee injury. On December 9, 2011, the Trail Blazers announced
that Oden had suffered an unspecified "setback" that left them less optimistic about his ability
to play in the 2011–2012 season. Rather than signing an 8.9-million-dollar qualifying
offer, Oden and the team negotiated a different offer. On February 3, 2012, Oden underwent
arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. On February 20, 2012, Oden was scheduled for
a procedure on his left knee similar to the procedure he underwent 17 days earlier. However,
during the operation, further damage to the articular cartilage was discovered, and Oden
underwent his third micro-fracture surgery. On March 15, 2012, Oden was waived by the
Blazers to create room on the roster for trade acquisitions.
2012–2013: Free Agency In May 2012, Oden announced his intention
to sit out the 2012–13 season to focus on rehabbing his injuries. In January 2013, it
was reported that several teams were interested in signing Oden for the 2013–14 season.
Miami Heat On August 7, 2013, Oden signed a one-year
deal with the Miami Heat. He saw his first game action since December 5, 2009 in a preseason
game against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 23, 2013. He managed to score 2 points through
a dunk attempt and grabbed 2 rebounds in four minutes of play.
On January 15, 2014, Oden made his long awaited return to the court. In his first regular
season game since December 2009, he recorded 6 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes of game
time in a 97–114 loss to the Washington Wizards.
On February 23, 2014, Oden made his first start since December 5, 2009. The Heat made
the 2014 NBA Finals and would face the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat would lose the series
in five games. Personal life
Oden's younger brother, Anthony, played as an offensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks
until he was dismissed from the program in 2011. Anthony then transferred to Lamar University.
On August 11, 2014, Oden was charged with battery for allegedly punching his ex-girlfriend
in the face on August 7 in Lawrence, Indiana. NBA career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
See also
2006 high school boys basketball All-Americans Footnotes
Further reading Mark Titus, "Oden on Oden", Grantland, May
9, 2012. www.grantland.com/ External links
Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
Official Ohio State Buckeyes biography ESPN profile - Greg Oden