Ohio State's Greg Oden, or Texas' Kevin Durant? Which player is better? Who should be selected first in the NBA draft?
Suite101's Phil Partington started this debate and offered a comprehensive analysis of both players.
It's true that Oden and Durant are different players. Oden is a monstrous center, with size and athletic ability that is very rare.
Durant is a narrow forward, also possessing freakish athleticism.
As Partington states, most experts believe Oden should go first in the NBA draft, and he probably will. The team that passes on Durant for Oden will certainly get a potentially great player, but in the long run, that team may be disappointed for several reasons.
- As scary as Greg Oden is -- he has uncanny presence and shot-blocking ability, offensively, he's too limited to take first overall, when Durant is available.
- Durant is a scorer, the likes of whom college basketball hasn't seen in some time. Durant is virtually unstoppable; Oden is very stoppable.
- Durant's game doesn't need much honing, whereas Oden, as Partington illustrates, needs a lot of work on his very raw low-post moves and very weak footwork. Currently, Oden is a travel waiting to happen.
- Finally, championship NBA teams are not built around centers. Look at recent NBA title winners. Miami won with Dwayne Wade, not Shaquille O'Neal. Detroit won behind great guard play and team defense, and the great Chicago Bulls teams won with a dominant scorer in Michael Jordan and a solid supporting cast. They filled the center position with mainly role players.
Greg Oden will likely be a star in the NBA. He may ultimately be a guy who averages 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game -- stellar numbers for an NBA player.
Kevin Durant, however, may develop into one of the best players in the NBA. He'll create mismatches for most teams and has the tools to average 25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1.5 steals per game.
No matter what Oden's upside is, passing on Durant is a huge mistake.
