Duke tends to rank among the universities with the most NBA draft picks, as a recent wave of Duke prospects, including both Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, have turned heads since entering the NBA. However, over the years, there have been many Duke alumni considered busts after their NBA careers didn't quite go as planned.
A recent list made by Bleacher Report ranked the top 99 draft busts of all time between the four major sports (NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL), and there were three former Duke basketball players on the list.
Jabari Parker was ranked 57th on Bleacher Report's list after being selected No. 2 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014. After one tremendous campaign with the Blue Devils, averaging 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 **** ists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks, hopes were high for Parker entering the draft. Unfortunately for Parker, injuries got the better of him throughout his NBA career, tearing his left ACL twice in nearly three years. While Parker did average over 20 points per game in one of his eight NBA seasons, his numbers took a huge hit following the 2019-20 season, ending his NBA career much sooner than originally anticipated. The 31-year-old is still active today, playing for Partizan Belgrade of the EuroLeague.
In the draft class following Parker's, Duke produced another top-three pick in Jahlil Okafor, who went No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015. After a dominant rookie campaign, averaging 17.5 points per game, seven rebounds, 1.2 **** ists and 1.2 blocks, Okafor would never be the same player again. This was due in large part due to how quickly the NBA changed, setting aside long post-up possessions in the paint and adopting a heavy dose of transition 3-pointers early in the shot clock. After three seasons away from the NBA from 2021 to 2024, Okafor came back to appear in one game for the Indiana Pacers but played just three minutes. Okafor was recently at Coach K's "K-Camp" this summer and most recently played professionally in **** an for Levanga Hokkaido.
Although Parker and Okafor were great for Duke, one could certainly argue that Marvin Bagley III was even better. In his lone season with Duke, Bagley III averaged 21 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.5 **** ists, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals while shooting over 61% from the field. This led to him being named the No. 2 overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, ahead of future stars like Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Starting out with the Kings, Bagley has yet to surpass the points, rebounds and **** ists numbers he put up as a rookie. While Bagley III didn't live up to the original hype, he hasn't had a bad career by any means, still playing in the NBA and averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 **** ists over eight seasons.
A recent list made by Bleacher Report ranked the top 99 draft busts of all time between the four major sports (NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL), and there were three former Duke basketball players on the list.
Jabari Parker was ranked 57th on Bleacher Report's list after being selected No. 2 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014. After one tremendous campaign with the Blue Devils, averaging 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 **** ists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks, hopes were high for Parker entering the draft. Unfortunately for Parker, injuries got the better of him throughout his NBA career, tearing his left ACL twice in nearly three years. While Parker did average over 20 points per game in one of his eight NBA seasons, his numbers took a huge hit following the 2019-20 season, ending his NBA career much sooner than originally anticipated. The 31-year-old is still active today, playing for Partizan Belgrade of the EuroLeague.
In the draft class following Parker's, Duke produced another top-three pick in Jahlil Okafor, who went No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015. After a dominant rookie campaign, averaging 17.5 points per game, seven rebounds, 1.2 **** ists and 1.2 blocks, Okafor would never be the same player again. This was due in large part due to how quickly the NBA changed, setting aside long post-up possessions in the paint and adopting a heavy dose of transition 3-pointers early in the shot clock. After three seasons away from the NBA from 2021 to 2024, Okafor came back to appear in one game for the Indiana Pacers but played just three minutes. Okafor was recently at Coach K's "K-Camp" this summer and most recently played professionally in **** an for Levanga Hokkaido.
Although Parker and Okafor were great for Duke, one could certainly argue that Marvin Bagley III was even better. In his lone season with Duke, Bagley III averaged 21 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.5 **** ists, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals while shooting over 61% from the field. This led to him being named the No. 2 overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, ahead of future stars like Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Starting out with the Kings, Bagley has yet to surpass the points, rebounds and **** ists numbers he put up as a rookie. While Bagley III didn't live up to the original hype, he hasn't had a bad career by any means, still playing in the NBA and averaging 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 **** ists over eight seasons.
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