It is pretty easy to remember NBA’s best players. Basketball enthusiasts and fans can easily reel off the names without a second thought. But what about the bad players – the bad players in the NBA usually get buried really deep into the pits of our subconscious.
Some players, in fact, are so bad that they end up creating their very own category of being absolutely awful at the game, considering they are millionaires currently.
The worst players in the history of the NBA are usually not mentioned much. Instead, the focus is always on the GOATS – talents like Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.
While the league is known for giving talented players wholesome careers, not every NBA player goes on to have successful careers in the league.
Sometimes, it’s the environment, injuries, or even other external factors. And at other times, it is possible they are just not good enough. These players are the worst NBA players in the history of the league – the worst of the worst!
So here we go – scroll down and watch us rank the worst NBA players of all time.
Ranking The Worst NBA Players Of All Time:
The NBA franchise almost always bets on basketball players who are expected to become successful once they are selected. But that is unfortunately not always the case.
Contrary to these expectations, players like Kwame Brown, Darko Milicic, and Anthony Bennet underperformed.
Before, we spoke about the hottest NBA players, but today, our plans are a little different. Our list spans generations of inability on the basketball court and includes both second-round selections and No. 1 overall picks.
From Cherokee Parks to Michael Olowokandi, here we are with the worst NBA players of all time!
12. Michael Olowokandi
Kandi Man was slated to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Howevevr, fate had a different plan altogether. Kandi was the No.1 overall pick in the 1998 draft. This seven-foot beast was apparently one of the best picks of the year by basketball legend Elgin Baylor.
Kani Man might have had a promising future, but his stats seem to say otherwise. After five uneventful seasons, Kandi Man only managed to average 9.9 points and 5.8 rebounds. As a result, he is the best candidate to start our list of ranking the worst NBA players of all time.
11. Keith Closs
Closs was another potential legend who dwindled into a has-been. Closs was supposed to be the next big thing for the Clippers. Fans and fellow Clippers believed that Closs would break out of his cocoon and do something magical. However, that never really happened.
On average, Closs managed to average 4.0 points,2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. Some say that this was because Closs never really got enough court time. But other people claim that his lackadaisical attitude towards his duty led him to be one of the sinking ships of the NBA that never really made port or did something significant.
10. Elliot Williams
Williams demonstrated great accolades back as a rookie. As a result, Josh Pastner was really hopeful to acquire young Elliot Williams. He thought he was getting a future star. But he ended up with a dud in his hands. Duke was just a freshman when he was selected by Pastner back in the 2008-09 period.
Instead of choosing basketball as his career, Williams should have stayed in the school. Even after being a first-round pick, Williams hardly left any mark on the game. He was best described as generic and had nothing up his sleeve. His shooting stat is one of the abysmally lowest scores of all time. He only managed to score 42% of the shots that he took. Therefore, he is a deserving candidate for our list of some of the worst-ranking NBA players of all time.
9. DeSagana Diop
Surprisingly enough, Diop managed to play for 11 seasons. Diop was one of the lowest-performing players of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He just managed to average 2.0 points across 11 seasons. This shows why Diop is considered to be one of the worst players in Cleveland’s history.
Standing at seven feet tall, Diop was believed to have the potential to be one of the greatest players of all time. But he failed to leave any sort of impression. At one point, he was believed to have the ability to replace or assist Lebron James.
8. Hamed Haddadi
Haddadi was not a bad player,per se. He never really got used to the general format of the NBA. Haddadi himself agreed that the format is much faster than what he is used to. As a result, he is often counted as one of the worst players in the NBA.
Even though he only managed to average around 2.2 points and 2.5 rebounds. Still, he is an active player overseas, where i=he is known to produce some real results.
7. Brian Scalabrine:
You don’t have to google ‘NBA worst players to find out that Brian Scalabrine is so bad! Before Scalabrine became an assistant coach, boasting an unrivaled personality, he was a terrible basketball player.
Perhaps he might just admit the same today. Who really knows? A 2nd round pick for the New Jersey Nets in 2001 right out of USC, Scalabrine ended up averaging 2 rebounds and 3.1 points on 39% shooting during his basketball career as a player.
6. Todd Fuller:
Forget about the worst NBA players right now. The kids today will definitely not remember the time when Golden State Warriors used to be the association’s laughingstock. Between 1994 and 2002, they managed to lose over 36 matches, and that too in a single season.
Do you know who is to blame? Really bad drafting.
There is no better instance than Todd Fuller becoming the 11th pick in the NBA draft of 1996 for the Golden State Warriors – thanks to Dave Twardzik, the head of the front office for the Warriors at the time.
This was 2 selections ahead of the Lakers taking a player called Kobe Bryant. Even the Hall of Famer Steve Nash was the overall 15th pick in that particular draft. Fuller went on to play 132 matches for the Warriors, averaging a terrible 4 points.
5. Mengke Bateer:
Mengke Bateer might be a legend in China, considering he is a 4-time CBA Player of the Year. But then Bateer did not even come close to tasting success in the United States.
Known to be one of the worst NBA players ever, Bateer was with the Denver Nuggets initially in 2002 during the training camp phase.
In his whole career, he played around 46 matches with the Raptors, Spurs, and Nuggets, averaging 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 points on 39% shooting.
4. Rafael Araújo:
Perhaps one of the worst players in the NBA is Rafael Araújo. This 6-foot 11-inch man from Brazil was expected to be really good, and even the Toronto Raptors thought that – Araújo was literally the 8th pick in the NBA draft of 2004 for the Toronto Raptors.
The head of the front office for the Raptors at the time was Rob Babcock. Babcock wanted to create an elite three with Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, and Rafael Araújo.
Rafael Araújo ultimately played 2 seasons with the Raptors, averaging around 3 rebounds and 2.9 points on 41% shooting. Now, that is impressively bad.
What makes things worse is Andre Iguodala, 3-time NBA champion as well as NBA Finals MVP, was picked after Araújo – ouch, that must have hurt!
3. Michael Ruffin:
One of the worst players in NBA history has to be Michael Ruffin. As a player for the Washington Wizards, Ruffin was able to etch his name literally on the NBA world.
The former 2nd round pick of the NBA draft for Chicago Bulls averaged a meager 1.7 points in 41% shooting but managed to last for 9 NBA seasons.
Ruffin’s career came to an end after he averaged around 0.5% points in 29% shooting way back in 2008 – 2009 for the Portland Trail Blazers.
2. Sun Yue:
Sun Yue is definitely one of the worst players in the NBA, and we will tell you why. This 2nd round pick of the NBA draft for the Lakers played ten matches during the 2008 – 2009 career.
In his career, Yue averaged around 0.6 points, and that too in 27% shooting in less than 3 minutes of action/outing. Now, when you hear this, it is just hilarious.
Nope, this is not really a knock on Sun Yue. In fact, he was able to earn an NBA ring that season – thanks to the Lakers. And actually, he was able to continue starring in the CBA, which includes earning 2 CBA titles. Now, that is not really shabby.
1. Cherokee Parks:
If we had to mention the 5 worst NBA players of all time, then the award goes to Cherokee Parks.
This former Duke player was picked over the likes of Michael Finley and Brent Barry, and that too in the NBA draft of 1995 as the 12th pick by the Dallas Mavericks, only to bomb out in truly epic fashion.
During his entire career, Parks averaged 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 points.
And It’s A Wrap!
And that’s a wrap on the worst NBA players of all time. But what do you think? Did we miss out on some really bad players?
We are sure to have missed out on a few names – come on, it’s kinda difficult to remember players who are famous because they are so bad at basketball.
Feel free to share your thoughts, add a few more names, and tell us about your favorite NBA moments in the comments below.
