Former Trail Blazers Center in Portland For the first time since leaving the team in 2012, Greg Oden, whose career was cut short by several knee problems, made his way back to the Moda Center Saturday night.
With his iconic smile, the former No. 1 overall choice of the Blazers in 2007 overcame any residual disappointment over a potential future that never materialized.
The 36-year-old Oden stated, “Everything that I went through, all the injuries and the ups and downs, got me to this point.” helped me become the person I am today.
That individual is a father of an 8-year-old daughter named Londyn, a recent graduate of Ohio State with a master’s degree, and he is focused on pursuing a career as a mentor to young athletes, particularly centers.
His main goal, though, was to go back to the stadium on Saturday to watch the Dallas Mavericks play the team he played for for just 82 games in five seasons.
Before the game, he grinned and stated, “I’m very grateful that they brought me and put me courtside because we all know those seats aren’t cheap, no matter where you go.”
Oden anticipated a favorable response following the Blazers’ 126-122 victory over the Mavericks. He received one. The audience gave Oden a standing ovation after a video highlight clip of him dunking on what seemed to be the majority of the NBA lasted more than a minute.
The Oregon Ducks football team’s Rose Bowl matchup against Ohio State on Wednesday was a minor thorn in the side. Oden remembered that in the summer of 2016, around 18 months after the Buckeyes’ victory over Oregon in the 2015 national championship game, the Blazers signed Evan Turner, a former forward from Ohio State.
Greg Oden, a former center for the Portland Trail Blazers, welcomes Blazers employees before to the Blazers’ NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at the Moda Center in Portland.OregonLive/The Oregonian’s Naji Saker
However, Oden stated that he didn’t anticipate any anger from Ducks supporters within the building on Saturday.
According to Oden, they shouldn’t hate me till Thursday.
That suggests that he thinks the Buckeyes will prevail, which makes sense. However, Ducks supporters at the Blazers game were probably better off not hearing that line.
Oden would have returned a victorious hero if his career had proceeded as planned. Rather, Oden came back as a former player who, without any fault of his own, caused years of setbacks for the team and left a long list of unanswered questions.
Oden claimed to be glad to be back in Rip City, but he acknowledged that he was unsure of how he would feel about going back.
He stated, “This is where my life changed.”
As he strolled around the Moda Center, he was filled with memories, including the time he drove his van into the loading dock before to games.
He answered, “I just got good memories.”
Returning might have evoked different emotions a few years ago.
“I had to grow, of course,” he remarked.
He stated that his priorities today are his career and his family. Oden remembers many enjoyable moments on the floor during his time in Portland.
“When I did play, we won a lot,” he remarked.
Following microfracture surgery, Oden, who guided Ohio State to the NCAA men’s championship game in 2007, was sidelined for his freshman campaign. Before missing three more complete seasons, he played in 82 games over the following two seasons. In the 2013–14 season, he played 23 games for the Miami Heat until his career ended.
On November 20, 2009, in Oakland, California, Greg Oden #52 of the Portland Trail Blazers dunks over Golden State Warriors #4 Anthony Randolph during an NBA game at Oracle Arena. (Image courtesy of Getty Images/Jed Jacobsohn)Getty Pictures
When Oden was in the starting lineup for the 2008–09 season, the Blazers finished 40–21. When Oden played the next season, the Blazers finished 13-8.
The team’s 53-29 record with Oden, who frequently plays with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, indicates the trio’s potential in Rip City. Oden’s body, however, refused to cooperate.
His inability to stay healthy was made worse by the fact that Kevin Durant, who was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) in the 2007 NBA Draft, has had a Hall of Fame career with the Phoenix Suns that is still going strong after 17 seasons.
If Durant had been selected instead of Oden, where would the Blazers stand as a team?
Fans find it nearly as agonizing to consider what would have happened if Portland had chosen Michael Jordan with the second overall pick in 1984 instead of center Sam Bowie, who, like Oden, had lower body issues ruin his career.
The majority of Oden’s professional setbacks have been forgotten. He does, however, occasionally wonder what may have happened.
However, Oden claimed to have rediscovering his love for basketball, which prompted him to become a coach, and he joked that he felt awful about not getting those $100 million contracts.
While completing his bachelor’s degree in Sports Industry in 2016, he managed the Ohio State men’s basketball team as a student. His master’s degree in sports coaching was just awarded to him.
He now hopes to continue giving back to the game by taking charge of big-man camps.
“I’ve come so far with basketball,” he added.
Oden, who intends to relocate from Indianapolis to Columbus, Ohio, was going to the Blazers’ Sunday practice. Going back to the team’s Tualatin facility would stir up feelings, he said.
He said, “There was a lot of tears and sweat in that building.”
Greg Oden, a former center for the Portland Trail Blazers, watches the Blazers play the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at the Moda Center in Portland.OregonLive/The Oregonian’s Naji Saker
On Sunday, Oden wasn’t sure if he would speak to the squad or just the coaches. He claimed, however, that his message will be similar to what he tells players he has coached and mentored: Don’t let distractions affect your work ethic, and don’t take chances for granted.
He remarked, “I wish I had put more into my craft.”
Oden went on to say that even though he realized he had no control over everything, including injuries, he still wants players to understand that they have power over their effort and the person they become.
As a player, Oden had a commanding presence. Nowadays, a lot of big men make three-pointers. Oden wants to assist in teaching young centers how to increase their shooting range.
But could he have changed as a player over time in that regard?
Even though I’ve never made a three-point corner jump shot in my career, I wish I could have made that one, Oden remarked.
In his playing career, Oden was unable to achieve much due of fate. However, Oden’s next basketball career is only getting started thanks to coaching and mentoring.
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