Whenever a team lands a high draft pick, there is no guarantee that the player will be the franchise’s future centerpiece. 

It doesn’t matter if a team spends months performing background checks, projecting which players will be available once the clock starts, and convincing themselves that there is a can’t-miss prospect. Even if the GM has the No. 1 overall pick, there is no guarantee that the pick is going to be a winner. 

Even if sports betting odds show that it’s a no-brainer that a certain athlete is getting drafted No. 1 or 2 overall, that same player can end up being an extremely expensive mistake.

Wondering which NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL draft picks failed most spectacularly relative to their high expectations?

We take a look at five former top picks that ended up being among the biggest draft busts in sports history.

What Makes a True Draft Bust?

Whenever a player ends up being a top-five pick, he immediately gets built up as a future star. Once the regular season gets underway, the superstar or bust debate begins. 

Several factors were taken into consideration in putting together the biggest draft busts in sports history list, including: 

• Level of hype entering the league 
• Draft position
• Career production
• Team investment 
• Players selected shortly afterward 

Greg Oden: A bust without blame   

Some might question why Greg Oden, the Trail Blazers No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, isn’t included. The former Ohio State big man entered the NBA Draft with so much hype that he was selected ahead of future first-ballot Hall of Fame selection Kevin Durant. 

Oden averaged nearly a double-double of 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during his lone season with the Buckeyes. However, his NBA career never really took off as a result of multiple knee surgeries, with the first one wiping out his entire rookie season. Oden only averaged 8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 105 career games. 

Oden even told ESPN’s Outside The Lines that “I'll be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history."

His case better fits the careers derailed by injuries list. 

5. Rick DiPietro 

NHL teams typically don’t use the No. 1 overall pick on a goalie, but this is exactly what the Islanders did when they selected DiPietro in 2000. When a team is selecting a player that high, one would expect to see a much better career record than 130-136-36 over 11 seasons. Granted, the Isles missed the postseason seven times during DiPietro’s time on Long Island. His career 2.87 goals-against average and .902 save percentage weren’t exactly eye-opening. 

DiPietro ended up signing a 15-year contract for $67.5M. Fast-forward to the 2026-27 NHL season, and DiPietro is still getting paid. It’s because the former goalie agreed to a contract buyout with his former team. He’s still getting paid $1.5M per year until 2029.  

4. Alexandre Daigle

Daigle was a junior hockey phenom, and on paper, Daigle was exactly the type of player the Senators needed, given that the franchise was entering its second season. 

After signing a five-year, $12.25 million contract, the No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft finished his rookie season with 51 points. Daigle ended up having a relatively modest career, as the point total was a career high that he achieved two other times. Daigle bounced around the league, playing for the Flyers, Lightning, Rangers, Penguins, and Wild. He retired from the NHL in 2006 with 327 career points.

Looking back, the Senators swung and missed with Daigle as future Hall-of-Fame defenseman Chris Pronger went No. 2 overall to the Whalers. Pronger played 1,167 games and finished with 698 career points. 

3. Ryan Leaf

When a team selects you No. 2 overall behind Hall-of-Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, the expectations are extremely high. Today, the now-Los Angeles Chargers can look at taking Leaf No. 2 overall as one of the biggest busts in NFL history. 

The former Washington State QB was a 1997 Heisman Trophy finalist. Leaf’s NFL career lasted a grand total of four seasons, one of which was missed due to injury.  Leaf’s disastrous career included completing only 45.3% of his passes as a rookie with 15 interceptions and two touchdowns. 

In 2001, the Chargers severed ties with the QB, taking a $3.8 million cap hit. Leaf’s legal issues ended up being a much bigger story than his NFL career.   

2. Anthony Bennett

Let’s take a quick look back at the 2013 NBA Draft. Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), Rudy Gobert (No. 27), and C.J. McCollum (No. 10) are a few of the standout players still making significant contributions today. 

Anthony Bennett, that year’s No. 1 overall pick, doesn’t enter the conversation unless the topic switches to biggest NBA Draft busts. 

Bennett’s career never took off. The forward played just 12.8 minutes per game as a rookie and averaged 4.2 points and 3 rebounds per game. Things didn’t get any better in brief stints with the Timberwolves, Raptors, and Nets. Over four seasons, Bennett played a grand total 151 games and scored 658 points. 

1. JaMarcus Russell

Heading into the 2007 NFL Draft, LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell was coming off a stellar collegiate career that included a 25-4 record as the Tigers' starting QB. Besides drafting him No. 1 overall, the Raiders rewarded Russell with a 6-year, $61 million contract. While fellow first-round picks Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Olsen enjoyed solid NFL careers, Russell ended up becoming one of the biggest busts of all time. 

Besides having a reported poor work ethic, the passer played a grand total of 31 NFL games over three seasons and finished with 4,083 career passing yards. His last game was in January 2010, and after other NFL teams passed on his services, the book on Russell’s forgettable NFL career was closed.  

The players teams passed on

The common denominator between the biggest draft busts in sports history is that teams unknowingly pass up on players who end up entering the G.O.A.T. conversation. The 1984 draft was a perfect example, as Portland selected Sam Bowie No. 2 overall, while Michael Jordan went No. 3 overall to the Bulls and Charles Barkley went two picks later to the 76ers. 

Had the Cavs selected the Greek Freak instead of Bennett, imagine what he and LeBron James could’ve accomplished as NBA teammates. 

Manning, who is part of pro football’s royal family, and Leaf shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence unless the topic is all-time greats versus absolute busts. 

Is it bad judgment, bad luck, or a major bust?

Whether you agree with this list or not, there’s a big difference between a team’s front office badly misjudging a player and a great prospect’s body simply breaking down. Oden dealt with so many knee injuries during his short-lived NBA career that he was never healthy enough to become a dominant big man.

Players like Bennett and Russell never lived up to the lofty expectations. Teams hit the reset button, while the players end up forever being labeled as one of the biggest draft busts in sports history.