How and Why Critics Don’t Define Athletes’ Lives

By H. Esteves

Do you know any of these players?
Well, you were supposed to know them. They were supposed to be among the best in the NBA.
 
But they fell short.
 
We always hear the success stories, the media highlighting how this new upcoming football star overcame the hurdles of life to be drafted first place to their dream team. But what about the others?
 
The failed prospects. The busts. The ones that were nearly there but narrowly missed. The media highlights them too. Critics are piled on top of all of these players and athletes, even the successful ones, so for the failed ones, it is sometimes even worse.
 
The one on the left, Greg Oden, was picked as the first pick in the NBA draft with expectations of being the best future prospect for the NBA. He played poorly during his years in the league, mostly because he was absolutely riddled with injuries as well. For reference, the man picked after him, Kevin Durant, is now a four-time scoring champion.
 
Obviously, Greg Oden was criticized by the media and was overshadowed by successful NBA players, such as Kevin Durant who was the second pick after him and is one of the greatest ever. This reached a point where Oden himself said “I will be remembered as the biggest bust in NBA history”.
 
There is a different way to look at Oden’s scenario. Greg Oden is a multi-millionaire former American professional basketball player who came from a low-class background to rise for a few years to the top of global basketball talent. Nowadays he is in the coaching staff of the college he played and studied at, with a full degree.
 
The reason I wrote this article is to show that sometimes all that is celebrated in life are the stories of complete success, and failures are not very often in the big picture. That’s a natural human reaction, but if you were to take something from this article, I would say that failing is also a natural part of many people’s successes. Oden failed at being the NBA star he could be, but if you look at his past and the entirety of his life, there is no doubt at all that his overall story is of major success.
 
​Sources:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19868061/cursed-body-was-blessing-greg-oden-headed-back-ohio-state
https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/18022504/greg-oden-says-remembered-biggest-bust-nba-history

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