Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Darko Milicic announced his retirement Monday after 11 seasons bouncing around the NBA. It was long overdue for the seven-footer who was never able to live up to the hype.
The former No. 2 overall pick of the 2003 draft to the Detroit Pistons may go down as one of the biggest busts in the history of the draft simply because of the players who were selected after him. Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony were a few of the players Milicic beat out in going to the Pistons.
The writing was on the wall for the journeyman, who played only five minutes this season for the Boston Celtics. The Pistons parted ways with Milicic halfway through his third NBA season. He never really got a shot to even get on the floor with the Pistons, but ironically he did earn a ring as a part of the 2003-04 championship team.
Milicic played with five other teams after leaving the Pistons in 2006. The Minnesota Timberwolves used him more than any of the other teams he played for. He averaged 8.8 points a game in 2010-11 season while playing about 24 minutes a game.
Needless to say, he was never able to turn into the scoring threat the Pistons hoped he might be when they went so high on him. The Pistons certainly went high on the Serbian, but chances are someone else would have taken him shortly after had they not done so. Scouts raved about his potential to be the next Vlade Divac, but it simply never happened.
He’ll go down as one of the worst players to ever win a ring and possibly the worst draft selection of all time.
David Fouty is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davefouty, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google+.
