There are many talented basketball players that never made an impression in the NBA. Some didn't get a fair chance, got injured, had legal troubles, decided to play in another country, or anything else that prevented them from excelling in the league.
Here are (in my opinion) the top 10 players who only played in one NBA season (since 2000). Also, I didn't include players who played in less than 10 games. Enjoy!
10.
Sean Colson - Atlanta Hawks/Houston Rockets (2000-2001)
Sean Colson started getting noticed in college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the 90's. In his last season with the 49ers, he averaged 15.6 points and 8 assists a game.
In 2001, Colson caught a big break and was signed to a 10-day contract by the
Atlanta Hawks on January 18th. However, his stint with the Hawks was short as he was waived by the team on 25th of that same month. In only 3 games with the Hawks, he scored 0 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists.
A month later, in February of 2001, he was given another chance in the league as the
Houston Rockets signed him on the the 28th. Colson played in more games with the Rockets and his stats improved. On
March 30th, 2001, he put up career-highs in points and assists (6 points, 6 assists) in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.
If you look at Colson statistics per 36 minutes, you'll see that his assists average is 8.2, which is very good for a rookie. Despite that, he was not re-signed by the Rockets after the season ended and hasn't played in the NBA again. He has since played in the USBL, CBA, and overseas.
9. Uros Slokar - Toronto Raptors (2006-2007)
Uros Slokar was originally drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the 58th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, but decided to stay playing in Europe. A year later, in 2006, he signed a contract with the Raptors and made his league debut on December 8th of that same year. Slokar only played in 20 games for the Raptors with totals of 38 points and 14 rebounds, but statistics per 36 minutes were 19 points and 7 rebounds, which is great for a rookie.
Slokar scored 18 points in his last game of the season on April 17, 2007 and signed a contract overseas in August of that same year and hasn't played in the NBA again since.
8. Joe Crispin - Los Angeles Lakers/Phoenix Suns (2001-2002)
Joe Crispin gained exposure while playing college ball at Penn State University. He played 4 seasons there with averages of 15.7 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.9 rebounds over the course of 126 games.
Crispin signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in August before the 2001-2002 season started and ended up playing in 6 games for the Lakers before being waived on November 24, 2001.
He got a second chance with the Phoenix Suns as he signed with them in January of 2002. Crispin played in more games and was given more minutes in Phoenix. As a result, most of his averages improved. He finished the season with combined averages of 3.8 points, 1.2 assists, and 0.2 steals a game, which isn't very impressive. But when you look at his stats per 36 minutes, they are significantly better (18.2 points, 6 assists, and 1.2 steals). If stats don't sway your opinion of Crispin's talent, watch this highlight reel of him (he had a sweet stroke from 3-point range and looked like a good playmaker).
The Lakers won a championship without him and he was not re-signed by the Suns during the offseason. Since then, he has played in the ABA (where he was named an All-Star and the league's MVP in 2004) and in a bunch of other leagues and countries.
7.
Nick Fazekas - Dallas Mavericks/Los Angeles Clippers (2007-2008)
Nick Fazekas starting building up his basketball resume in high school as he was named Mr. Basketball in Colorado for the 2002-2003 season while playing for
Ralston Valley High School. That season, his senior year, he led his high school team, the Mustangs to a 25-2 record and the state championship.
Fazekas then went on to play college basketball at Nevada where he helped lead the Wolf Pack to the NCAA Tournament in all of his 4 years there. He averaged 20 points or over in his last three years at Nevada and a double-double his last two years.
The Dallas Mavericks selected Fazekas with the 34th pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. He only played in 4 games (with totals of 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists) before being waived in February of 2008. He bounced back 12 days later as he was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers. He saw more minutes and played in more games with the Clippers, and his highlights included a sweet spin move and dunk against his old team. He ended up finishing the season with a total of 26 games played, but with averages of 14.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per 36 minutes, not bad for a rookie.
The Clips opted not to resign Fazekas after the season ended and he has since played in France, Belgium, and the D-League. However, Fazekas is only 26 years old and could possibly make it back to the NBA. You never know.
6. Kasib Powell - Miami Heat (2007-2008)
Kasib Powell played 2 solid seasons at Texas Tech after transferring from Butler Community College. He applied for the 2003 NBA Draft, but went undrafted. From there he played preseason games with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004, the Chicago Bulls in 2005, the Orlando Magic in 2006, and the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007, but was never able to make any of their final rosters for the regular season.
Sensing his closeness to the NBA, Powell signed with the
Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League. He played in 40 games with the Skyforce, averaging 22.2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. He also made over 41 percent of his three's and over 50 percent of his field goals.
In the midst of what would be an MVP season for Powell, he was signed to a 10-day contract by the Miami Heat on March 22, 2008. He ended up playing in 11 games for the Heat, starting 4 of them, and put up averages of 7.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He scored a career-high 18 points in a win over the
Indiana Pacers and dished out another career-high 10 assists in a loss to the Raptors.
However, Powell wasn't resigned by the Heat and played another season in the D-League with the Skyforce. Since then, he was played overseas in Greece and Israel.
5.
Vincent Yarbrough - Denver Nuggets (2002-2003)
Vincent Yarbrough was a bright young prospect as he was named a McDonald's All-American in 1998 and played 4 productive seasons at Tennessee. In his senior season, he averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, set a school record in career steals, was named the team's Most Valuable Player, and was a John R. Wooden Award candidate.
Yarbrough was selected by the
Denver Nuggets with the 32nd pick of the
2002 NBA Draft and made his debut on
December 3, 2002. He played in 59 games for the Nuggets (starting 39 of them) and put up averages of 6.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 23.4 minutes a game. However, the Nuggets tied for the worst record in the league that season and Yarbrough was waived before the next season started.
Since his one season in the NBA, he has played overseas in Greece, Italy, Belgium, and Germany.
4.
Khalid El-Amin - Chicago Bulls (2000-2001)
Khalid El-Amin started wowing scouts in high school as he led his team to the state title three years in a row, was named the Minnesota State Player of the Year three times, was named a McDonald's All-American, and was named Mr. Basketball in 1997 for Minnesota. He then went on to become a star at UConn where he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year in 1998 and
won a national title in 1999.
El-Amin applied for the 2000 NBA Draft and was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 34th pick. He played in 50 games for the Bulls his rookie season and averaged 6.3 points and 2.9 assists in only 18.7 minutes per game. He also played in Rookie Challenge and scored 18 points. On the post-Jordan era Bulls, management didn't seem to see him in their future and he was waived in March before the season ended. Since his time in the league, he has played on many different teams in many different countries including Turkey, Lithuania, Ukraine, France, and Israel.
3.
Chris Porter - Golden State Warriors (2000-2001)
Chris Porter was a star in college before he played in the NBA. At Auborn, he was named the SEC Player of the Year in 1999 as the Tigers made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The next season he was featured
on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Auborn was a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. However, he was suspended for the final 8 games of his senior season for accepting money from an agent. Porter was picked late in the 2nd round of the 2000 NBA Draft by the
Golden State Warriors and signed a contract with the team. He played in 51 games for the Warriors and put up averages of 8.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in only 22 minutes per game.
His career then went downhill when he got arrested on drug charges during the offseason and showed up three days late for training camp. The Warriors then traded Porter to the Hornets where he was waived the day after the trade. Since then, Porter has played in numerous minor leagues and overseas.....and has gotten arrested multiple times.
2.
Jay Williams - Chicago Bulls (2002-2003)
Jay Williams had a promising career ahead of him. In high school, he was named a McDonald's All-American and won the 1999 Morgan Wooten Award. He then played three seasons at Duke where he helped lead the Blue Devils to victory in the 2001 NCAA Championship. He also was named the winner of the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year award, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 2002.
The Chicago Bulls selected Williams with the second pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. In his 7th game in the league, he put up career highs in points, assists, and rebounds (16 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists). He started 54 games out of 74 for the Bulls, and finished the season with averages of 9.5 points, 4.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Also, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of Month for December of 2002 and to the 2002-2003 All-Rookie Second Team.
Tragedy then struck Williams during the offseason when he crashed his motorcycle in Chicago while not wearing a helmet and not being licensed to drive a motorcycle in Illinois. He was seriously injured and needed physical therapy to regain use of his leg. The Bulls waived him in 2004 and he hasn't played in the league since.
1. Juan Carlos Navarro - Memphis Grizzlies (2007-2008)
Navarro was originally drafted by the Washington Wizards with the 4oth pick of the 2002 NBA Draft, but decided to stay with with FC Barcelona, his team at the time. On August 3, 2007, his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a future first-round draft pick.
Navarro, reunited with former teammate Pau Gasol, played in his first ever NBA game at age 27 and ended up having a very solid rookie season. On November 27th, 2007, he had his first and only triple double (16 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) in a win against the New Jersey Nets. He put up season averages of 10.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game and was named to the 2007-2008 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
However, in June of 2008, he signed a five-year deal with his old Spanish team, FC Barcelona. The Grizzlies eventually rescinded their qualifying offer to Navarro in 2009 and he has played in Spain with Barcelona ever since.
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Have any thoughts on any of the players listed or do you think I left anyone off the list that should have been on it? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.
Jamaal Tinsley is 33 years old. He last played in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies off the bench in the 09-10 season. His NBA days are probably over, but Tinsley has applied for the D-League Draft in a possible comeback attempt.
