Greg Oden is coming back to basketball, but, it’s not in the NBA.
The former Portland Trail Blazers No.1 pick is putting his name in the Big3 league draft pool.
The 3-on-3 league, owned by rapper Ice Cube, has been a landing spot for whose NBA career’s fizzled out for a variety of reasons. Larry Hughes, Kwame Brown, Mike Bibby and Jason Williams were among the participants last season.
Oden last played pro ball during the 2015-16 season, with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. Before then, he played three NBA seasons across five years with the Blazers and Miami Heat before exiting the association in 2015.
It’s been a long and turbulent road for Oden, 30. From top pick in the NBA to falling out of the league altogether, to pleading guilty to punching his ex-girlfriend, to being a student manager for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Big3 isn’t likely to lead to a reemergence in the NBA for Oden, but by putting his name in the pool of potential Big3 draftees, he’s at least getting back on the court.
