Javaris Crittenton Consistently Disappointed During His Time in the NBA

Published on February 19th, 2024 2:20 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Who was the worst player in the history of the NBA?

This is a tricky subject, as there are so many variables involved.

Wouldn't a bench player who barely played in the NBA be considered one of the worst players?

In our opinion, the worst NBA player has to be somebody who came into the league with very high expectations and consistently let teams down. This must be a player who didn't let teams down due to injury - instead, due to poor play and even poorer decisions.

Javaris Crittenton seems to tick all of the boxes.

-

Javaris Crittenton was selected in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Crittenton was seen as a good piece to go along with Kobe Bryant, as Crittenton could play both shooting guard and point guard.

Crittenton underwhelmed with the Lakers, playing in just 22 games and averaging 3.3 points per game before being traded halfway through his rookie campaign.

Crittenton was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Paul Gasol trade. Crittenton got a significant increase in his playing time with the Grizzlies, though he would still average just 7.4 points per game.

Before 2008 was done, Crittenton would be traded again - this time, to the Washington Wizards.

Three different teams and Crittenton had played just one season in the NBA - not a great sign for a first round pick.

In December of 2008, Crittenton would be traded to the Washington Wizards, where he would have his infamous locker room gun confrontation with Gilbert Arenas. After receiving a season-long suspension, Crittenton would be released by the Wizards.

He would never play in the NBA again.

-

In total, Crittenton played just over 100 games in the NBA. There was a brief attempt to make it in China and the D-League, though Crittenton's professional career would come to an end after he was charged with murder in 2011.

Crittenton would serve ten years in jail, ending his professional basketball career.

-

Sure, there were some incredible draft busts in the history of the NBA, including the likes of Kwame Brown and Greg Oden, but Javaris Crittenton really tossed away his career.