9. Emeka Okafor

The second overall draft pick of the Charlotte Bobcats and the first-ever pick for the Charlotte Bobcats gets a bad rap in many circles. Many articles have been written calling him a bust, but the fact remains that Okafor averaged a double-double every season of his run in Charlotte and was also the Rookie of the Year.

Okafor would appear on many end-of-season top-ten lists for rebounding and blocking, and while he is out of the NBA, it was due to a herniated disc. The big man never had a season with advanced metrics, and while he was never a dominant force in professional basketball, he was certainly above average. That isn’t a bad thing to have from your center for five years!

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Center, Power Forward
  • Acquired: Drafted in the 1st Round, 2nd Overall in the NBA Draft 6/24/04.
  • Departed: Traded to the New Orleans Hornets for Tyson Chandler 7/28/09.
  • Games Played: 330
  • Per Game Averages: 34.0 MP
    .506 eFG%
    596 FT%
    14.0 PTS
    10.7 RB
    0.9 AST
    0.8 STL
    1.7 BLK

    No Playoff Games
  • Advanced Stats: 17.7 PER
    .532 TS%
    4.4 VORP
    26.2 WS

    No Playoff Games
  • Major Accolades and Awards: Rookie of the Year (2005)
    First Team All-Rookie (2005)

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