Editor’s note: the list counts down from best to worst.

16) Eddie Griffin, Rockets, ’01-’02

Selected #7 overall by the Rockets in 2001, Griffin was perceived as an exceedingly talented but enigmatic prospect, an assessment that eventually proved true and tragic. He played scarce minutes at first until a mid-season injury to Kevin Willis opened up opportunities at power forward. Griffin stepped up and averaged an impressive 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game in his first two months in the starting lineup. Though his performances became more erratic towards the end of the season, Griffin was named 2nd-Team All-Rookie in a solid and deep rookie class. Unfortunately, that inconsistency only increased in Griffin’s disappointing second season, culminating in him missing the entire ’03-’04 campaign to check into rehab for alcoholism. After the Rockets waived him, Griffin got another chance with the Timberwolves which ended prematurely after a drink driving arrest. Just a few months after Minnesota waived him, Griffin was dead at age 25 in a car crash that was potentially a suicide.

15) Travis Knight, Lakers, ’96-’97

For most of NBA history, being seven feet tall and nominally talented was enough to get you multiple chances. Take Knight, who averaged just 9.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a senior at UConn but still got drafted by the Bulls in late first round. Chicago apparently immediately regretted that decision and renounced his rights, allowing Knight to sign with the Lakers. He spent most of his rookie season backing up Shaquille O’Neal, averaging a respectable but unremarkable 4.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. But in the era where All-Rookie was still rigid on positions, that was enough to get Knight a 2nd-Team designation as center, edging out the similarly underwhelming Vitaly Potapenko in voting. In a move that still infuriates Celtics fans, Knight was signed to a huge contract by Rick Pitino, then offloaded a year later to the Lakers. Knight averaged just 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game over his final five seasons but did at least earn a championship ring with the Lakers in 2000.

14) Eric Montross, Celtics, ’94-’95

He was considered the heart and soul of North Carolina’s ’92-’93 title team but Montross’ NBA ceiling was clear from the beginning. But the slow and loping center was inexplicably selected ninth overall by a Celtics team that had recently centered its strategy around fast paced offense. Thanks to Robert Parish’s recent departure to the Hornets, Montross got an opportunity to start immediately at center and comported himself well enough, averaging 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. In a draft class that was top heavy but weak on depth, Montross was named 2nd-Team All-Rookie alongside Juwan Howard, Wesley Person, Jalen Rose, and Sharone Wright (we’ll get to him later). It’s a probably unfair to judge Montross based on his abysmal performance in the 1995 playoffs against the towering Shaquille O’Neal but the trauma of that series seemed to color the remainder of his career. Montross wound up playing for six more teams over his final seven seasons, averaging 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

13) J.R. Bremer, Celtics, ’02-’03

After averaging 24.6 points per game his senior year for St. Bonaventure, Bremer was considered a borderline second round pick in 2002 but didn’t hear his name called on draft day. He impressed the Celtics enough in summer league to get a roster spot and soon found himself thrust into the starting lineup at point guard when the incumbent Tony Delk was struggling. Bremer performed surprisingly well on a decent team, putting up 22 points and six assists in his first start, and finishing the season with 8.3 points and 2.6 assists per game. With no point guards deemed good enough for 1st-Team All-Rookie, Bremer joined Jay Williams on the second team. After he was sent back to the bench in the playoffs in favor of Delk, Bremer had to be excited to be traded to the Cavs in 2004 to return to his hometown and play with LeBron James. But he lasted just 31 games in Cleveland before getting cut. After playing in five more games with the Warriors, Bremer’s NBA career was over at age 23.

12) Courtney Alexander, Mavericks/Wizards, ’00-’01

Red flags were abound in the 2000 NBA Draft for Alexander, who had transferred from Virginia to Fresno State after an arrest for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend. But he played well enough under Jerry Tarkanian on the Bulldogs to be selected in the late lottery by Orlando, who traded his rights to the Mavericks. Playing time was scarce in the Dallas back court but Alexander’s fortunes swiftly shifted with a mid-season trade to Washington. The abhorrent Wizards were injury racked and en route to 63 losses, a perfect environment for an unabashed rookie gunner. Down the stretch with the Wizards, Alexander was the team’s second leading scorer at 17.0 points per game in 27 appearances. In a notoriously weak rookie class, that was good enough for Alexander to land 2nd-Team All-Rookie over Mateen Cleaves, Keyon Dooling, and Quentin Richardson. That would turn out to be Alexander’s peak, as his playing time was sapped in ’01-’02 by Michael Jordan’s comeback and his career soon after ended by an ACL tear.

11) Adam Morrison, Bobcats, ’06-’07

From college superstar to third overall pick to laughingstock in just three years, Morrison’s career was upended by an ACL tear suffered in the summer after his rookie season. Prior to that, he did show some of the promise that earned him All-American honors at Gonzaga. There were plenty of opportunities to go around in the Bobcats’ anemic offense and Morrison averaged 11.8 points per game as a rookie. Though his 7.9 PER was one of the league’s worst, attributable to his atrocious defense, Morrison was named 2nd-Team All-Rookie and even finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. It’s questionable whether he had much of a chance anyway, but Morrison was immensely hampered after his knee surgery. He made just 83 total appearances over the next three seasons, averaging 3.4 points per game. Morrison did earn two championship rings with the Lakers but also made dishonorable history as the only player to win back-to-back titles without actually appearing in either NBA Finals.

10) Zeljko Rebraca, Pistons, ’01-’02

By the time of his NBA debut, Rebraca was 28 years old with a full decade of pro experience in his native Serbia, seven years had passed since his drafting by the SuperSonics, and his draft rights had been traded three times, ultimately ending up with the Pistons. Playing as a backup center for a 50-win team is typically not a formula for an All-Rookie honoree but Rebraca had two advantages going for him. One, he received solid playing time down the stretch of the season while starting center Ben Wallace was resting for the playoffs, even making a few spot starts. Two, he was part of an exceedingly weak rookie class of centers, landing his 2nd-Team All-Rookie spot over Predrag Drobnjak, Jarron Collins, and an 18-year-old Tyson Chandler. Rebraca continued to contribute over the next season-and-a-half until he was traded to the Hawks as part of the massive trade that that brought Rasheed Wallace to Detroit. He was soon after forced to effectively retire in 2005 after an irregular heartbeat was discovered.

9) Marcus Williams, Nets, ’06-’07

It’s no coincidence the ’06-’07 draft class repeatedly shows up here. Not only was it was just plain weak but multiple ties in the voting led to an unprecedented 13 players being named All-Rookie. The final spot on the 2nd-Team was a three-way tie between Rajon Rondo, Walter Herrmann, and Williams, a former Connecticut star point guard who finished the season with 6.8 points and 3.3 assists per game for New Jersey. Those would prove to be career highs, as Williams found playing time exceedingly limited in his final three seasons with the Nets, Warriors, and Grizzlies. He absconded for the Puerto Rican club Piratas de Quebradillas in 2009 and spent the remainder of his career overseas, with later stops in Russia, China, and Spain. Prior to his disappointing NBA career, Williams had also been a letdown at Connecticut. He was kicked off the team as a junior for attempting to steal laptops from teammates, reinstated, then struggled in the landmark 2006 NCAA Tournament upset loss to George Mason.

“But if there’s one thing Philadelphia fans won’t stand for, it’s athletes perceived as soft, and his tentative playing style lent the nickname “Charmin’” by his second season.”

8) MarShon Brooks, Nets, ’11-’12

With the franchise mired at the bottom of the standings, regularly rotating head coaches, and perpetually rebooting the roster, the late ’00s/early ’10s Nets were a perfect opportunity for middling talents to rack up stats. Enter MarShon Brooks. A late first round pick out of Providence, he was traded from the Celtics to the Nets on draft day and almost immediately shifted into the starting lineup in the lockout-stunted ’11-’12 season. As the moribund Nets were limping to a 22-44 record, Brooks was shooting at will. He averaged 12.6 points per game for the season, dropped 20+ points nine times (all of which were Nets losses), and was named 2nd-Team All-Rookie for his efforts (ahead of Kemba Walker, for the record). When New Jersey added Joe Johnson to the lineup in ’12-’13, Brooks’ production took a nose dive and never recovered in later stops with the Celtics, Warriors, and Lakers. He spent several seasons in China before making a brief comeback with the Grizzlies.

7) Mark Macon, Nuggets, ’91-’92

Holding the #4 and #8 picks in the 1991 NBA Draft, the Nuggets took a slight risk with the first selection and then took a reliable, sure thing with the second. That #4 pick was Dikembe Mutombo, a talented but raw prospect while the #8 pick was Macon, a former Mr. Basketball Michigan and an All-American at Temple. One aspect of Macon’s collegiate game that carried over into the NBA was his prolific shooting output. What didn’t translate was any sense of efficiency. Macon shot just 37.5% from the field as a rookie as he amassed 10.6 points per game. That was good enough to be named 2nd-Team All-Rookie (Mutombo, meanwhile, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting), but didn’t portend great things for the Nuggets or Macon’s future. He was slowly phased out of Denver’s back court rotation in ’92-’93 and failed to revive his career after a trade to the Pistons. Out of the league completely by 1996, Macon played in Italy, Turkey, and with the Florida Beach Dogs of the CBA.

6) Sharone Wright, 76ers, ’94-’95

It’s easy to judge draft decisions in retrospect, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge situations like the Sixers faced in 1994. They held the sixth pick in a decidedly five-player draft, with Glenn Robinson, Donyell Marshall, Juwan Howard, Jason Kidd, and Grant Hill obviously at the top. Wright was the safest pick at that #6 spot, with his body and pedigree of a solid NBA power forward. Wright’s rookie season was inconsistent but promising, and he was named 2nd-Team All-Rookie for his 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. But if there’s one thing Philadelphia fans won’t stand for, it’s athletes perceived as soft, and Wright’s tentative playing style lent him the nickname “Charmin’” by his second season. The 76ers cut their losses quickly, trading Wright to the Raptors at the 1996 deadline. After getting off to a decent start in Toronto, Wright had his career abruptly ended in 1997 due to a broken collarbone suffered in a car accident.

5) Jonny Flynn, Timberwolves, ’09-’10

Point guard was the obvious need for the Timberwolves heading into the 2009 NBA Draft and they held the #5 and #6 overall picks. But instead of landing future All-Stars Stephen Curry, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, or Jeff Teague, general manager David Kahn selected Ricky Rubio at #5 and Flynn at #6. Mind you, Rubio was a first-rate prospect, but the phenom had stated that he would not play for Minnesota and made good on that threat, remaining in Spain. That left Flynn as the Timberwolves’ default point guard of the future and his rookie season was solid, starting 81 games, averaging 13.5 points, and getting named 2nd-Team All-Rookie. But he suffered a hip injury in the summer of 2010 that necessitated surgery and impacted his mobility, making his poor decision making became more pronounced. When Rubio finally relented and joined the team in 2011, Flynn was traded to the Rockets. After getting cut by the Rockets, Blazers, and Pistons, Flynn eventually did become an All-Star, albeit for the Melbourne Tigers of the Australian National Basketball League.

4) Walter Herrmann, ’06-’07

27 years old and un-drafted, Herrmann became an unlikely star for the Bobcats. He already had years of professional experience under his belt, starting in his native Argentina (with whom he also won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics) before moving on to the top Spanish league. Charlotte fans took a shining the man they lovingly nicknamed “Fabio” on account of his flowing, blonde hair and “The Claw” for his freakishly large hands. Hermann played sparingly early but entered the starting lineup down the stretch and averaged 18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the final month of the season. Herrmann became the second Argentinean, after Manu Ginobili, to be named All-Rookie but was then traded early in the ’07-’08 season to Detroit. Finding playing time scarce on the title-contending Pistons, Herrmann averaged just 3.6 points per game over the next two seasons. He played the remainder of his career in South America, earning MVP and Finals MVP honors in the Argentina league.

3) Juan Carlos Navarro, Grizzlies, ’07-’08

One of the great one-and-done careers in NBA history, Navarro sandwiched that single season with the Grizzlies in between a pair of decade-plus stints with FC Barcelona. He had declared for the NBA Draft in 2002 but was dealing with injuries at the time and fell to the second round. After a few more seasons in Spain, Navarro opted to make a go of it in the NBA, joining his friend and national teammate Pau Gasol on the Grizzlies. Navarro played in all 82 games, averaging 10.9 points, attempting over 400 three-point field goals, and getting named 2nd-Team All-Rookie. But Memphis’ mid-season trade of Gasol to the Lakers had soured Navarro on the NBA lifestyle, and the Grizzlies’ 2008 pursuit of free agent Allen Iverson sent him packing back to Spain. Navarro’s accolades in his native country are undeniable, with one Spanish League MVP award, one Euroleague MVP award, three Spanish League Finals MVP awards, and two Euroleague championships.

2) Jay Williams, Bulls, ’02-’03

Williams wasn’t wearing a helmet, wasn’t allowed to ride motorcycles per his Bulls contract, and wasn’t even licensed to drive one in the state of Illinois. Yet he chose to get on one anyway, perhaps owing to the perceived invincibility of youth. It reduced a promising pro career to a unfulfilling one-and-done affair. A Wooden Award winner at Duke, Williams seemed like a sure bet when the Bulls drafted him second overall in 2002. Fearless, smart, and an underrated shooter, his lack of size and strength was an occasional deterrent during his rookie year but at other times he thrived, showing flashes of future brilliance, enough to be named 2nd-Team All-Rookie. But a motorcycle crash that summer left Williams with a shattered pelvis, severed nerves, and a torn ACL. There was no guarantee he would ever walk again, let alone play basketball, and the Bulls waived their once potential star. Williams did recover strongly enough to join summer league and training camp with the Nets in 2006 but didn’t make the final roster and all subsequent attempts at a comeback fell short.

1) Jorge Garbajosa, Raptors, ’06-’07

A senior member of the “Golden Age” of Spanish players to emerge on the scene in the ’00s, the then 28-year-old Garbajosa already had 12 years of professional experience when he signed with the Raptors. With a reliable long range jumper and surprisingly deft defensive presence, he surprisingly won out a starting lineup spot over fellow rookie and top overall pick Andrea Bargnani (eight years his junior) at small forward. Garbajosa was named Rookie of the Month for December of 2006 and 1st-Team All-Rookie in an admittedly weak year for neophytes. But a broken leg in a March game against the Celtics required surgery and forced Garbajosa to miss the playoffs. A second surgery was then required a few months later, reducing Garbajosa to just eight appearances in ’07-’08. When he defied team rules by playing for Spain at the 2008 Olympics, the Raptors bought out his contract. After a few more years playing in Europe, hampered by his leg issues, Garbajosa retired in 2012.