The second best player in the NBA, he arrived at the age of 22 and disappeared at the age of 27, averaging only 2 points and 2 rebounds per game.

Who is the best No. 1 pick in NBA history?

Anthony Bennett was elected without any suspense, but do you know who is the second-best player in NBA history?

James Wiseman? Marvin Bagley? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist?

They are indeed terrible, but compared to this one, they are simply superstars. This person is Hasheem Thabeet, recognized as the second best player in the NBA.

Thabeet’s experience is very legendary. He was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Like many local children, Thabeet’s first sport was football. It was not until the age of 15 that he used unconventional actions on the basketball court to score “the first goal in his life.” The laughter and encouragement from people around him, “You can play, you can do it,” pushed him onto the road to basketball.

In the next two years, Thabeet experienced rapid growth in height and gradually became a beautiful scenery on the basketball court. However, just when he was looking forward to a bright future, family changes led Thabeet to another path.

When he was 17 years old, his father died of diabetes and his mother lost her job soon after. Thabeet had to say goodbye to basketball. In order to support his family, he entered the society early to make money and worked as a security guard in a nightclub. The burden of life overwhelmed Thabeet. Whenever late at night came, he could not sleep and lay in bed tossing and turning. Although Thabeet was not old, he had a premonition of his future. The only chance to change his destiny was basketball.

Since then, Thabeet has sent emails to major schools every day, attaching his resume, height, wingspan, and a basketball video with extremely low pixels. Although most of them have been ignored, until one day, a university in Kenya sent Thabeet an invitation and was willing to provide him with a full scholarship. Here, Thabeet met the most important person in his life, "Oliver Noah", an agent who specializes in developing international basketball talents.

Noah and Thabeet hit it off immediately. With the help of the former, the 18-year-old Thabeet finally came to the United States, which he longed for, and took root in a Christian school in Houston. Despite his excellent physical talent, with a height of 2.21 meters and a wingspan of 2.29 meters, Due to the lack of systematic training, Thabeet's performance on the court was very poor. At the 2005 Adidas training camp, he was pushed around by players who were much shorter than him. He could not stand firm under the basket. In addition, the pace was too fast. After a few rounds, Thabeet was already out of breath.

The scouts invited by Noah left the field one after another before the game was over. "Do you think this guy can do it? He can't even dunk?" one scout said to Noah.

But Noah was not discouraged. During the offseason, he led Thabeet to undergo rigorous special training, and his coordination and strength were greatly improved, especially in terms of personality. Thabeet, who had low self-esteem and was introverted, had a huge increase in self-confidence after he broke a basket.

In 2006, Thabeet represented Africa and participated in a match against the United States. In this much-anticipated event, he scored 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Since then, people began to re-examine this big man. Not only that, the prestigious NCAA school University of Connecticut also sent Thabeet a scholarship.

In the three years in the NCAA, Thabeet has made great progress every year, from averaging 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game as a freshman, and being selected for the All-Rookie Team, to averaging 10.5 points, 7.9 per game as a sophomore. rebounds, 4.5 blocks, and was selected to the second team of the All-NBA Team, plus the Best Defensive Player. In his junior year, he averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks per game. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team and was elected Defensive Player of the Year.

Thabeet's growth rate is surprising, especially on the defensive end. He has shown terrifying dominance, reminiscent of the "Mountain of Africa" ​​Dikembe Mutombo.

"When Noah said that I could participate in the 2009 draft, I couldn't mention how excited I was. I thought it wouldn't be long before I could bring my mother and sister back to Africa."

It should be noted that at the time, the outside world was not optimistic about the 2009 rookie, and some experts even called it the worst in the past decade, because Because in that era that focused on insiders, there were indeed very few top insiders in the 2009 class. The Clippers used the No. 1 pick to pick Griffin, which was almost certain. However, the Grizzlies, holding the second pick, were always hesitant. They tried to trade several times, but in the end they were unsuccessful. They wanted Spanish golden boy Rubio, but Memphis was not on the latter's training list at all.

Perhaps out of helplessness, the Grizzlies finally picked up Thabeet, who seemed to be the best inside player besides Griffin. However, the second place status was a bit too heavy for this boy from the African continent.

As mentioned before, Thabeet is introverted and not a player who can withstand pressure. He also received formal training late, has rough basic skills, and has no offensive skills. He relies entirely on his talent advantage and defensive enthusiasm. However, in the NBA, this talent cannot take much advantage. Although he averages 1.3 blocks per game, 6.6 fouls every 36 minutes also shows how difficult it is for him to defend.

Coupled with his status as the second pick, Thabeet was under more pressure. After a series of bad games, his heart collapsed, and the Grizzlies could only send him to the Development League.

In addition, Thabeet doesn’t have much love for basketball, nor does he show a professional side. There is no targeted training plan, only indulgence and enjoyment. Yes, Thabeet’s original intention of playing basketball was just to change the fate of his family. Now he has done it. Although his performance is not good, as the second pick, Thabeet signed a four-year rookie contract worth nearly 20 million US dollars. In the first year, he received 4.45 million. The set goal has been achieved..

Starting from the second season, Thabeet began to wander around, from the Rockets to the Trail Blazers, then to the Thunder, and then briefly signed with the 76ers and Pistons.

2014 was a year of collective breakthrough for the 2009 rookie class. Harden was selected to the first team and Curry entered the All-Star. Later, they teamed up with DeRozan, another rookie in the same class, to win the Men's Basketball World Cup. At this time, Thabeet, the second overall pick, played his last game in the NBA.

Averaging 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, this is Thabeet's report card for the NBA.

It is worth mentioning that even after joining the Development League, Thabeet found it difficult to dominate, averaging only 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. He could only go to Japan to continue his career. Later, several CBA trials ended in failure. In 2023, he went to the Taiwan League in China to continue his basketball wandering career.

Of course, we have no right to deny Thabeet. As the second overall pick, he was unsuccessful. However, as the only male in the family, he traveled across the ocean to change his destiny and break into the NBA in just 4 years, changing the fate of the entire family. This determination and perseverance are really admirable.