"Woah!" Bill Simmons exclaimed.
Simmons, then with ESPN, spoke for all of us in reaction to the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Anthony Bennett with the first-overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
"Rece, I need medical help," he continued to host of ESPN's draft coverage Rece Davis.
The pick caused clenched teeth and slurped air. Everyone knew where this was headed.
The skeptics were proven right. In just four years, Bennett was out of the league and proclaimed as one of the biggest busts in draft history.
The only silver lining? He walked away with some change in his pocket.
Anthony Bennett Basketball Career
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Anthony Bennett hails from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He played his high school ball at Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario before transferring to Mountain State Academy in Beckley, West Virginia at 16. He finished his high school career at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada — just outside of Las Vegas. He was named a 2012 McDonald's All-American.
He committed to play NCAA basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in May 2012.
At UNLV, the Canadian averaged 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.2 blocks in 35 games. He was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year in 2013.
The power forward struggled upon entering the NBA. After averaging 4.2 points in 12.8 minutes of action per game as a rookie, he was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves with 2014 No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins that sent Kevin Love to join LeBron James in Cleveland.
Things didn't get much better up north with the Wolves; and later with his hometown Toronto Raptors.
The professional basketball player last played in the league on a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets in 2016-17. He was released by Brooklyn in January 2017. He then joined Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball league, who won the 2017 Euroleague championship. Fenerbahçe released Bennett in May of the same year.
Over the course of his NBA career, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.
The former NBA player played for the Agua Caiente Clippers, the Los Angeles Clippers G-League team, for the 2018-19 season. The former first round pick signed with the Houston Rockets in July 2019 but was waived during training camp.
Per Spotrac, Bennett earned $16,507,172 in his NBA career.
Anthony Bennett Net Worth
No not American singer Anthony Dominick Benedetto, otherwise known as New York City's own Tony Bennett. (That's what I got when I searched for this Anthony Bennett's net worth).
According to The Richest, the basketball Anthony Bennett is worth $8 million.
Every franchise has their list of players who didn't work out from the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, and Milwaukee Bucks to the Detroit Pistons.
Even as one of the biggest draft busts ever, all is not lost.
