From the first overall pick to being cut by the league’s worst team, Anthony Bennett has now lived through all the highs and lows a professional basketball career can offer—and he’s only 23.
His career suffered another blow on Monday, as the Brooklyn Nets waived the former No. 1 overall pick, marking the third time Bennett has been cut during his young, disappointing tenure in the NBA.
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Like many of his previous stints, his audition with the Nets was a short-lived disaster. Bennett signed with the Nets last July after being placed on waivers by the the Raptors in March, but once again finds himself out of work and looking for a new team to take another chance on him. The Toronto native has already spent time with four different clubs in four seasons since 2013 when the Cavs made him the first Canadian to be selected No. 1 overall.
Following a one-year stint with UNLV, Bennett has posted underwhelming numbers through 151 career NBA games with Cleveland, Minnesota, Toronto and Brooklyn, averaging 12.6 minutes, 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 39.2 percent from the field. He’s yet to suit up for more than 57 games in a season in any of his four campaigns, and has only hit the floor in 42 games total over the past two seasons.
Though it was regarded as one of the weaker drafts in recent NBA memory with a wide-open board at the top, the Cavaliers still shocked many when they reached to take Bennett with the first selection. The 6-foot-8 power forward was picked ahead of players like Victor Oladipo (2), Otto Porter (3), Cody Zeller (4), CJ McCollum (10), Giannis Antetokounmpo (15) and Rudy Gobert, who proved to be the steal of the class, going 27th overall to Utah.
Here’s a timeline of how Bennett’s young career has played out:
Cleveland (2013-14)
After lasting only one (partial) campaign with the Cavs, Bennett was shipped to Minnesota along with fellow Canadian No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins as part of the deal that saw Kevin Love end up in Cleveland. During his very short stint with the Cavs, Bennett averaged 12.8 minutes, 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds, while suiting up in 52 games.
Minnesota (2014-15)
As part of the package the T-Wolves brought back in exchange for Love, Bennett, along with Wiggins, were looked to be the central focus of Minnesota’s rebuild. Wiggins, the 2015 NBA rookie of the year, has the makings of a future star for the Timberwolves. In his third season, the 21-year-old is averaging a career-high 22-plus points per game. Bennett, though, was a colossal disappointment during his tenure in Minnesota. Suiting up for a career-high 57 games during the 2014-15 season, he averaged 15.7 minutes, 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest before his career really started to go downhill.
Toronto (2015-16)
Home was anything but sweet for Bennett, as his stint with the Raptors didn’t do anything to turn his career around. The 245-pounder didn’t seem to settle in a Raptors uniform and was assigned to the club’s D-League team four times between Dec. 20 and Jan. 31 of that season. Through just 16 games with the Raps in 2015-16, Bennett barely saw the court, averaging 4.4 minutes over 19 games.
Brooklyn (2016-17)
After being waived by the Raptors last March, Bennett signed a two-year deal with the Nets in July. There was finally hope that he might be able to carve out a role on his fourth NBA team after a dedicated offseason workout regime and rediscovering his passion for the game.
Through 23 games with a very bad Brooklyn team this season, though, Bennett averaged 11.5 minutes and 5.0 points per game. Even on a rebuilding Nets team that’s full of holes and sits last in the Eastern Conference, Bennett was unable to find a permanent home, with his career once again in limbo after Brooklyn cut ties with him today.
It’s been quite a freefall for Bennett, who in a matter of a few years went from being a first overall pick to trying to avoid being tagged as the biggest bust in NBA history.
June 27, 2013: Selected No. 1 overall in the 2013 NBA draft by Cavaliers
Aug. 23, 2014: Traded to Timberwolves as part of Kevin Love deal
Sept. 23, 2015: Waived by Timberwolves
Sept. 27, 2015: Signed with Raptors
March 1, 2016: Waived by Raptors
July 14, 2016: Signed with Nets
Jan. 9, 2017: Waived by Nets
