I agree that a player can be considered a bust because of injury, especially younger players. No matter which side of the fence you are on i think it is safe to say that we all agree the biggest part of determining if a player is a bust or not is their development in the NBA. If a player is constantly injured then they cannot properly develop which in turn creates a bust. And there are numerous things that can control the players development that are out of that players control, lets say... coaching staff not training the person properly. While we the fans may not hear of this being the problem for the player, if they did not reach expectations then many people would consider him a bust. This is a terrible example you give because these are two completely different situations. For one if he signed this extension that would mean we would have at least saw 6 years of him and his abilities unhindered in the NBA which as you mentioned got the Heat a title. For two are you talking about a one time injury, not something reoccurring (being injured that is). For three lets consider that he did come out of the injury a completely different man and starting playing worse then Marko Jaric. This would not be a bust (because of reason one), this would be a "should'a been" player AKA Grant Hill, a player who we saw reach franchise player level in the NBA then because of injury could no longer play like his former self. Like it or not that one title Miami won would have been worth a number 1 draft pick. So in order for a player to be considered a bust they must be one because of their own accord? Oden was playing okay basketball on a team that has been improving with or without him. Im not sure why you are comparing the game play of these two guys. When uninjured Oden puts up 11-8 and when uninjured Bynum puts up 20-10. These a huge difference in play there and while they are both bigs who have suffered injuries their play is nothing comparable. Has Oden EVER exceeded expectations? 11-8 average over 18 games in his third seasons... is that exceeding expectations? Is there any reason for us to think that he will really improve or even be healthy enough to improve? I Dunno... i smell a bust bustier then big bust bust. BTW, Kwame Brown put up 11 - 7.5 in his third season in the NBA, much like Oden. See, i hate that people have made Oden out to be something he is not. This started before he even played his first NBA game. People would place him up with the great bigs of this era and consider him an all star and this BS has been going on since after first injury, before draft, after draft, after second injury, after surgery and after third injury. There is absolutely NOTHING this person has done in the NBA to warrant situational comparisons to Wade, Bynum or any other great player that has proven themselves in the NBA.