Odds for Top 10 Most Injury-Prone NBA Players to Revive Their Career

As sad as it may be, injuries are part of the NBA. They always have been and always will be. 

It's almost impossible to tell when a pesky injury is going to strike, but sometimes players just seem to draw the injury imp more than others.

These players include, but are not limited to, Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, Michael Redd and many others that you'll soon read about.

These injuries can be absolutely crippling, ending not only a player's season but also, in rare occasions, an entire career.

The following 10 players have all had major injury problems in their careers. Can any recover? 

Rodrigue Beaubois

After he was one of the most efficient rookies in NBA history during his first, Rodrigue Beaubois' career took a sharp turn for the worst.

Making the transition from France to the NBA was no problem for the diminutive point guard as he became the first player in the league's history to average 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from behind the three-point line and 80 percent from the free-throw stripe during his rookie season. 

But then Beaubois broke his left foot while he was training with his home country's national team, putting his development on hold. 

The point guard didn't make his season debut this past season until the middle of February. He was quite productive while on the court, starting 26 games and averaging 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. 

Unfortunately, Beaubois sprained his ankle right before the playoffs and had to sit out the entirety of the Mavericks' championship run before having surgery on his left ankle during June. 

At just 23 years old and with an even longer time frame to complete his recovery and rehabilitation because of the lockout, Beaubois still has a good chance to make good on his potential.

Chance of Revival: 80 percent

Andrew Bogut

The Australian center has spent about as much time injured during his career as the koalas from his homeland have spent devouring eucalyptus leaves. 

Ever since he was drafted first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2005 NBA draft, Bogut has alternated rather often between snazzy suits and the green and red jersey of his team. 

After making the All-Rookie First Team in 2006, Bogut sprained his left foot late in his second season, cutting short a season in which he showed a lot of improvement. 

The center played 78 games during his third season in the league, but since then, he's only played 167 games in his last three years.

His biggest injury of the many sustained during that time frame came after a dunk on April 3, 2010, when he broke his right hand, sprained his wrist and dislocated his elbow, all on the same play. 

When healthy, Bogut has been one of the most dominant centers in the league. He's averaged a double-double during each of his past three years with the Bucks, although none of those seasons were complete ones. 

Bogut is never really going to avoid injury for too long, but at just 26 years of age, he still has the physical resiliency necessary to bounce back from any that occur. 

Chance of Revival: 80 percent

Caron Butler

For the majority of his career, Caron Butler has been able to avoid the pesky injury imp, but lately, he's been plagued by that devil. 

Butler's first major injury came back in 2007 when he broke his hand while attempting to block an opponent's shot. After he recovered, a hip injury the following season caused him to miss both the All-Star game he was selected to and 20 of his Washington Wizards' last 35 games. 

The small forward who was once nicknamed "Tough Juice" by Eddie Jordan because of his tough and aggressive style of play managed to stay fairly healthy for each of the next two seasons, but this last year was a different story. 

On Jan. 4 this year, a knee injury officially sidelined Butler for the rest of the season. As a result, Butler had to watch from the sidelines as his teammates completed a title run that was dedicated to him. 

At 31 years old now, Butler's best years are already behind him. This knee injury will be difficult to fully recover from, and he will never be the same player again that he was in the nation's capitol. 

Chance of Revival: 40 percent

Kirk Hinrich

Injuries have plagued Kirk Hinrich throughout his successful career ever since a severe viral infection sidelined him for months during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. 

Fast forwarding to this past season, a hamstring injury became the most recent addition to Hinrich's injury list. The point guard sustained this injury in Game 6 of the first-round playoff matchup with the Orlando Magic, a series that the Hawks managed to hang onto despite losing the guard they traded for earlier in the season. 

While he was sidelined, Jeff Teague took over against the Chicago Bulls in the next round and played out of his mind.

With terrific slashing ability and stellar defense, Teague won over the hearts of most Hawks fans and re-earned his title as the Hawks' point guard of the future. 

Even if Hinrich fully recovers from his hamstring pull and avoids any other subsequent injuries, he will lose a significant amount of playing time to the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon.

It's not even a guarantee that the 30-year-old, defensively oriented guard will fully recover. 

Chance of Revival: 30 percent

Shaun Livingston

The Los Angeles Clippers drafted Shaun Livingston directly out of high school with the No. 4 pick of the 2004 NBA draft. That right there should send up a giant warning flag as the Clippers rarely watch their top picks make it through their careers without some sort of career-threatening injury. 

The 6'7" point guard became a big part of the Clippers somewhat unlikely success during the 2005-2006 season as he steadily improved during each of his first three seasons. But then came the 2006-2007 campaign. 

On Feb. 26, 2007, Livingston suffered one of the most gruesome injuries of all time, one so bad that ESPN had to warn viewers of graphic content before the network felt comfortable showing the nauseating videos of Livingston's missed layup against the Charlotte Bobcats. 

Livingston dislocated his kneecap, allowing his left leg to snap at the knee. His injuries included a torn ACL, PCL and lateral meniscus, a badly sprained MCL and a dislocation of his patella and tibia-femoral joint. Before Livingston hurt himself, I didn't even know there was a technical name for that last joint.

It took the point guard over a year to get medical clearance to resume basketball activities, but his comeback is still not complete over four years after the horrifying injury.

Ironically enough, Livingston found a home in Charlotte this past season, playing in 73 games and averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. Amazingly, he's still just 25 years old and could continue to develop.

Chance of Revival: 30 percent 

Mike Miller

A prolific three-point shooter for the vast majority of his career, Mike Miller has actually been quite durable ever since he entered the league in 2000 and put together a first season that saw him take home the Rookie of the Year hardware at its conclusion. 

The 31-year-old former Florida Gator actually played at least 63 games in each of his first 10 seasons in the league, breaking the 70-game barrier in all but three of them. 

But then a shoulder injury kept the 6'8" shooting guard/small forward sidelined for all but 54 games during the 2009-2010 campaign with the Washington Wizards. 

During the free agency bonanza of 2010, Miller was a second-tier addition to the Miami Heat, signing a five-year contract worth significantly less money than the ones signed by Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Tons of people, me included, expected big things from the sharp-shooter. Surely, tons of wide-open three-pointers would present themselves on drive and kicks from Wade and James. 

But in October, Miller suffered a fluke injury to his right thumb while guarding James in practice and was sidelined until February. He never found his mojo, playing in only 41 regular season games.

Miller played with the Heat throughout the postseason but was a virtual non-factor as he struggled with a shoulder injury for much of June. 

The self-proclaimed "humpty-dumpty man" had shoulder surgery during the offseason, but he should be fully healthy if/when the next year begins. 

Chance of Revival: 90 percent 

Greg Oden

Greg Oden's career stats are as follow: 82 games played, 773 points, 602 rebounds, 117 blocks and 947 different customized suits.

That last number may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact that you actually had to stop and think about whether or not it was true is telling in itself. 

The Portland Trail Blazers made the Ohio State center the No. 1 pick of the 2007 NBA draft but have regretted it ever since as Kevin Durant, the No. 2 pick of the draft, has already won two scoring titles.

Meanwhile, Oden has played just 82 games in four seasons. Consider the significance of that stat. There are 82 games in a single season, and it took Oden four seasons to reach that benchmark. 

But then again, what do you expect from this real life version of Benjamin Button? If you watched him play at Ohio State, you probably noticed that Oden seemed to be 50 years old despite the fact that his birth certificate showed that he was just 18.

Now 23 years of age, Oden still looks like he's at least 40. Would you really be surprised if it was revealed that Oden was aging backwards?

Also, aren't 50-year-olds much more likely to have three seasons cut short by knee injuries than 20-year-olds? 

When on the court though, Oden has been very good in limited minutes. His most recent season (2009-2010 when he played and started 21 games) saw him average 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 23.9 minutes per game. 

If Oden can stay healthy, get consistent playing time and stay out of foul trouble, he still has All-Star potential. 

Those are big "ifs" though. I have to believe it's just a toss-up at this point.  

Chance of Revival: 50 percent

Mehmet Okur

It's tough for me to call Mehmet Okur injury prone because he's really not. But he did suffer a nasty injury this past season, one that will be quite difficult to come back from. 

Ever since he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the No. 37 pick of the 2001 NBA draft, Okur has been productive and has played 72, 71, 82, 82, 80, 72, 72, 73 and 13 games in his seasons.

Which one of those seems like an outlier to you?

Unfortunately, that misfit happens to be his most recent season with the Utah Jazz, the team with which he's spent the past seven seasons. Okur ruptured his Achilles tendon, and he's spent the time since rehabbing that injury, as well as a few random back and leg mishaps. 

Fortunately for the big man though, his calling cards are his size and ability to shoot from the perimeter much more effectively than most centers. Because of that, he should be good to go as soon as he's fully healed. 

Chance of Revival: 80 percent

Michael Redd

Michael Redd enjoyed a very productive prime from the beginning of the 2003-2004 season until his first brutal injure in the middle of the 2008-2009 campaign. In between those dates, Redd averaged over 20 points per game during each of his seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.

But on Jan. 25, 2009, the franchise learned that its superstar had torn both his left MCL and ACL and would miss the rest of the season. "OK fine, it's just a one season injury. We'll have him back for the start of next season," they thought.

Well, that was true. Redd returned at the beginning of the 2009-2010 season. What they didn't anticipate was the shooting guard tearing the same MCL and ACL on Jan. 10, 2010, after playing in just 18 games, during which he was significantly less productive than ever before.

This time, it would take Redd 14 months to return. He debuted during the 2010-2011 campaign on March 28, 2011, and was only able to participate in a grand total of 10 games for the rest of the season. Redd averaged only 4.4 points per game during that time.

It's unfortunate, but the former All-Star is always just going to be a shell of himself.

Chance of Revival: zero percent  

Brandon Roy

I can't write too much about Brandon Roy because doing so just makes me too sad. 

Roy, a legitimate superstar for almost all of his short career, will never be the same thanks to his knee problems. 

Sure, he'll occasionally have an incredible performance like he did in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, but he will never be consistently great again. It's just too hard to play basketball when your knees are bone on bone. 

Roy will always be productive. He's too talented not to be. But he will not be the Brandon Roy we all think of when we hear his name. 

Chance of Revival: zero percent

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Adam Fromal is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer. Follow him on Twitter    @Fromal09.

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