8 NBA Players Whose Careers Fizzled out Before 25

Most NBA players' careers tend to follow a fairly typical path. They come into the league as raw, undeveloped prospects and slowly mature into serviceable NBA players. Some become even better than that.

But these eight players started out strong and had their once-promising careers fizzle before they turned 25 years old.

Please note that to make this list, a player actually had to be good at one point. Massive busts like Hasheem Thabeet or Kwame Brown don't qualify because they never had anything to fizzle.

Read on to discover who the eight players are.  

Eddy Curry

Eddy Curry, following one of the greatest high school basketball careers of all time, was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2001 NBA draft.

He spent the first four seasons of his career steadily improving for the team that drafted him, topping out at 16.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game at age 22 during the 2004-2005 season. 

Despite the defects that were found with his heart, the New York Knicks traded for him and enjoyed two seasons of tremendous play before Curry absolutely collapsed, partially because of a lack of motivation and partially because he was way too overweight. 

During his second season with the Knicks, Curry started 81 games, averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Then, once he turned 25, the collapse started.

His scoring average dropped six points the following season, and then he would play in just 10 more games up through the present day. 

Tyus Edney

The 5'10" point guard rode the wave of popularity following his game-winning shot for the UCLA Bruins in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament and was drafted by the Sacramento Kings at No. 47 in the ensuing draft. 

Tyus Edney surprisingly started 60 of the 80 games he played in during his rookie season, averaging 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game for the Kings. Unfortunately, he would become a one-hit wonder in the United States. 

As a 23-year-old, Edney's play declined for the Kings, and he was signed as a free agent by the Boston Celtics, the team for which he would start just seven games during his third season in the NBA.

After that season, he spent some time in Europe before returning to play 24 mediocre games for the Indiana Pacers during the 2000-2001 season. 

Amazingly enough, Edney scored only eight points less during his rookie season than he did during the rest of his career combined. 

Pervis Ellison

The story of Pervis Ellison's nickname tells you all you need to know. 

Ellison started out as "Never Nervous Pervis" thanks to his tremendous play at Louisville. The 6'9" center led the Cardinals to a national title as a freshman and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, making him one of just three players (Carmelo Anthony and Arnie Ferrin are the others) to receive that award during their first collegiate season.

The big man was the No. 1 pick in the 1989 NBA draft and steadily improved until he averaged 20.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game during his third season with the Sacramento Kings at the ripe young age of 24 years. 

But Ellison would get injured early and often during his campaign as a 25-year-old and the ensuing seasons. The new nickname, "Out of Service Pervis," that Danny Ainge had given him during his rookie season came back to bite him. 

Shaun Livingston

This is one of the most unfortunate stories on the list.

In an article about injury-prone players' chances at reviving their careers, I wrote the following about Shaun Livingston:

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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.

 

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Don MacLean

After a fairly average rookie campaign for the Washington Bullets, Don MacLean exploded for 18.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game during his second season in the league and was accordingly named the NBA's Most Improved Player. 

His improvement proved to be a bit of a fluke as MacLean's numbers quickly fell back to Earth the ensuing season once he turned 25 years old.

Everything continued to fall apart, hitting rock bottom when he tested positive for steroids in 2000. 

You could say he took his Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry—assuming by Chevy, you mean basketball; by levee, you mean basket; and by dry, you mean he failed to score. 

Harold Miner

If you're given the nickname "Baby Jordan," run. Run as fast as you can.

While it's obviously a compliment to be compared to Michael Jordan, it's impossible to live up to the expectations that come with the nickname. 

Harold Miner was drafted 12th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Miami Heat after an exemplary career for the USC Trojans. And as his coach George Raveling said, "I always felt the worst thing to happen to Harold was the "Baby Jordan" tag."

Even though Miner won two slam dunk titles, he was out of the league before he even turned 25. 

Ralph Sampson

At 7'4", Ralph Sampson entered the NBA as a No. 1 overall pick and a three-time collegiate Player of the Year.

He had to be good. 

Sampson had a terrific rookie season, averaging 21.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while he was just 23 years old. 

The Houston Rockets had the first overall pick for the second straight season in 1984 and selected Hakeem Olajuwon, forming "The Twin Towers" in the Houston frontcourt. Once more, Sampson was terrific, even with The Dream joining him. 

Once he turned 25 years old, Sampson began to miss games due to injury, and his play started to decline. He did average 18.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game during his third season in the NBA, but his game fell off a cliff during the following season. 

The big man was never again fully healthy and never regained his status as one of the league's premier players. 

Bobby Simmons

Currently with the Reno Bighorns in the NBA D-League, Bobby Simmons entered the NBA in 2001 when the Seattle SuperSonics drafted him at No. 41 out of DePaul. 

Simmons was a mediocre player at the small forward position for the first three years of his professional career until he broke out at 24 years old for the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while winning the award for Most Improved Players. 

He was still good during his 25-year-old season but not great; in reality, that year was the beginning of his decline into obscurity.

An ankle injury forced him to miss the entire 2006-2007 season, and Simmons was simply never the same player.