10 biggest Indiana basketball NBA Draft busts of all time
By Joey Loose
C. Dallas Mavericks. Uwe Blab. 5. player. 79.
5. Uwe Blab (1985: Round 1, Pick 17)
A native of Germany who was actually born in Munich, Blab arrived in Indiana way back in 1981 after starring at the high school level in Illinois. A 7’1 center, he was an important part of Bob Knight’s rotation all four of his years with the Hoosiers, developing into a top-level big man by the end of his career.
As a senior, he averaged 16.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named First Team All-Big Ten, posing impressive block numbers as well.
His NBA career did not live up to his potential after being drafted with the 17th pick by the Dallas Mavericks. He was a role player at best for four seasons in Dallas, never starting a game nor averaging more than 2.6 points a game either.
He was a starter for half a season with the Golden State Warriors, but was out of the NBA soon after that, spending just five years in the league.
While Blab washed out pretty quickly and never became an important figure for the Mavericks, what makes this pick hurt, even more, is that Future Hall of Famer Joe Dumars was the very next pick in the draft.
Blab barely totaled 500 points in his five-year NBA career and never found his way in professional basketball despite his height and ability.