Ranking the 5 biggest Texas basketball NBA Draft busts of all-time
B.J. Tyler. B.J. Tyler. 93. . PG. No. 20 pick in 1994 NBA Draft. B.J. Tyler. . 3. player
The 20th overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft, B.J. Tyler was set to become a key part of a young core as one of the quickest guards in that draft class. Tyler was known for his quickness and playmaking ability as a pure-bucket getter at the point guard position.
But Tyler's NBA career is a story of was can only be characterized as bad luck and misfortune. He's said that his NBA career essentially ended at the young age of 24 after he accidentally fell asleep while leaving an ice pack on his ankle after a game.
As a result of that ice pack incident, Tyler suffered severe long-term never damage on his ankle, which robbed him of his speed and quickness.
This ice pack incident came just after the 76ers traded Tyler to the Toronto Raptors as part of the 1995 NBA expansion draft. Tyler was set to become a key part of the Raptors backcourt rotation as a backup point guard after signing a $6 million multi-year deal during the 1995 offseason.
Tyler never got to be a part of a young Raptors team that was rapidly improving after the 1995 NBA expansion throughout the latter part of the decade.
You could characterize the careers of all three former Longhorns to start this list for NBA Draft busts as unfortunate scenarios due to lower-body injuries and related incidents.