Greg Oden's untold story: Ohio State legend, drafted No. 1 before Kevin Durant, called a NBA Bust, the what-ifs, battling injuries, addiction, depression, misconceptions, the Miami Heat Finals run & life after basketball.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
They say you can tell a lot about a person by the contents of their freezer. So what does the bottle Jaegermeister say? It says you have standards. You don't cut corners. And you like your Jaegermeister shots the way they're meant to be enjoyed. Ice cold. As for the frozen taquitos and mystery leftovers, well, keep that between us. Drink it cold or don't drink it at all.
Jaegermeister. Damn, that's cold.
Drink responsibly. Jaegermeister LaCour 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mast Jaegermeister, US White Plains, New York.

**Ryan Hollins** (0:30)
There are some people the world labels before they even get a chance to live. The next great one can't miss Franchise Changer. Greg Oden had all of those labels early. He was the best high school player in the country, a dominant force for a year at Ohio State, and the number one draft pick ahead of Kevin Durant. And just like that, expectations became impossible because they'll celebrate you quick, but in sports they'll judge you even quicker. And so today, we sit down with Greg for one of the most honest conversations that we've had. It's about basketball, but more so about life. We talk about the pressures of carrying the hopes of an entire franchise, the injuries that robbed him of the game that he loved. And that label busts how one word can bury a human being underneath hurt and disappointment and public criticism. But we go even deeper than that. Greg opens up about losing his best friend Travis, the alcoholism, the painkillers, the partying, trying to escape mentally while his career was slipping away physically. And that's what makes this conversation powerful, because there's really no excuses in it. It's just truth. It's mistakes. It's pain. It's hitting rock bottom. But also it's about healing, finding that purpose through his family, his wife Sabrina and his daughter London. He also gives flowers to Thad Mata, a man who made decision after decision to try to help Greg save his life. This isn't just about the setback, but it's about the get back. And sitting here today, Greg is peaceful and he's happy and he's grounded, finally free from trying to live up to all those expectations. And isn't that what the pivot is about? The comeback doesn't always look like championships. Sometimes it's just finding yourself. And Greg Oden finds himself with us, me, Chan and Freddie T. Because this is the pivot.

**Freddie Thomas** (2:49)
What's up, big dog?

**Greg Oden** (2:50)
You got it?

**Channing Frye** (2:51)
Bro, he always can play ball when ballers come.

**Greg Oden** (2:55)
But can he really play ball?

**Channing Frye** (2:56)
I could really hope. Let's go. Let's go.

**Ryan Hollins** (2:59)
Okay, time out, though. Here's the difference. I couldn't play like him.
I could play very good in high school. You know what I'm saying?

**Greg Oden** (3:07)
Probably play how I play now. I'm only getting about 10 minutes of shots up. That's it. That's all I got.

**Ryan Hollins** (3:12)
Man, welcome to the pivot, Greg Oden. And it's truly an honor, man. 2007 number one overall pick.

**Greg Oden** (3:18)
Yeah, sorry.

**Ryan Hollins** (3:18)
You know, took an Ohio State team to a national championship.

**Freddie Thomas** (3:22)
Who they lose to? Sorry.

**Greg Oden** (3:24)
We don't talk about that to them.

**Freddie Thomas** (3:25)
Sorry, G. You just got two Gators in the house.

**Greg Oden** (3:28)
We lost to a very good Florida Gator team. I'm not going to lie, man. Billy Donovan, that team had, what, eight pros on it.

**Freddie Thomas** (3:38)
Yeah.

**Greg Oden** (3:39)
Yeah, what we got? Al Horford, Joe King, Turing Green. Y'all had Moe Spates on the bench. Chris Richards made it to Minnesota.
Sosa has been playing a long time over in Puerto Rico. And then what was the name, Humphreys? The shooter. That boy was cold.

**Ryan Hollins** (3:57)
But here's the thing, though, G. They got to talk about that because they're a football team, Puno.

**Greg Oden** (4:02)
Don't do that to me.

**Ryan Hollins** (4:02)
Don't do that to me.

**Greg Oden** (4:04)
Don't do that to me, man. You know about that year, right?

**Ryan Hollins** (4:08)
Huh? No, I haven't.

**Freddie Thomas** (4:09)
remind him. Teebo.

**Ryan Hollins** (4:11)
Oh, that was the name?

**Channing Frye** (4:12)
That was basketball and football time.

**Greg Oden** (4:14)
OSU against Florida in basketball and football.

**Freddie Thomas** (4:17)
You set him up for that.

**Greg Oden** (4:18)
Yes, you did.

**Freddie Thomas** (4:19)
I was trying to give you a flower. You went 25-12 and 4 in that championship game. You did your thing. It's just overall, we were very deep. RC set you up for that one.