5 NBA veterans who have overstayed their welcome in the league

Jermaine O’Neal

O’Neal faces off against Dwight Howard

One of the rare breed of players who were drafted right from high school, also known as prep-to-pro players, Jermaine O’Neal had his best times in the NBA during an eight year marriage with the Indiana Pacers, where he made six All-Star appearances, made the All-NBA team thrice and led Indiana to the playoffs six times, this including the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals.

O’Neal struggled in Portland, the team that drafted him, as he could barely crack the rotation, averaging just over 10 minutes a game, something that the high school prodigy wouldn’t have envisioned as an ideal start to his NBA career.

Plagued by injuries in the recent past, O’Neal has failed to reproduce the form that propelled him into the NBA elite during his time as a Pacer. The last three seasons have witnessed him average 5.4, 5.0 and 8.3 PPG numbers that pale in comparison to his ’04-’05 season with Indiana where he averaged 24.3 PPG on 45% from the field.