When was the last time you heard about O.J. Mayo? The guy who should've been "the next big thing" in the NBA, is not even in the league now. Mayo had a promising high school and college career, and many expected him to be an All-Star caliber player in the NBA. He played college basketball at the University of Southern California during the 2007/2008 season and averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
In 2008 he entered the NBA Draft and was drafted as the third overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves didn't hold onto Mayo for long, as they traded him on the night of the draft to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Kevin Love.
Mayo played exceptionally well in his rookie season with the Grizzlies, averaging 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, just behind Chicago's Derrick Rose.
Mayo suspended in 2016
In 2013, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Milwaukee Bucks. It seems that from that point on, his career started going downhill. During the 2015/2016 season, O.J. played a career-low 41 games for the Bucks and also averaged a career-low 7.8 points per game. He also added 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game on 37% percent shooting that season, which was by far the worst of his career.
After becoming a free-agent in 2016, Mayo was suspended for two years by the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug program.
The league did not release details of Mayo's suspension, but it wasn't the first time he had problems with banned substances. In 2011, the NBA also suspended Mayo for ten games after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. It's been a year since he was suspended in 2016, and apparently, he wants to give it another shot at playing in the NBA.
O.J. wants one more chance
Just a couple of days ago, Mayo talked to The Crossover and spoke about his ambition to return to the NBA. He said that he would like to play again for the Milwaukee Bucks, as he feels he let them down the last time he was there. "I want to go back to what I left (in Milwaukee),” Mayo said. “I was real close with Jason Kidd.
That was the best relationship I had with a coach."
Mayo also mentioned that he had close contact with Bucks' stars Antetokounmpo and Middleton. "I had great relationships with Giannis and Khris Middleton. I was comfortable there. I felt like I let them down, cheated them for two years." said the 29-year-old Mayo. Let's just hope Mayo will be given one more chance to make it right this time and to use his talents the right way finally.
