The 'High' Flyers: 5 NBA careers destroyed by drugs & alcohol

#4 O.J. Mayo

Memphis Grizzlies v Phoenix Suns — Mayo during his time with the Grizzlies

O.J. Mayo was drafted third overall in the 2008 NBA draft (ahead of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Danilo Galinari, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez and DeAndre Jordan). Scouts must have seen something in him to draft him above players like that.

To be honest, he did have a stellar rookie season for the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 18.5 points on 43.8% shooting for the season, scoring 30 or more on seven different occasions. He was runner-up to Derrick Rose for the Rookie of the Year award. He had a solid sophomore season as well, averaging 17.5 points on 45.8% shooting.

The next season is when his drug troubles began. He tested positive for the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and was suspended by the NBA for 10 games. At the end of the season the Grizzlies chose to not re-sign Mayo and he signed with the Dallas Mavericks. He had a respectable season with the Mavericks, averaging 15.3 points on a team-high 35.5 minutes per game.

For the 2013-2014 season, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks but missed many games because of his conditioning, appearing in a career-low 52 games. His career trundled along until 1 July 2016 when the NBA banned him for using "amphetamine and its analogs (including, but not limited to methamphetamine and MDMA), cocaine, LSD, opiates (heroin, codeine and morphine), and PCP." He is eligible for reinstatement but it seems unlikely that any NBA team would take a chance on a player who did drugs this often.