PORTLAND, United States - The Portland Trail Blazers will draft Ohio State centre Greg Oden with the first overall pick in Thursday's National Basketball Association draft, ESPN television reported Wednesday.

The Trail Blazers ended the suspense one day before the draft, admitting to the network that they could not pass up on a franchise pivot - a position that has been the centerpiece of countless championship squads.

Portland reportedly will choose Oden over Texas forward Kevin Durant, who was a scoring machine in his only college season.

Durant has been projected to be a combination of All-Stars like Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady.