Laettner, Christian D.
Basketball
b. Aug. 17, 1969, Angola, NY
A four-year starter at Duke University, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound Laettner set an NCAA Division I record for most games, 148, and he played for two NCAA tournament champions, in 1991 and 1992. He averaged 16.6 points for his collegiate career and 21.5 as a senior, when he was an almost unanimous choice as college player of the year.
Although a center at Duke, Laettner is not the standard post-up, back-to-the-basket player. He prefers facing the basket and shooting. In his college career, he hit 45.5 percent of his 3-point shots (79 of 163) and his 17-foot shot while double-teamed with time running out in overtime beat Kentucky 104-103 to get Duke into the Final Four in 1992.
Laettner was the only non-NBA player on the U. S. "Dream Team" that easily won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. A first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has been a good NBA player, but never reached the superstardom expected of him.
Minnesota traded him to the Atlanta Hawks during the 1995-96 season, and Atlanta traded him to the Detroit Pistons in 1998. He played in only 16 games in 1998-99 because of an injury. Since then, his numbers have declined along with his playing time.
After spending part of the 2000-01 season with the Dallas Mavericks, he was traded again, this time to the Washington Wizards.