I am now down to the No. 6 former Jayhawk who had the best NBA career. This KU legend would have certainly ranked higher had he not undergone three ACL surgeries during his 15 years in the league. Still, Danny Manning persevered through adversity and had a great career. Hall of Famer and TV analyst Bill Walton once called Manning “one of the most graceful players of our era.”
No. 6 Danny Manning
In just Danny Manning’s freshman season at Kansas, his coach Larry Brown destined the phenom for immortality.
“He’s the most complete young player I have ever seen,” Brown said. “He’ll be the best."
"This kid has the chance to be thought of in light of the best when his career is over," Brown added. "He is unlike any player I've ever been around."
The hosannas and rave reviews kept coming during Manning’s career as scouts believed he would revolutionize the forward position in the NBA. While a sophomore, Manning graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“He does more than anybody since Bird and Magic,” Indiana Pacers scout Tom Newell told SI. "When he's 24, 25, people will just sit back and marvel at this guy. He's a whole new concept in basketball."
After Manning finished his magical KU career by scoring 2,951 points (No. 6 all time in NCAA history at the time and currently No. 10) and leading the underdog Jayhawks to the national championship in a thrilling 83-79 win over Oklahoma, NBA general managers salivated over winning the rights to the No. 1 pick in the lottery and selecting this prodigy.
Christmas came early for Los Angeles Clippers GM Elgin Baylor as the woeful franchise won the top pick on May 21, 1988. Baylor was overwhelmed with jubilation on national television and proudly held up a Clippers’ jersey with Manning’s name and his No. 25 on the back.
"This is the happiest moment I've had since I've been associated with basketball,” the Hall of Famer Baylor told the Los Angeles Times. “It's a great moment for the L.A. Clippers. My prayers worked. I had everyone praying every day and night. This is terrific."
The Clips, who last made the playoffs in 1976 and had the league’s worst record the past two seasons, were in dire need of a difference maker.
Team president Alan Rothenberg got his greatest prize.
“This is a wonderful day in our history," Rothenberg said. "Maybe the gods of fortune are finally starting to smile on us after all the bad luck we've had. Last night, my wife and I opened an entire bag of fortune cookies, and there was nothing good until the last one. It read: 'Your fondest wish will come true.' "
Manning’s agent Ron Grinker was prepared to shoot for the moon regarding his client by seeking a $35-million contract, the richest rookie deal of all time.
"The only thing I can assure you is that Danny Manning won't consider anything less than either (Patrick) Ewing (the No. 1 pick in the 1985 Draft signed a $33.5-million-10 year deal with the New York Knicks) or (David) Robinson (he signed a $26-million, 10-year contract last season as the No. 1 pick in the draft) got," Grinker said.
"Danny Manning is the most unique player to come into the NBA because he can play five positions like (Boston Celtics star) Larry Bird. Danny Manning carried a very ordinary Kansas team to a championship."
Manning, who played on the bronze-medal 1988 Olympic team, ended up signing a five-year, $10.5 million contract.
With all the hype surrounding him, Manning’s NBA fortunes came crashing down after 26 games into his rookie year when he tore his ACL, one of three blown knees he would suffer during his 15-year career. Manning started 18 of 26 games for coach Mike Schuler that shortened first season and averaged 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
“The doctors told us that he would never play again and that his career was over,” Manning’s wife, Julie, told Jazz HomeCourt Magazine in 2001.
Manning didn’t listen to the naysayers and eventually became a two-time All-Star with Los Angeles in 1993 (he became the Clips’ first All-Star since Marques Johnson in 1986) and ‘94. The 6-10 forward had a career year in '93 when he averaged 22.8 points per game (No. 10 in NBA) and set a franchise record for total points (1,800) while leading the Clippers to the playoffs for the second-straight season.
He had, quite simply, become all the rage in the NBA and helped rescue a downtrodden franchise, which had missed the playoffs for 16 years. Manning was also reunited with Brown, who became L.A.'s head coach from 1992-93 while pointing the offense towards his former college star.
“(Manning’s) the closest thing in this league to Magic Johnson,” New York Knicks coach Pat Riley said at the time.
While Manning was posting the best numbers of his career under Brown, it was a rocky reunion. Manning, a sensitive young man, found it difficult to play for Brown a second time and deal with his harsh and demanding coaching style. Ralph Lawler, the Clippers’ longtime TV and radio voice, wrote on the Clips’ website in 2011 about the frustration of both Manning and Brown:
“(Brown’s) reunion with Manning was fraught with problems. The coach was originally more excited about it than the player, and by late in that first season, neither was very happy. The Clippers lost to the Bulls in Chicago in early April. The club bussed to Milwaukee that night for a game two nights later against the Bucks. Brown and Manning lit up the late night lobby of the Pfister Hotel with a loud, nose-to-nose exchange of expletives. The team managed to win five of its final eight games despite the nervous tension that hung over them. The seeds for discontent the following season had been sown.
“During his second season, the coach worked feverously to trade Manning, who was clearly his best player. The details get a little murky here, but the frustrated coach reportedly offered his resignation in mid-season but then agreed to finish the year. The resignation was apparently accepted and then terms of a new deal were discussed, but never finalized. At any rate, Larry Brown was gone at season’s end.”
Yes, Brown resigned after the 1992-93 season, and after Manning’s second-straight All-Star appearance in 1994, Los Angeles traded their all-time leading scorer to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 24 of that year for “The Human Highlight Film” Dominique Wilkins since the Clippers knew they would lose Manning in free agency.
Manning led the top-seeded Hawks to the playoffs and averaged 20.0 points per game before Atlanta lost in the second round to Brown’s Indiana Pacers.
Seeking a championship contender, Manning then signed with the Phoenix Suns and became the team’s No. 2 option behind Charles Barkley, a role he felt more comfortable with. Manning shined in the Valley of the Sun, averaging 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 54.7 percent from the field (No. 8 in league) and helping lead Phoenix to the best record in the NBA (36-10) before blowing out his right ACL in practice on Feb. 6, 1995.
For Manning, it was heartbreak all over again. And for the Suns, their championship dreams were shattered as they eventually lost in the second round of the playoffs.
Danny Schayes, a player on that Suns’ team, wonders what might have been with Manning in the lineup the remainder of the season.
“I think so,” Schayes replied when I once him asked if Phoenix could have won the NBA title.
“We were a dominant team that year. But those were the breaks of the game. He had a terrific year for us. It’s certainly a shame that it (injury) happened. He was just a key part of our team. He was one of those guys that played every position well. He made everything happen from wherever he was on the court.”
Schayes commented that Manning fit in great with Phoenix's free-flowing offense.
“He was certainly athletic, (but) he was not a guy who relied on his athletic ability to get the job done,” Schayes said. “He was always the guy who thought the game and why he was so good for us is because we played a freelance style, which allowed guys like me and him and Danny Ainge, guys who knew how to play, to really excel together. And those of us who had that same kind of individual style, we could kind of read each other’s thoughts. It was very cool.”
Barkley also loved playing with Manning, one of the most all-around players of his time.
“If you go back and think about his game,” Barkley said, “the biggest advantage he had, he was so versatile. I don’t even know what position (he had). He was one of those guys who didn’t have a position. That’s pretty remarkable to be in that situation. Was he a power forward? Was he a small forward? He was just a very unique player.”
Manning was also a very determined player who returned to the game after that second injury while becoming the first player in NBA history to play again after having reconstructive surgeries on both knees.
He found some of his old form and earned the NBA Sixth Man Award with the Suns in 1998 after averaging 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Manning, though, was dealt another cruel blow when he tore his ACL for the third time at the end of the season.
He would never become the same player again, though he played four and a half more seasons with Phoenix, Milwaukee, Utah, Dallas and Detroit.
“He wasn’t ready to quit,” Julie Manning told HomeCourt Magazine. “He was just determined to do it. Besides, basketball is in his blood, he has to do it.”
Manning remarkably played in all 50 games for the Suns in 1998-99 during the lockout season after returning from knee surgery, and again with two aging bad knees, he actually played in all 82 games for the Jazz in 2000-01 for just the second time in his career and his first since the 1991-92 season.
"After I came off my third ACL, to play 50 games in that 50-game season, that was an accomplishment to me," Manning told the Deseret News in 2001. "The games were so fast in terms of being back-to-back, and right on top of one another."
He had to be also proud of playing every game with Utah two years later. Manning, who teamed with future Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, was an important bench player in the twilight of his career who averaged 7.4 points per game in the regular season and then 9.8 points in the playoffs.
Detroit gave Manning one last opportunity in the NBA when the Pistons signed him in February 2003 to the remainder of the season. Coach Rick Carlisle, who said Manning would have had a Hall of Fame career had he not been hurt, felt fortunate to sign the big man.
“He's been around the league and is one of the smartest players that I have ever come across,'' Carlisle told the Associated Press. “He's the kind of player who can walk in, not knowing anything, and still contribute.''
Manning played 13 games for Detroit and four more in the playoffs, giving a glimpse of his golden days by scoring 17 points in the regular-season finale.
But he knew he gave the game all he had for 15 seasons, and was ready to quit and begin a coaching career. Manning officially retired on Sept. 12, 2003 at age 37. His agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports proudly issued a statement.
"It has been a pleasure and a honor to represent Danny Manning,” Bartelstein said. “He exemplifies everything you look for in a professional athlete.”
Manning reflected on his career at NBA.com that day in a chat session with fans. He wrote that his No. 1 highlight “was winning the Sixth Man Award or being named an All-Star. But probably most of all, it was being able to play for so long after three knee surgeries. ... I was blessed with great doctors, medical staff and trainers. It's just a lot of repetition. You want to get your muscles to fire up like they are supposed to. You need a little stubbornness to get through it all.”
He then closed with these sentimental words:
“Thanks to all my friends for having kind words for me. To my wife and two children for their support. And to the fans, the few Danny Manning fans out there (laughs), I really appreciate all your support.”
Manning, who played for seven different teams and in nine playoffs during his career, started 398 of 883 games. He boasts career averages of 14.0 points (12,367), 5.2 rebounds (4,615), 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.3 minutes per game, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field (No. 82 all time) and 72.9 percent at the free throw line.
During two All-Star games, he played a total of 35 minutes while shooting 9-of-12 from the field (5-of-5 in the 1993 game) and posting 18 points and eight rebounds.
According to basketballreference.com, Manning earned $59,695,666.
His injuries certainly prevented him from becoming the superstar player and Hall of Famer that Brown and scouts predicted, but Manning made an indelible impression on his teammates, coaches, opponents and NBA fans.
“I give him tons of credit, ” Schayes said. “He still had a great career for undergoing three major knee (surgeries). There aren’t many guys that can say that.”
“(That) kind of really curtailed what he could have done,” former NBA player Brad Lohaus added. “We had the same agent so I’ve known Danny for a lot of years, one of the great college basketball players ever and he would have been one of the all-time pros but the knees just don’t hold up.
“He had a great NBA career. Compared to his college career, it kind of takes a back seat. But he’s very special. He was really quick. He’s so big, you don’t realize how quick he was. That’s why he was so good. He could handle the ball at 6-10, shoot the ball, smart player. He had it all.”
Ted Juneau, Manning’s coach at Lawrence High School and a very close friend, greatly admires his former star pupil’s work ethic and how he persevered after all those injuries. Manning is the only NBA player to compete again after having three ACL surgeries.
“No one understands how hard he worked to be as good as he was,” Juneau told me in a 1999 interview. “People don’t understand the amount of work that he put into being a very good player, and the pride he took in doing that. He has pride in everything he does, and I think he’s always going to be successful because he’s very, very competitive. He doesn’t want to lose. He’s always willing to work very hard to achieve his goals. You blow your knee out three times. I don’t think any of us can really imagine what that’s like. It speaks a lot about courage and a lot about pride and the work it takes and his ability to do that. That’s probably the one thing that amazes me about him.”
A.C. Green, Manning’s former teammate with the Suns, was amazed over Manning as a person and a player.
“Some guys over the years, you just really enjoy being around,” Green told me in 1999. “He’s kind of one of those off the court guys that you can hang out with because he’s real down to earth, a real person. So I’ve always enjoyed being around Danny, and I really enjoyed playing with him on a daily basis because he’s a battler. He’s got a license to battle and likes to go to work and win games. I have nothing but really admiration for Danny.”
Grinker had the utmost respect for him, too. He said in January 1996 that the former KU star gave more to charity than he received in salary (after taxes) the previous season.
“Some people think that’s weird,” Grinker said. “He’s very modest, maybe to a fault.”
Modest and unassuming off the hardwood, Manning was a potent offensive player during his prime in the pros. KU coach Bill Self echoed others when he said Manning would have become one of the all-time NBA greats if not for his injuries.
“Knee injuries prevented him from probably being a 10-time type All-Star,” Self said. “He scored (over 12,000) points as a pro and was never healthy. He would (have gone) down as one of the best.
“But to me, collegiately, he does go down as one of the best. We think of Bird, Jordan or Magic and the greatest players of what they accomplished in the pros, but when you break down what they accomplished in college, Danny’s career is up there with all those guys.”
Manning isn’t one to dwell on the past and what could have been. I asked him in 2008 how he felt about Brown and others once saying he was destined for NBA fame.
“I guess at times they’re nice to hear,” Manning said, “but the bottom line is things happen for a reason. I’m very happy with my career. Everybody has obstacles, everybody has journeys that have different turns. I enjoyed my journey. It’s just time for another phase in my life, which is coaching and moving forward.”
Manning, who completed his third year as Wake Forest head coach and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament last March, enjoyed a superlative career at Kansas. A two-time consensus All-American and winner of the Naismith and Wooden Awards his senior season, Manning was also a three-time Big Eight Player of the Year.
He is KU’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder while owning the school record for most points in a single season with 942 his senior year, when he averaged 24.8 points per game. Manning’s jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 1, 1992, while he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 23, 2008.
Manning departed Kansas establishing more than three dozen school, Big Eight and NCAA records. He ranks No. 2 all time among NCAA Tournament scoring leaders behind Elvin Hayes with 328 points, and became the only player since 1974 to win 1988 National Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament MOP.
Brown, who constantly cajoled and demanded Manning to maximize his potential at Kansas and with the Clippers, believes his former star was one of a kind.
“(He’s) maybe the best example of how our game should be played,” Brown once told the Lawrence Journal-World. “He’s what college athletics is all about. He deserves every single thing he’s gotten.”
Indeed, he does. Manning was honored during the 75th Final Four in 2013 by being named to the All-Time Players Team, one of 15 former college greats selected.
Brown talked more about Manning in 2008 before he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
“He had a great IQ,” Brown said. “He grew up with his dad (Ed), who was a pretty bright basketball player and the ultimate team guy. He taught Danny early on how to respect the game and how to play the right way. For a guy his size, in a lot of ways he played like a guard.
“Everybody used to compare him to Magic, which is probably the highest compliment you can have. I think when they were doing that, they were talking about the fact how he made players better, just by doing the little things.
“I can’t imagine a college player ever being better than him or accomplishing more than he did,” Brown added. “He’s as good a college player as I ever saw.”
Manning has such fond memories of his collegiate career, especially that magical run the Jayhawks made in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when they came together and won their first title in 36 years.
He was truly dominant and averaged a whopping 27.2 points during those six games.
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