Danny Manning had impressive NBA career and persevered through three ACL surgeries

Danny Manning, who won a bronze medal with the U.S. Olympic team in the summer of 1988, was expected to make an indelible mark in the NBA after being selected No. 1 in the 1988 June NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Immediately after winning the lottery the previous month, L.A. general manager Elgin Baylor proclaimed on national television that Manning was the Clippers’ franchise player, a team searching for greatness and salvation after missing the playoffs for 12 years.

"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."

Manning started from day one for head coach Mike Schuler and averaged 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds before he tore his ACL after just 26 games.

“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.

But Manning defied the odds knowing that his former KU teammate Archie Marshall underwent the same surgery and returned to action. The former KU All-American was a solid player the next two seasons, averaging 16.3 points in 1989-90 and 15.9 points in 1990-91. Still, he was not 100 percent and battled tendinitis in his knee.

Manning’s career underwent a dramatic transformation during the 1991-92 season when he regained his health and his former KU coach Larry Brown replaced Schuler as Clippers’ head coach. With Brown directing the offense Manning’s way, he averaged a career-high 19.3 points per game. He also averaged career bests in rebounds (6.9 rpg), steals (1.65 spg), blocks (1.49 bpg) and field goal percentage (.542, No. 8 in NBA) while finally leading the Clippers to the playoffs.

Manning’s best was yet to come.

The following year in 1992-93, Manning was the talk of the NBA, becoming the first Clipper since Marques Johnson (1986) to play in the All-Star game. He led L.A. in scoring (22.8 ppg) and set a club record for total points with 1,800 as the Clippers advanced to the playoffs again before being ousted in the first round for the second-straight year.

“(Manning’s) the closest thing in this league to Magic Johnson,” New York Knicks coach Pat Riley said.

But Manning and Brown had their problems. It was difficult for Manning to play for the same demanding coach twice in his life, and he insisted on a trade after one game when Brown harped on him for not crashing the boards.

Brown left the Clippers after the season to become the Indiana Pacers head coach, while Manning continued to shine in Los Angeles. He was selected as an All-Star again in 1994 and averaged 23.7 points in 42 games.

However, the Clippers feared they’d lose Manning to free agency next season so shipped the franchise’s all-time leading scorer to Atlanta in February of 1994 for future Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins. Manning led the Hawks to the best record in the Eastern Conference and paced the team with 20.0 points per game in Atlanta’s first-round playoff loss to Brown’s Pacers.

He then landed in Phoenix the next season in hopes of winning an NBA championship, while selflessly taking a paycut to achieve that dream

As the team’s No. 2 option behind Charles Barkley, Manning was more comfortable in that role and excelled in the Suns’ freewheeling attack. He helped lead Phoenix to the best record in the NBA (36-10) before disaster struck again when Manning tore his right ACL in practice on Feb. 6, 1995. Phoenix was eventually eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Danny Schayes, a member of that Suns’ team, believes Phoenix would have won the championship with Manning in the lineup.

“I think so,” Schayes told me. “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,” Schayes added. “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.”

Ten months later, Manning became the first player in NBA history to return to action after blowing out ACL’s in both knees. However, he was never the same and labeled a role player for the first time in his career.

Still, he earned the NBA Sixth Man Award with the Suns in 1998 after averaging 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds. But Manning suffered heartache when he blew out his knee again near the end of the season. He could have easily retired, but returned to play four and a half more seasons with Phoenix, Milwaukee, 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.”

Without fanfare, his agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports released a statement announcing Manning’s official retirement from the NBA on Sept. 12, 2003.

"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 answered questions that day on nba.com about his playing career. He wrote that his top professional 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.”

And then Manning gave his farewell:

“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 retired after 15 years and 883 regular-season games with career averages of 14.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field. No, certainly not Hall of Fame numbers, but Manning left an indelible mark as one of the greatest competitors in sports history, one of the few athletes to come back from three reconstructive knee surgeries. 

“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.”

Ted Juneau, Manning's coach at Lawrence High School and one of his best friends, agrees.

“You blow your knee out three times. I don’t think any of us can really imagine what that’s like,” Juneau told me in 1998. “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.

“No one understands how hard he worked to be as good as he was,” Juneau added. “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.”

Manning’s career will perhaps be remembered most for his all-around game and versatility. So says Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, Manning’s teammate with Phoenix.

“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.”

Hall of Famer and TV analyst Bill Walton called Manning “one of the most graceful players of his era.”

He was a “graceful” and “unique player” who never felt comfortable as the go-to scorer. Juneau said it just wasn’t in Manning’s makeup to dominate games consistently with his scoring.

“I think when it’s crunch time, no one wants to win more than he,” Juneau said. “He’ll do what it takes, but he’s not going to ever be someone that demands the attention.”

Lafayette Norwood, the former KU assistant coach under Ted Owens, agrees.

“Danny didn’t take over as a senior in high school here (Lawrence High in 1983-84),” Norwood said. “In fact, with the talent he had, he could have shot even additional shots he didn’t take. But he rather played (team) ball. It takes a special person to play like that. Kids today, you got some kids, coach says shoot the ball, they’ll just shoot it anytime without in regard of his teammates.”  

...

On Nov. 23, 2008 at Sprint Center, Manning was the center of attention and headline act at his College Basketball Hall of Fame induction. Some of his former Jayhawk teammates were here, including Jeff Gueldner, Mike Maddox and Chris Piper.

“We were taking bets on whether he’d show up tonight,” Gueldner cracked about the private Manning. “We thought he might do this thing via teleconference.”

Seriously, Gueldner said:

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Danny is a class act from a players’ standpoint, from a fans’ standpoint.”

Ed Manning, Danny’s dad and assistant coach at Kansas during the Brown era, was overwhelmed with emotion.

“It’s just great,” Ed said with a huge smile. “I’m thrilled to death. I’m happy for him. It’s just a great honor for him to be up there with these super guys. I’m almost lost for words.”

Ask anybody in the basketball “know” about Manning’s pro career, and they usually say the same statement: he likely would have been an NBA Hall of Famer if not for the injuries.

“Knee injuries prevented him from probably being a 10-time type All-Star,”KU coach Bill 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.”

Former NBA player Brad Lohaus thought Manning would be a Hall of Famer, if not for the injuries.

“(That) kind of really curtailed what he could have done,”  Lohaus said. “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.”

Former Suns’ teammate A.C. Green said Manning was a joy to play with and the consummate teammate.

“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.”

Even today and in recent years, Manning’s name comes up among NBA coaches and fans.

“Manning was a phenomenal player, until his knees took over,” a Suns’ fan posted on azcentral.com in 2009. “It's a shame to think about how great he could've been.”

Manning, though, doesn’t dwell on the past or all the “what-ifs?” He’s at peace with himself.

“I guess at times they’re nice to hear,” Manning said about Brown predicting he’d once become one of the all-time greats.

“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.”

Brown always said during Manning’s KU career that he was the “best player I ever been associated with.” 

“He’s what college athletics is all about,” Brown once told the Lawrence Journal-World. “He deserves every single thing he’s gotten.”

Including induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

“It’s a pretty special thing,” Brown said two months before Manning was enshrined. “If you look at our team (in 1988), you realize how special a player he was because he carried a lot of us. He had a great career with a lot of adversity in the pros.”

“He had a great IQ,” Brown added. “He grew up with his dad, 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.”

Brown smiled.

“I can’t imagine a college player ever being better than him or accomplishing more than he did,” Brown said. “He’s as good a college player as I ever saw.”

Darnell Valentine resumes NBA career with futile Los Angeles Clippers

Little did Darnell Valentine or any of his loyal fans like myself know that after he was traded from Portland to the Los Angeles Clippers in January 1986, his NBA career would never be the same.

After being the starting point guard for his last three and and half years with the Blazers and averaging 9.8 points, 5.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 300 regular-season games during his Portland career, Valentine was demoted to a backup role his first season in L.A. behind Norm Nixon.

Valentine, the 6-1 point guard and former KU All-American, averaged career lows in points (5.9), assists (3.1) rebounds (1.6), steals (0.7), field goal percentage (38.9) and minutes (14.2) in 34 games (two starts) for the dismal Clippers, who finished at 32-50 and fourth place in the Pacific Division while ranked 21st out of 23 teams in attendance. 

One of Valentine’s few bright moments that season came against his former team, Portland, on Feb. 1, 1986, when he scored a season-high 21 points in just 21 minutes. For the year with both Portland and L.A., Valentine averaged 7.4 points, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 62 games, while shooting just 41.5 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.3 percent at the free throw line.

For Valentine, he seemed a long way from Portland, where he played in front of sellout, crazed home fans each night with sellouts of 12,666 in Memorial Coliseum.

Towards the start of next season in October 1986, Valentine received some good news when the New Jersey Nets signed him to a guaranteed three-year offer worth more than $900,000. But his happiness soon faded when the Clippers announced they planned to match the offer.

In an Oct. 18, 1986 article in the Los Angeles Times, it was reported that Valentine’s agent, David Falk of Pro-Serv “said, however, that Valentine will not report to the Clippers’ training camp.” Arn Tellem, Clipper general counsel said: “He’ll play for the Clippers or he’s not going to play.”

Then Tellem mocked Valentine: “I applaud Darnell Valentine’s courageous move to pass up a three-year guaranteed contract that totals close to $1 million and return to his home in Lawrence, Kan. I wish I had the privilege of making such career decisions. Unfortunately, I have to work for a living.”

Falk rebutted: “I’m surprised and disappointed that the Clippers would match the offer. I feel it is very unlikely that he will play for the Clippers this year. There was a lot of scar tissue and bad feeling created by the way the negotiations were handled.

“He doesn’t want to play for an organization that has made it clear that he doesn’t fit into their plans. And he will not report. I hope we can work with the team to have him moved somewhere else.”

Clipper general manager Elgin Baylor said: “We always intended to match the offer. We want to get Darnell here as soon as possible.”

It turned out Valentine reported with the Clippers and was in the team’s plans for the 1986-87 season. While his second and first full season in L.A. produced much better numbers, the Clippers struggled mightily with the worst record in the league at 12-70 and the lowest attendance in the NBA.

With Nixon gone, Valentine started 52 of 65 games while averaging 11.2 points, 6.9 assists (No. 2 best of career) and 1.8 steals in 27.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 41.0 percent from the floor, 23.2 percent from three-point range and a career-high 81.5 percent at the charity stripe. He also averaged a career high in field goal attempts per game (10.3.)

Valentine, who suffered an injury during the season, started the last 41 games of the season. He scored in double figures his first 10 games, including a season-high 24 points versus Golden State on Dec. 16 and then 23 points against Houston a week later. He had his best game in a 124-120 loss to San Antonio on Jan. 30, when he posted 24 points, 15 assists and five steals.

Despite becoming the starter and producing better numbers, Valentine was quite unhappy with the losing and the Clippers being the laughingstock of the NBA.

"Players have left the Clippers and done better, and it's not because they've suddenly become better players," Valentine told Sports Illustrated on March 23, 1987. "Some guys don't play well in difficult circumstances. You can take a good player and put him on this team, and things just get worse. He doesn't blossom. Some guys get traded here and they feel that because we're losing, they can just use this as a showcase to get traded to a better team. We have some players who play very intensely and others who don't put forth any effort at all. When you play for the Clippers, you feel like you're coming over on one of those boats from Cuba with all different kinds of people on it. There's just no pedigree with this team.”

SI’s Bruce Newman wrote this: “At 11-51 they are the worst team in the NBA this season; on a given night they may be the worst NBA team ever to play the game. If the Clippers had a credo—which they don't—it would probably be the one expressed by point guard Darnell Valentine: ‘You have to do as much as you can, as best you can, even if you can't.”

For Valentine, he did his “best,” but it wasn’t near enough to save the futile Clippers. He still couldn’t wait to move out of L.A.

Portland trades former Jayhawk great Darnell Valentine to Los Angeles Clippers

The Portland Trail Blazers had a habit of drafting point guards in the early 1980s. The franchise selected Kelvin Ransey (1980), Darnell Valentine (1981) and Fat Lever (1982) during the first round, and then Steve Colter (1984) in the second round.

With Valentine and Colter still in Portland, would the Blazers pull the trigger and select yet another point guard in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft?

That’s exactly what they did when Portland picked Terry Porter from Wisconsin-Stevens Point, an NCAA Division III school, with the 24th overall selection and last pick in the first round. The Blazers saw something they liked out of this promising guard and future Portland great, despite playing forward at just 6-3 in college and at times guarding the opposing team’s center.

Now, with three point guards on the roster, it appeared someone had to go. With Colter’s emergence last season and Valentine entering the last year on his contract and becoming a free agent next year, he seemed to be a marked man. Portland was looking to trade him before the season began, with his most likely destination the Chicago Bulls, who had just selected budding superstar Michael Jordan in last year’s draft, the reigning Rookie of the Year who averaged 28.2 points per game in 1984-85.

In a Sept. 24, 1985 article in the Chicago Tribune, Bob Sakamoto wrote:

“If the Bulls have the heart, they may get their Valentine. The Bulls are looking to acquire the Portland Trail Blazers’ Darnell Valentine to fill a gaping hole at point guard. But the price for the four-year veteran could be power forward Sidney Green, which may be too steep.”

Sakamoto continued:

“Portland has three point guards and a shortage of power forwards. The Bulls have three power forwards and zero point guards. It’s a natural.”

But there were complications in the possible trade.

“A National Basketball Association source close to Portland said the Bulls are hesitant to part with Green,” Sakamoto wrote. “What Chicago is doing, he said, is waiting it out until Portland realizes it must move Valentine. Then the Bulls will offer the Blazers two second-round picks in the 1986 draft, their own and one they got from Dallas, for Valentine.

“But how long do the Bulls wait? There are indications Valentine will be traded before the season begins in late October.”

''There are only so many minutes for our point guards,'' Portland general manager Stu Inman said. ''We like all of them, but there is only room for two. If we were to make a trade, it would be for a player in the category of a Sidney Green. We would go that way. If we couldn't get a big forward, we would settle for draft choices.''

Sakamoto reported that “the Blazers like second-year playmaker Steve Colter and have big plans for first-round draft choice Terry Porter of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. That would seem to leave Valentine, who was born in Chicago, as the odd man out.”

''He is the kind of selfless guard who stands out defensively and can get the ball to the right people,'' Inman said. ''He has a decent outside shot. If you leave him wide open, he will hit it, absolutely.''

“Darnell Valentine is looking to move, and Chicago is his No. 1 choice,'' the NBA source said. ''He is just the player Chicago needs. Don’t let (Bulls’ vice president of operations) Jerry Krause fool you. They’re not going to play Jordan and (Quintin) Dailey together. That`s just what all the other teams in the NBA would love to see.''

Sakamoto wrote that with “new Bulls’ coach Stan Albeck emphasizing a fast-paced, transition offense, opening up the court for Jordan and forward Orlando Woolridge, Valentine would fit better than either (Jon) Paxson or (Kyle) Macy, with whom the Bulls have also talked.”

''He is more geared to an uptempo game,'' Inman said about Valentine.

However, the trade never happened with Valentine. The Bulls eventually acquired Paxson on Oct. 29 as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs receiving cash as compensation.

So Valentine began his fifth season in Portland, while he didn’t know how long he’d still be a Blazer. He actually started the first 27 games before Portland coach Jack Ramsay replaced him in the starting lineup with Colter on Dec. 17. Ramsay said Valentine wouldn’t play anymore and the Blazers were looking to move him. Valentine requested not to accompany the team on road trips.

“I feel like a man without a country,” the former KU standout said while out of action for a month before playing one more game against New York on Jan. 11, 1986.

He played OK during those 28 games, but his game slipped. Valentine averaged career lows in points (9.1 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) in 26.2 minutes per game, while also averaging 1.8 steals per game. He shot 44.7 percent from the field and a career low 71.0 percent at the charity stripe.

Valentine scored in double digits the first five of seven games of the season, and then scored in double figures six of his next eight games from Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, capping that stretch with a season-high 18 points against Washington. He also scored 16 points three times in 28 games. Suddenly, after Dec. 3, Valentine’s playing time diminished and he went seven games without scoring in double digits.

He then went from Dec. 13 without playing a game until Jan. 11 versus the Knicks, only because Jim Paxson was out with a minor injury. Valentine played just six minutes and scored two points.

Finally, on Jan. 14, 1986, Valentine and Portland got their wish; the Blazers traded the veteran point guard to the Los Angeles Clippers for L.A.’s first-round draft pick in 1986. The teams also swapped 1988 second-round picks.

At last, Valentine had a new home.

“'I wish it would have happened smoother,” Valentine told the UPI on Jan. 15. “But now I can continue with my career.”

“I'm happy for Darnell,” Portland coach Jack Ramsay said. “He's going to a team that wants him. We came out of it with about as much as we could have hoped for.”

Valentine loved his time in Portland, but wished this could have been dealt better.

“The organization has been great to me,” he said. “However, it was unfortunate the way things unwound. It wasn't handled as well as I would have liked, but I'm happy to be out. It was like I was a marked guy, everyone knew the situation. I'm happy it's done and I can go about my career.

“The only part about me leaving and going to a team that is struggling is that Portland is going to be a great team,” Valentine added.

Sam McManis of the Los Angeles Times reported that  Clippers general manager Carl Scheer said “it took him ‘no more than a second’ to complete Tuesday’s trade, which management and Coach Don Chaney agreed upon after a quick evaluation of the Clippers’ 1-6 record on the trip.”

“This franchise is not going to be successful until it gets good players,” said Scheer, “who had been talking to Portland about Valentine for three weeks.”

“Point guard is not our most pressing area, but we would not have gotten a player of Valentine’s quality with Boston’s pick (which figures to be either 22nd or 23rd),” Scheer added.

The Clippers already boasted All-Star point guard Norm Nixon. But, McManis wrote that “Nixon, 30, has been inconsistent after missing nearly a month of the season during his free-agent holdout and is not considered to be as good a defensive player as Valentine, 26.”

The Clippers also had Franklin Edwards, a third point guard, who was backing up Nixon.

McManis added that “Nixon and Valentine will have to co-exist. Nixon, when asked recently about the possibility of splitting playing time with Valentine, expressed concern.”

“If this team was 27-12 instead of 12-27 and was breaking up a good combination, I’d be concerned with the fact that Norm is concerned, if, in fact, he is. Nixon is concerned with winning, and, with Valentine, we’re improving our team,” Scheer said.

McManis wrote “there are several reasons why Valentine became expendable. Ramsay felt that second-year man Steve Colter and rookie Terry Porter fit into his plans more than Valentine, and the coach also has had recent success using the tandem of big guards Jim Paxson and Clyde Drexler. Another factor is that Valentine will become a free agent after this season and would have sought a more lucrative contract.”

Valentine’s salary was worth $265,000 ($175,000 cash).

He was eager for new beginnings in L.A, despite going from a perennial playoff team to a lowly franchise.

“I'm excited to be a part of the Clipper organization now,” Valentine said. “I'm looking forward to getting down to L.A. and having the opportunity to play.”

Danny Manning persevered through three ACL surgeries while having an impressive 15-year NBA career

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.

“There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about winning the national championship at Kansas,” Manning told Deadspin in 2013. “Not a day. Regardless of what I have going on, how traumatic, how upset I am, how disappointed, that always brings a smile to my face.”