2001-02 Statistics
G GS MPG FGM-A FG% 3PM-A 3P% FTM-A FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
24 22 28.8 79-169 .467 0-2 .000 32-37 .865 1.50 3.90 5.40 2.6 1.17 .63 1.50 2.40 7.9
Career Highlights
Donated $1 million dollars to his high school in 2000
Has appeared in 32 career NBA Playoff games, averaging 13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.13 spg
Ranked 9th in the NBA in 1997-98 in free-throw percentage (.864)
Recorded a 1997-98 season-high 25 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists against the Detroit Pistons on 11/22/97
Finished second on the Hawks in scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (a career-high 8.8 rpg) in 1996-97 for the second consecutive season
Made his All-Star debut, posting 7 points and 11 rebounds, in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland
Scored a career-high 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls on 12/26/96
Led the Timberwolves in 1993-94 in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg)
Named to the 1992-93 NBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 18.2 ppg and 8.7 rpg
Established a Timberwolves' franchise record for most free throws made in a game, hitting 18-of-20 attempts against the Sacramento Kings on 2/18/93
The highest draft pick in Timberwolves history (third overall in 1992)
A member of the gold-medal winning United States Olympic Basketball Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
Winner of the Naismith and Wooden Awards in 1991-92 as the college player of the year
A member of the 1991 and 1992 back-to-back NCAA Champion Duke Blue Devils
After graduating from Duke,in 1992, Laettner joined eleven living legends of the NBA to form the Dream Team in Barcelona. A lot of people questioned the selection of Laettner over, say, Shaq, as the one amatuer on the team, but Laettner had done the most (he won back-to-back championships), is more versatile than Shaq, and -- according to the committee--was less likely to take on the Dream Team with an attitude and a huge ego.(Oh yeah, Shaq later claimed that he didn't really want to play on the first Dream Team because he wouldn't have gotten enough minutes. Yeah, right)
But things went pretty much downhill from there. Laettner was taken third overall in the 1992 draft, by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota was lucky to win 25 games a season, and Laettner did not like being in a losing atmosphere. His attitude got worse with every additional number in the "L" column, and he feuded with his coaches and assistant coaches. In the '95-'96 season, Minnesota picked up 18-year-old Kevin Garnett, who went straight from high school to the pros, and who was looked upon as the new backbone of the team. Laettner didn't appreciate Garnett's "helpful" suggestions, and didn't attempt to make that a secret. Picking on Garnett is what finally got Laettner out of hell---er, that is, Minnesota -- and onto a team with a wonderful, supportive coach who also happens to be the winningest coach of all time, Lenny Wilkins. Wilkins was questioned about bringing someone with Laettner's reputation onto his team, and shrugged off the questions with little effort. "He wants to win. I want to win. If he sees something wrong, he speaks out. If I see something wrong, I speak out. I don't see a problem there," Wilkins said. Wilkins has been a strong supporter of Laettner's ever since working with him in the first Dream Team (Wilkins was assistant coach to Chuck Daly) These days he's coach of the third Dream Team) Laettner was relieved to finally have a "real" coach and his attitude improved overnight. There's a big difference between going to a game knowing, realistically, that you're going into a game with the idea that you're probably going to lose, and going into a game with the idea that you've got a very good chance of winning."
Getting into the 1996 playoffs was a major accomplishment for Laettner. After winning 2 championships at Duke (the first time back-to-back championships had been won by any NCAA team since UCLA had with John Wooden), being the college player of the year, and going to the Olympics, he spent three seasons in the NBA knowing that the .500 mark was an unrealistic goal. Suddenly, his future was looking much better.. To even get as close as the second round of the playoffs, the Hawks would have to defeat the Indiana Pacers, who had knocked them out of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. This year, they had two distict advantages:one, Laettner was an excellent match for Indiana's Rik Smits, even though Smits was five inches taller, because they both played a similar game, relying on their shooting skills rather than physical ability to dominate the lane. Two, Reggie Miller, Indiana's superstar, All-star, and two-time Dream Teamer, had been sidelined by an eye injury and was not expected to return to the playoffs until, at best, the second round, assuming the Pacers could make it past the Hawks. The best-of-five series lasted all five games, coming to an end at Market Square arena, as, despite Miller's exciting return for the final game, the Hawks managed to secure victory.
The Hawks-Magic series was much less exciting, as the Hawks fell three games to zero within about a week. NBC and TNT, in opening clips for the games, likened the Hawks to Cinderella,("Are you gonna get it!" "Serves you right, spoiling people's best dreams!"), and gave them anthems such as "Help!", "Danger Zone", and finally "To Dream the Impossible Dream". Atlanta won game four, but eventually fell four games to one.
As far as what Laettner will do this season, well, the sky's the limit. The Hawks signed Dikembe Mutombo over the summer, and every pre-season basketball magazine cites Laettner as having "unlimited potential now that he's freed up to play his natural position, power forward" With his skill, his talent, and his new, improved attitude, he should finally attain the superstardom that he should have reached years ago. After a brief stint in Atlanta, Christian was traded to the Detroit Pistons, where he was teamed with fellow Dookie Grant Hill. Things did not go well for Christian in Detroit, so in 1999 he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. An unsuccessful season and frequent bouts with the coaching staff and fellow teammates found Christian on his way to Washington in 2000.
Trivia