Ranking the 25 best Kansas basketball NBA careers of all-time
Danny Manning. 6. player. 462. . PF. Jayhawks
Career statistics: 883 games, 14.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 51.1% FG
Los Angeles Clippers, 1988-1994
Atlanta Hawks, 1994
Phoenix Suns, 1994-1999
Milwaukee Bucks, 1999-2000
Utah Jazz, 2000-2001
Dallas Mavericks, 2001-2002
Detroit Pistons, 2002-2003
The greatest Jayhawk of all-time did not amount to what draft scouts thought he would when coming out of school. Still, he was one of the best power forwards in the league for about ten years. His NBA career was still a tremendous success.
He made back-to-back All-Star teams between 1992-93 and 1993-94. In those two seasons, he averaged 21.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks. Manning was still effective for a long time after that, posting 13.4 points or more in each of his first ten seasons.
Who knows what Manning might have become if he was not hurt so often? He tore his ACL just 26 games into his rookie year and tore the same one several years later. The injury monster haunted him throughout his NBA career, and he could have been a Hall of Fame caliber player if he lived up to his potential.