Honorable Mention #3: Christian Laettner: 1992, 3rd Pick
You could make the argument that Christian Laettner is the greatest college basketball player of all time; even if you don’t think so, nobody can argue against the fact that he was among the best of the best all time. In addition to leading Duke to back-to-back National Championship teams in 1991 and 1992, he was selected to the hallowed 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team (aka “The Dream Team”).
The Minnesota Timberwolves took Laettner with the 3rd overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, and while his numbers in the NBA were respectable, Laettner’s career included six different teams, six trades, and never spending more than three full seasons anywhere (and a suspension for “smoking” something that wasn’t a cigarette). Compared to Laettner’s legendary collegiate career, his time spent in the NBA was disappointing.