15 stars you forgot played for the Detroit Pistons

9. Danny Manning

Similar to Laettner, Danny Manning is a college basketball legend whose NBA career was solid but didn’t match the expectations he had entering the league. Also similar to Laettner, Manning had a short stint with the Pistons that a lot of people don’t remember.

Manning made himself famous in 1988, when he led Kansas to college basketball’s national championship while playing under coach Larry Brown, who later guided the Pistons to their 2004 NBA title. Manning was national player of the year and Final Four MOP, then he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Clippers.

Injuries hindered Manning’s pro career, but the 6’10” versatile power forward was productive when he was on the court. He tore his ACL as a rookie, cutting short a season in which he was averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

He posted career bests with 22.8 points and 1.5 blocks in 1992-93, making the first of his two All-Star Game appearances.

The injury bug hit Manning again later in his career, but as his roles decreased and his numbers declined, he was still good enough to win Sixth Man of the Year with the Phoenix Suns in 1997-98.

Midway through the 2002-03 season, Manning signed with the Pistons. He did some spot duty in 13 regular season games and four playoff games on a Detroit team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

That was Manning’s last run in the NBA. After he retired he got into coaching, and is currently the head coach at Wake Forest University.