NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 31. Derrick Coleman
The New Jersey Nets selected Syracuse big man Derrick Coleman with the first overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft and he was good, at least for awhile.
Coleman was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1990-91, was a two-time All-NBA selection and an All-Star in 1994 for the Nets.
But it just seemed like he never played to his potential and in November 1995, Coleman was traded with Sean Higgins and Rex Walters to the Philadelphia 76ers for Shawn Bradley, Greg Graham and Tim Perry.
In five seasons in New Jersey, Coleman averaged 19.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks in 35.8 minutes per game, shooting .461/.275/.770.
With the Sixers, Coleman missed almost all of the 1995-96 season because of an irregular heart beat and didn’t have a healthy season in his three years there.
When the lockout ended in January 1999, Coleman signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets.
In his three years with Philadelphia, Coleman averaged 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 blocks in 35.7 minutes per game, shooting .422/.273/.754. He was limited to just 127 games, however.
He played 37 games for the Hornets in 1998-99, averaging 13.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks in 31.8 minutes per game, shooting .414/.212/.753.
Coleman returned to the 76ers in a three-team deal in October 2001, with Charlotte receiving Chris Porter from the Golden State Warriors as well as George Lynch, Jerome Moiso and Robert Traylor from Philadelphia. The Hornets sent cash to the Warriors as part of the deal.
In August 2004, Coleman was traded with Amal McCaskill to the Detroit Pistons for Corliss Williamson, but was waived in January 2005 and retired.
He was 20th in the decade with 5,250 rebounds and ninth with an average of 10.3 rebounds per game.