Christian Laettner

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Christian Laettner bigraphy, stories - Basketball player

Christian Laettner : biography

17 August 1969 –

Christian Donald Laettner ( ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player, entrepreneur, and basketball coach. He had a distinguished college and national career, and played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for thirteen seasons, from 1992–2005. He was also a minority holder in the Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United from 2007 until 2009, when William Chang bought out the remaining investors to take full control of the club. He is a current assistant coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

Laettner played college basketball for the Duke University Blue Devils, starring on the 1991 and 1992 NCAA champion teams. He was the only college player selected for the 1992 United States men’s Olympic team, nicknamed the "Dream Team." Sometimes considered the greatest team ever assembled in any sport, the Dream Team went on to win the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Laettner was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1992 NBA draft and went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA.

Personal life

Laettner lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida with his wife, two daughters and one son. NY Times, March 29, 2009

ABA

In October 2011, Laettner joined the roster of the Jacksonville Giants of the ABA, agreeing to appear in six games over the season. During the team’s season opener, Laettner was involved in a 3-point game-winner with three seconds left that ended with the Giants winning over the Gulf Coast Flash. Laettner inbounded the ball, and Currye Todd hit the shot.

Business ventures and philanthropy

Laettner founded the community development company with former Duke teammate Brian Davis and Duke alumnus Tom Niemann. In 1995, BDV began developing a community in downtown Durham, North Carolina named "West Village." BDV’s website describes West Village as a "mixed-use, upscale community consisting of the adaptive-reuse of historic tobacco warehouses built between 1899 and 1926 and located in the Brightleaf District."http://www.bluedevilventures.com/westvillage.html

In 2001, Laettner donated $1 million to his high school, Nichols School in Buffalo, New York to create a scholarship fund for students in financial need and to aid in the completion of a new gymnasium. In 2005, Laettner and Davis donated $2 million to Duke’s men’s basketball program to endow an athletic scholarship and support the construction of a planned athletics center and basketball practice facility. Their donation to the —which seeks to make the Duke basketball program financially self-sufficient—represents the largest donation by former Duke basketball players to the program since Grant Hill endowed a $1 million scholarship in 2000.

In October 2006, an investment group including Laettner and former teammate Brian Davis had agreed to purchase the 70% share of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies from majority owner Michael Heisley. Laettner considered coming out of retirement to play with the team, but the purchase fell through when Davis and Laettner could not come up with the $252 million needed to purchase Heisley’s controlling share. Laettner and Davis (as minority owners) were successful in their bid to purchase operating rights for Major League Soccer’s D.C. United. Laettner had previously joined Jason Kidd and other investors in the purchase of a AAA baseball team in Phoenix.

In July 2011, Laettner formed a training camp called the Christian Laettner Basketball Academy.

Financial difficulties

In 2012, it was reported that Laettner, Davis and another business partner owed close to $30 million to various creditors. Attorneys for one of these creditors, former Duke basketball player and current Stanford University head basketball coach Johnny Dawkins, twice filed motions to find Laettner and Davis in contempt of court for failure to disclose financial records pertaining to debt collection activities. While US District Court judge Beryl A. Howell declined to find Laettner and Davis in contempt (which could have resulted in jail time), she ordered the disclosures in two separate rulings.