Duke basketball: Ranking the Top-10 players from the 1990’s

Duke basketball Top-10 players of the 1990s No. 1: Christian Laettner

• Four years at Duke (1988-92)
• Two-time National Champion (1991, 1992)
• No. 32 retired by Blue Devils

There was never really a lot of thought that went into who would be No. 1 on the list.

It was the easiest choice.

Christian Laettner is not only the top Duke basketball player of the 1990s but he might be the best player to dawn a Blue Devil uniform of all time.

The accomplishments are too great to list them all but even taking the only two full seasons that Laettner played in the 1990s, he’s still the best Duke saw in the decade.

Obviously, his two National Championships reign supreme over the rest of his accolades but his senior season, in which he averaged 21.5 points per game, saw him as the ACC Player of the Year, National College Player of the Year, and a consensus First Team All-American.

He was the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player in 1991 as well as a consensus Second Team All-American for the season after posting 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest.

Laettner was a two-time ACC Athlete of the Year and First Team All-ACC in 1991 and 1992 while his sophomore season in 1990 saw him named to the Second Team All-ACC.

The only year Christian Laettner did not make the National Championship was his freshman season when the Blue Devils fell to Seton Hall in the Final Four as he played in 23 of a possible 24 NCAA Tournament games in his career.

Laettner holds the record for most games played, most games won, most points scored, most free throws made, and most free throw attempts in the NCAA Tournament — records that do not appear to be close to being broken in a heightened age of one-and-done players in college basketball.

His No. 32 is retired by Duke and is still revered as much today in Durham as he was as a player in the early 1990s.

Christian Laettner is the best Duke basketball player of the 1990s and it isn’t close.