The Shot: The greatest moment in NCAA basketball history

Former Duke Blue Devil Christian Laettner has been called a lot of things since first taking the hard wood for coach Mike Krzyzewski. Many of those things have not be kind. Yet, Laettner provided some of the most memorable NCAA basketball moments that are still remembered fondly today, nearly 28 years later. ACC basketball fans are getting ready for March Madness and debating which team will outlast the rest of the pack. Basketball fans can use the 1xbet promotion to get a bonus code before wagering on the games when March Madness tips off.

Laettner’s biggest moment came nearly three decades ago in the NCAA basketball tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats. It was a moment that would overshadow Laettner’s respectable, but not great, NBA career. It would also be the catalyst for basketball fans to hate Duke Blue Devils basketball and every player that came after the small forward departed for the riches of the NBA.

Building the Villain

Laettner was already a well-known basketball star at Duke before his profile was raised with The Shot. The forward helped lead Duke to the NCAA Basketball National Championship in 1991. Duke became a household name overnight by beating the Kansas Jayhawks in a close-run final.

Duke had already appeared in the previous season’s NCAA Championship Game, being blown out by the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. In the lead up to the Kansas game in 1991, Duke defeated UNLV in the semifinals, getting their revenge and further cementing themselves as the basketball program of the decade.

Versus Kansas in the 1991 final, Laettner was the Most Value Player and the hate for the pretty boy Duke Blue Devil was growing with every shot, rebound, and outlet pass to Bobby Hurley. By the time the 1991-92 season came around, Laettner and his Beverly Hills 90210 looks had made him one of college basketball’s most hated persons of all time, if not the most hated.

Superstardom and Reviled

The Shot occurred on March 28, 1992 in the East Regional Final versus Kentucky. It was the same exact situation and shot that millions of kids act out when playing basketball in their driveways or gyms across the United States. According to USA Today, it is the greatest moment in college basketball history, which there is really no argument against.

Laettner became even more of a mainstream superstar after The Shot. He was included in the Dream Team in 1992, a move that shocked many and threw more fuel on the “I hate Christian Laettner” bandwagon.

All of those haters surely felt some relief when Laettner went into the NBA and failed to become the next Larry Bird. He did have a successful 13-season NBA career with six different teams, however. Lattner failed to win an NBA Championship and made just one NBA All-Star.

Despite the lack of championship success, Laettner played well during his time in the NBA averaging 12.8 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. Still, mention his name in ACC country and non-Duke fans will immediately express their distaste for Laettner no matter how great he was on the hard wood.