Christian Laettner Net Worth

What is Christian Laettner's Net Worth and Salary?

Christian Laettner is a retired American basketball player and entrepreneur with a net worth of $1 million. Christian Laettner played 13 seasons in the NBA after an especially successful time at Duke. Christian played in four consecutive Final Fours while attending Duke University and holds several NCAA Tournament records, including most points scored (407), most free throws made (142), most free throw attempts (167), and most games played (23).

After his basketball career, Laettner became co-owner of the community development company Blue Devil Ventures (BDV), which developed mixed use communities in the Durham area. Christian and former Duke teammate Brian Davis purchased the Major League Soccer Team D.C. United in 2007, and Laettner began operating youth basketball training camps in 2011. He has also worked as an assistant coach for the NBA Development League. Christian was the only college player chosen to play on the "Dream Team" in the 1992 Summer Olympics; the team earned a gold medal and a spot in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and FIBA Hall of Fame.

Career Earnings

During his NBA career, Christian Laettner earned a little over $61 million in salary alone.

Financial Issues

Despite earning more than $60 million during his NBA career and initially finding success in real estate, Christian Laettner's post-playing business ventures eventually spiraled into a highly public financial crisis.

At the center of it all was Blue Devil Ventures, the development company he co-founded with former Duke teammate Brian Davis. Their early success transforming abandoned tobacco warehouses in Durham into the thriving West Village mixed-use complex gave them the confidence to expand aggressively into other cities. At the same time, they pursued ambitious side ventures, including a failed $360 million bid to purchase the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

To fund this expansion, Laettner and Davis borrowed heavily, often from fellow athletes. Their lenders included Scottie Pippen, who loaned $2.5 million, NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman, who loaned $3 million, and several others who collectively contributed millions more. When the expansion projects stalled and the 2008 financial crisis hit, the entire strategy unraveled.

By 2010, Laettner's financial position had deteriorated dramatically. His attorney stated in court that he had approximately $10 million in assets against roughly $40 million in liabilities. Lawsuits quickly followed. Pippen secured a $2.5 million judgment. Merriman won a $3.7 million judgment. Additional creditors, including major financial institutions, pursued repayment, while Laettner faced foreclosure proceedings on a multi-million-dollar beachfront home in Florida.

As pressure mounted, internal disputes within Blue Devil Ventures turned into a bitter legal battle. In a controversial move, Laettner and an allied partner removed a co-founder from management of a key development entity, then sued that same entity for $10 million in alleged unpaid loans. Acting as a manager, Laettner allowed the company to effectively not defend itself in the lawsuit, resulting in a $10 million default judgment in his favor that placed him at the front of the repayment line ahead of other partners and creditors. The maneuver triggered additional lawsuits alleging self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty.

By July 2016, the situation reached a breaking point. Five creditors, including NFL players Jonathan Stewart and Ernie Sims, filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, claiming Laettner owed a combined $14.05 million. Involuntary bankruptcies are extremely rare and indicated that creditors had lost faith in his ability to repay his debts without court intervention.

At the last moment, however, Laettner avoided financial collapse. The original West Village project in Durham, which had remained successful despite his broader struggles, was sold in early 2016 as part of a $187 million transaction. Through a related ownership stake, Laettner was entitled to a share of the proceeds, reportedly tied to a payout pool exceeding $28 million.

Using those funds, Laettner negotiated a global settlement with his creditors. By September 2016, he reached a repayment agreement that allowed him to avoid Chapter 7 liquidation and bring one of the most dramatic financial downturns by a former professional athlete to a close.

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Early Life

Christian Laettner was born Christian Donald Laettner on August 17, 1969, in Angola, New York. His mother, Bonnie, was a teacher, and his father George, worked at the "Buffalo News." Christian has a brother, Christopher, and two sisters, Leanne and Katie. Christian and Christopher often made money by working as farm laborers. Laettner attended the Nichols School, a private school, and worked as a janitor there to help pay for the tuition costs that weren't covered by his financial aid package. While attending Nichols, Christian scored more than 2,000 points, which broke a school record, and the basketball team won two state titles.

College Career

After high school, Laettner enrolled at Duke University and played on the Blue Devils from 1988 to 1992. During his last two seasons, he was considered the team's star player and led them to two national titles, the first in Duke's history. Christian was a starter all four years, and the team won 21 of the 23 NCAA tournament games he played in. As a senior, Laettner scored 21.5 points per game, and his career, which landed him in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, is considered by many to be one of the best in college basketball history. Duke retired Christian's jersey (#32) in 1992.

Opposing fans have reviled Laettner during his career, and in 2013, he was voted the "Most Hated College Basketball Player" in an ESPN.com poll. In 2016, ESPN made the documentary "I Hate Christian Laettner" for the network's "30 for 30" series. The documentary was narrated by Rob Lowe, and the film's description states, "He made perhaps the most dramatic shot in the history of the NCAA basketball tournament. He's the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours, and was instrumental in Duke winning two national championships. He had looks, smarts and game. So why has Christian Laettner been disliked so intensely by so many for so long? Maybe it was the time he stomped on the chest of a downed player, or the battles he had with his teammates, or a perceived sense of entitlement. But sometimes, perception isn't reality."

NBA Career

In 1992, Laettner was drafted third overall in the NBA Draft, and he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1992 to 1996, followed by the Atlanta Hawks (1996–1999), Detroit Pistons (1999–2000), Dallas Mavericks (2000–2001), Washington Wizards (2001–2004), and Miami Heat (2004–2005). While playing in the NBA, he scored more than 11,000 points, and during his first six seasons, he averaged 16.6 points per game. Christian was chosen for the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1993, and during his time with the Atlanta Hawks, he played in the 1997 All-Star Game.

(MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)

Personal Life

Christian married Lisa Thibault on September 28, 1996, and they have three children, daughters Summer and Sophie and son Tor. Lisa filed for divorce in 2015. In 2001, Laettner donated $1 million to the Nichols School, with $250,000 going to a scholarship fund and $750,000 going toward Nichols' gymnasium fund. In 2005, Christian and Brian Davis gave $2 million to Duke University for a scholarship and new athletic facility.

Awards and Honors

Laettner has won a Summer Olympics gold medal (1992), Tournament of the Americas gold medal (1992), Tournament of the Americas silver medal (1989), Goodwill Games silver medal (1990), Pan American Games bronze medal (1991), and FIBA World Championship bronze medal (1990). In college, Christian was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1991), Consensus second-team All-American (1991), Consensus first-team All-American (1992), Consensus National College Player of the Year (1992), NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1991), ACC Player of the Year (1992), ACC Athlete of the Year (1991 and 1992), ACC Tournament MVP (1992), and NABC Player of the Year (1992). He has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (2009), College Basketball Hall of Fame (2010), National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame (2008), Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2010), and FIBA Hall of Fame (2017).

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