Danny Manning
A college basketball titan whose graceful power forward play defined Kansas lore before a long, injury-defying NBA career.
Born 1966 (age 60)·American basketball player and coach·Birthday: May 17·Generation X
Biography
Danny Manning's basketball destiny seemed written from birth, the son of a professional player, but it was at the University of Kansas where he authored a legendary chapter. Under coach Larry Brown, the 6'10" forward with guard-like skills became the focal point of a team known as 'Danny and the Miracles.' His senior year culminated in a storybook 1988 NCAA championship, where Manning delivered one of the greatest individual performances in tournament history, willing an underdog Jayhawks team to victory with 31 points and 18 rebounds in the final. He was the undisputed national player of the year and the first overall NBA draft pick. His professional journey with the Los Angeles Clippers was hampered by catastrophic knee injuries that robbed him of his explosive athleticism. Yet Manning reinvented himself as a savvy, skilled veteran, enjoying a 15-year career as a valued role player and Sixth Man of the Year. This resilience translated to coaching, where he has served as a mentor at his alma mater, a head coach at Tulsa and Wake Forest, and an assistant at several programs, always carrying the quiet, fundamental wisdom of a player who saw the game from its highest peak and its most challenging trenches.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Danny was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Danny Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Danny's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Led the Kansas Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA championship, earning Most Outstanding Player honors with a dominant tournament run.
- Won the 1988 Naismith and Wooden Awards as the nation's top college basketball player.
- Played 15 seasons in the NBA, earning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1998 with the Phoenix Suns.
- His jersey number 25 was retired by the University of Kansas, and he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
- As a head coach, he guided the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to the 2014 NCAA tournament and a conference championship.
Did You Know?
His father, Ed Manning, played in the NBA and ABA and was an assistant coach at Kansas during Danny's career.
He was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the bronze medal in Seoul.
He holds the Kansas Jayhawks' all-time records for both points and rebounds.
He served as an assistant coach for the Jamaican national basketball team.
“We didn't win the national championship; we took it.”
