Derrick Coleman

Derrick Coleman entered the NBA in 1990 as the No. 1 overall pick and one of the most gifted big men of his generation — a power forward who could score inside, rebound, and step out to the perimeter. He delivered early, winning Rookie of the Year in 1991 and posting back-to-back 20-point, 10-rebound seasons for the New Jersey Nets that peaked with an All-Star selection in 1994. For a few years he looked like a franchise cornerstone. But the arc bent: injuries and inconsistency trailed him through stops in Philadelphia, Charlotte and Detroit, and he never again reached that Nets-era ceiling. He finished a 15-year career averaging 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds — genuinely good numbers that, fairly or not, are usually measured against the perennial-All-Star standard many expected of him.