Vonteego Cummings
Vonteego Cummings | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 29, 1976 United States |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 1999–2015 |
| Known for | NBA player, European basketball leagues, Baloncesto Superior Nacional |
Vonteego Marfeek Cummings (born February 29, 1976) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who most recently competed for the Atenienses de Manatí in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Functioning primarily as a combo guard, he featured in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and enjoyed a notable tenure across multiple European leagues.
NBA career
Cummings was chosen 26th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, but was immediately traded on draft night to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for forward-center Jeff Foster and a first-round pick in 2001, which was later used to draft Troy Murphy.
He made his first start on November 2, 1999, playing close to 38 minutes and recording 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. During his rookie year, Cummings started in 11 games, mainly serving as backup to Mookie Blaylock, averaging 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per contest. The Warriors ended the season with a 19–63 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
In his sophomore season, Cummings appeared in 66 games, starting 11, and averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while playing roughly 22.7 minutes per game. That year, Golden State recorded their worst franchise mark at 17–65.
On October 25, 2001, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of a three-team transaction involving teammate Corie Blount. His court time diminished significantly, averaging only 8.6 minutes with outputs of 3.3 points and one assist per game. The Sixers secured sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 43–39 record but were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the opening playoff round. Cummings participated briefly in one postseason match, which marked his last NBA appearance.
He signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 30, 2002; however, he was released less than three weeks later on October 19.
Across three NBA campaigns totaling 199 games and 23 starts, Cummings posted averages of 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting .383 from the field.
European career
In the summer of 2003, Cummings competed with the Westchester Wildfire in the United States Basketball League (USBL) before embarking on his international career in Italy with Carisbo Castelmaggiore during the 2003–04 season. After another stint with Westchester Wildfire in summer 2004, he signed for Serbian club Hemofarm for the following season (2004–05). He began the next season (2005–06) with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League (NBDL), then returned to Serbia mid-season in February 2006 to play for Partizan Belgrade, remaining there through the subsequent season as well.
His impressive Euroleague performance—averaging 12.9 points and 3.4 assists across 20 games—earned him a two-year deal with Israeli elite team Maccabi Tel Aviv. Released in summer 2008, he briefly joined Spanish side Estudiantes, but was let go by December. Afterwards, Cummings returned to Serbia with Vojvodina Srbijagas, concluding that season at Croatian club Cedevita. The following year (2009–10), he played in Greece for Ilysiakos, followed by a campaign in Cyprus with Keravnos during the 2010–11 season. In October of 2011, he signed with Polish team Trefl Sopot, where he averaged approximately three points per game throughout the 2011–12 season.
BSN Puerto Rico
On January 21, 2015, Cummings rejoined professional basketball by signing with the Atenienses de Manatí in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), marking his comeback after several years away from the sport. Although he was officially released on March 18, 2015, he continued to participate in three more games before Dominique Jones took over his position.
Regular season
|- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Golden State | 75 || 11 || 23.9 || .405 || .325 || .751 || 2.5 || 3.3 || 1.2 || .2 || 9.4 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Golden State | 66 || 11 || 22.7 || .344 || .336 || .681 || 2.1 || 3.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 7.3 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 58 || 1 || 8.6 || .417 || .261 || .750 || .9 || 1.0 || .3 || .1 || 3.3 |- class="sortbottom" | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 199 || 23 || 19.0 || .383 || .321 || .726 || 1.9 || 2.7 || .9 || .2 || 6.9
Playoffs
|- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 1 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
Euroleague
|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Partizan | 1 || 1 || 30.3 || .100 || .333 || .000 || 2.0 || 7.0 || 3.0 || .0 || 3.0 || 4.0 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Partizan | 20 || 20 || 34.1 || .408 || .380 || .852 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 1.6 || .2 || 12.9|| 11.4 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Maccabi | 24|| 23||18.1|| .383|| .260|| .792||1.0||2.5|| .8|| .1||5.4||3.7 |- class="sortbottom" | align="left" | Career | align="left" | |45||44||26.1|| .389|| .333|| .838||1.7||3.0||1.2|| .1||6.9||7.3