Devontae Calvin Cacok ( ; born October 8, 1996) is an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player for
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
of the
VTB United League
VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...
. He played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for the
UNC Wilmington Seahawks
The UNC Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks are the varsity athletic teams representing the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Wilmington, North Carolina in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors eight teams for the men (baseball, bas ...
, where in the
2017–18 season he led the nation in rebounding.
Early life
Cacok was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to a Haitian-American father Harry Cacok and Rose Lewis, and grew up in
Riverdale, Georgia
Riverdale is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15,134 at the 2010 census, up from 12,478 in 2000. Riverdale is a suburb just south of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and is part of the Atlanta ...
, playing football as a youth, mainly on the offensive line. He first began playing basketball in eight grade after he fractured his wrist, ending his football season. Cacok admits being terrible at first, but joined his high school varsity team after a seven-inch growth spurt as a sophomore. As a senior at
Alpharetta High School
Alpharetta High School is a public high school located in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States within the Fulton County School System. ''Atlanta Magazine'' named Alpharetta High School one of the metro Atlanta area's best all-around high schools ...
, he averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game and led the team to a regional title.
College career
As a freshman at UNC Wilmington, Cacok came off the bench to average 3.3 points per game.
Cacok averaged 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore and led the nation in field goal percentage (80.0%).
He accomplished this extremely high percentage, the highest ever, by mainly shooting within a range of about two feet from the basket and only taking one jump shot all year on the 29–6 Seahawks team.
He had 40 blocks and tied for the league lead with 11 double-doubles. He was named
CAA
CAA may refer to:
Law
* Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India
** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
* Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...
Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the Third Team All-CAA.
After the season, UNC Wilmington lost four starters and coach
Kevin Keatts
Kevin Andre Keatts (born July 28, 1972) is an American college basketball coach. He is the current men's head coach at North Carolina State University.
Early life and playing career
Keatts grew up as an only child in Lynchburg, Virginia. Hi ...
; new coach
C. B. McGrath looked to expand his overall game.
In an 87–63 win against
Elon in February 2018, Cacok posted 17 points and 21 rebounds. The following matchup, an 88–64 loss to
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...
, he had 29 points and 17 rebounds. These two performances earned him CBS Sports Player of the Week honors. As a junior, Cacok led Division I in rebounding with 13.5 per game. He finished eighth in the CAA in scoring with 17.8 points per game and third in field goal percentage with 58.8%. Cacok led the conference with 22 double-doubles, second-most of any player in the country. He was named to the First Team All-CAA. The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association named Cacok to the First Team All-State.
Coming into his senior season, Cacok was named to the Preseason First Team All-CAA.
As a senior, Cacok averaged 15.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game and led the nation in double-doubles with 22. He was again selected to the First Team All-CAA.
Professional career
Los Angeles Lakers (2019–2021)
After going undrafted in the
2019 NBA draft, Cacok signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
to play in the
2019 NBA Summer League. On October 21, 2019, Cacok was waived by the Lakers. He was then added to the roster of the
South Bay Lakers
The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first National Basketball Associa ...
of the
NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
.
On December 11, 2019, Cacok signed a
two-way contract
A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...
with the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
, where he would split time between South Bay and LA. On December 28, 2019, Cacok grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds to go along with 22 points in a 124–120 win over the
Northern Arizona Suns
The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...
. He suffered a stress reaction in his foot on January 13, sidelining him for several weeks. Cacok returned to action on February 1, contributing 13 points and seven rebounds in a win over the
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...
. At the close of the season, Cacok was named to the
All-NBA G League First Team after averaging 19.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He was also named to the League's All-Rookie Team. On August 13, he made his NBA debut for the Lakers, scoring six points on 3-of-6 shooting and grabbing five rebounds in a 136–122 loss to the
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
.
On September 20, 2021, Cacok signed with the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...
. He was waived at the end of training camp on October 16.
San Antonio Spurs (2021–2022)
On October 18, the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
claimed Cacok off waivers and converted his deal into a
two-way contract
A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...
with the
Austin Spurs
The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in 8 ...
. On March 4, 2022, the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
converted Cacok's contract into a standard deal.
Motor City Cruise (2022–2023)
On September 7, 2022, the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
announced that they had signed Cacok. He was waived on October 7.
On November 3, 2022, Cacok was named to the opening night roster for the
Motor City Cruise
The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...
.
CSKA Moscow (2023–present)
On February 11, 2023, Cacok signed with
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
of the
VTB United League
VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...
.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",
, style="text-align:left;",
L.A. Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
, 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .500 , , , , , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
L.A. Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
, 20 , , 1 , , 4.0 , , .586 , , , , .455 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;",
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, 15 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .677 , , , , .571 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .5 , , .5 , , 3.1
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 36 , , 1 , , 6.3 , , .621 , , , , .500 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .4 , , .3 , , 2.5
References
External links
UNC Wilmington Seahawks bioat Sports-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cacok, Devontae
1996 births
Living people
21st-century African-American sportspeople
African-American basketball players
American men's basketball players
Austin Spurs players
Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Centers (basketball)
Los Angeles Lakers players
Motor City Cruise players
People from Alpharetta, Georgia
Power forwards (basketball)
San Antonio Spurs players
South Bay Lakers players
Sportspeople from Fulton County, Georgia
UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball players
Undrafted National Basketball Association players