Pat Cummings (July 11, 1956 – June 26, 2012Former Knicks player Pat Cummings found dead
. WABC. June 26, 2012. Retrieved on June 26, 2012.) was 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. A 6-foot-9 forward with an accurate shooting touch, Cummings spent the most productive stretch of his 12-year career with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), averaging better than 12 points and eight

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

for four straight seasons.

High school career

The son of Charles and Dolores (Gresik) Cummings, he scored 1,136 career points for Greater Johnstown High School of

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

. He led the team to a pair of District 6 Class A championships, including a 25–1 record his senior year. He earned first-team all-state honors.

College career

Cummings committed to attend the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, coached by

Gale Catlett Wendell Gale Catlett Article refers to Catlett as "W. Gale Catlett". (born October 31, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach who was head coach at the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University. Playing career Born in Hedgesvil ...

. Cummings still holds the Bearcats' single-season field goal percentage record (.642 in 1977–78) and his career mark of .581 is second to

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los An ...

. He is second all-time in field goals made (756) behind

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

. In 1978–79, he averaged 24.6 points per game, fifth-highest in Bearcats' history, while also averaging a team-leading 11.3 rebounds and .823 free throw percentage. His career point total of 1,762 was second all-time to Robertson, and that total currently ranks fifth. At UC, Cummings' teams went 23–6 (1974–75), 25–6 (1975–76), 17–10 (1977–78), and 13–14 (1978–79). He did not play in 1976–77 due to a broken leg. He earned All-Metro Conference first team and was the Bearcats' MVP in 1977–78 and 1978–79. He was awarded the 1978–79 Metro Conference Player of the Year. Cummings was inducted into the James P. Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990.

NBA career

Milwaukee Bucks

Cummings was drafted by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

as a junior-eligible in 1978 (the year

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

used the same rule to draft

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

). After playing out his senior season, Cummings came to the Bucks in 1979. He saw his first NBA action in the Bucks' second game, a 125–96 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in which he scored four points, followed by eight points in the Bucks' next game, a 131–107 win over the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. He did shine at times, with a then career-high 25 points on February 26, 1980, against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, then 30 in the third-to-last game of the season against the

. Over the next three seasons, he saw limited action in a front court that included

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted int ...

, Dave Meyers,

Marques Johnson Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 8, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Associati ...

Kent Benson Michael Kent Benson (born December 27, 1954) is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Benson was a two time All-American at Indiana University, winning the 1976 Helms Foundation Player of the Year and helping lead th ...

, and Harvey Catchings. Nevertheless, Cummings shot over 50 percent from the floor and over 70 percent from the free throw line and averaged more than six points each year. On March 9, 1981, he tied his career single-game best of 30 points against the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

Dallas Mavericks

In 1982 the two-year-old Dallas Mavericks acquired him for a pair of draft choices. Cummings became the Mavs' starting center and averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds with 20 or more points in 10 games. After putting up similar numbers the following season, including 12 games of 20 or more points, plus back-to-back 16-point games in the playoffs against the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

New York Knicks

Cummings signed with New York as a free agent. In 1984–85 with the Knicks, Cummings notched the best scoring average of his career, 15.8 points per game. He not only had 23 games of 20+ points, he scored a career-high 32 points on January 28, 1985, against the Clippers, followed two nights later by another career-high of 34 against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. In 1985–86, he finally succumbed to the foot problems that had been nagging him for years. After averaging 15.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in 31 games, including tying his career-high 34 points on November 22, 1985 against the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, Cummings bowed out for the season and had surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle. Cummings never quite returned to form. He spent two more seasons with the Knicks, sharing time in the front court with

Bill Cartwright James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the N ...

and

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New ...

Miami Heat

Cummings signing as a free agent with the expansion

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in 1988. He started in the Heat's first-ever game, and spent most of his two years in Miami as a backup to

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony *Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman *Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Republ ...

. On Dec. 14, 1988, Cummings scored 15 points to help lead the Heat past the Los Angeles Clippers, 89–88, for their first victory, after they opened the season with a then-N.B.A. record 17 consecutive losses. Cummings was waived late in the 1989–90 campaign.

Italy/Utah Jazz

After playing professionally in Italy in 1990–91, he played a four-game stint with the

in 1990–91. Cummings was waived and out of the NBA at age 34.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

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Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 81 , , 71 , , 28.6 , , .493 , , .000 , , .755 , , 8.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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Playoffs

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1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

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1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

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1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

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1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

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After basketball

Cummings had resided in

Loveland, Ohio Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cinc ...

, a suburb of Cincinnati, earned his real estate license and spent several years in the real estate business. He died of a heart attack in his

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York City apartment on June 26, 2012. He was preceded in death by his father and his brother, Charles Jr., and was survived by his mother and his brother, Michael. He was interred at Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown. In a 2016 interview, Cummings' former teammate

Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...

remarked "We've lost a lot of guys over the last couple of years.

Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he als ...

Jerome Kersey Jerome Kersey (June 26, 1962 – February 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angele ...

and before that Pat Cummings, just to name a few. And a lot of these guys have died of heart attacks. So I think it's great that the league, the players association and the retired players association are joining forces to try and figure out why that is and what we can do to adequately provide for everyone."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Pat 1956 births 2012 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania CB Zaragoza players Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Dallas Mavericks players Fort Wayne Fury players Liga ACB players Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players New York Knicks players Pallacanestro Varese players Rapid City Thrillers players Sportspeople from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Utah Jazz players Wichita Falls Texans players