Terry Cummings
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | San Diego Clippers | March 15, 1961
1984–1989 | Milwaukee Bucks |
1989–1995 | San Antonio Spurs |
1995–1996 | Milwaukee Bucks |
1996–1997 | Seattle SuperSonics |
1997–1998 | Philadelphia 76ers |
1998 | New York Knicks |
1999–2000 | Golden State Warriors |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 19,460 (16.4 ppg) |
Rebounds | 8,630 (7.3 rpg) |
Steals | 1,255 (1.1 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Robert Terrell Cummings (born March 15, 1961) is an American former professional
College Years
Born in
NBA
San Diego Clippers
He was selected in the first round by the
In his inaugural 1982–83 season, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after putting up 23.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. These figures would turn out to be the highest of his career in those categories. On March 9, 1983, Cummings scored a then career best 39 points, along with grabbing 18 rebounds, during a 119-114 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[2] Late in his rookie season, Cummings suffered from heartbeat irregularities, which would keep him out the remaining two weeks of the season. The team lost every game without him.
Milwaukee Bucks
After the next season (1983–84), he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he would continue to post above 20 points and 8 rebound averages for four out of his five years on the team.
In the 1985 NBA playoffs, Cummings (29.5 points) averaged more points than then-rookie Michael Jordan (29.3 points) in a 3–1 series victory for Milwaukee. It would be the only time Jordan would not lead all scorers in a postseason series he participated in during his career.[3] The Bucks would lose in the next round in an upset to the lower seeded Philadelphia 76ers in a 4–0 sweep.[4]
The following season, Cummings and now hall of fame-enshrined teammate
On January 9, 1987, Cummings grabbed a career high 24 rebounds, alongside scoring 28 points, in a 100–92 loss to the
On March 1, 1989, Cummings scored 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 121–111 win against the New York Knicks.[14]
As a Buck, Cummings was selected to play in the 1984–85 and 1988–89 NBA All-Star Games.
San Antonio Spurs
He was traded to the San Antonio Spurs on May 28, 1989. He was sent with a 1990 2nd round draft pick (Tony Massenburg was later selected) for Cadillac Anderson, Alvin Robertson and a 1989 2nd round draft pick (Frank Kornet was later selected).[15]
His first season in San Antonio, alongside David Robinson and Maurice Cheeks, brought a remarkable turn around, the Spurs surged from 21 wins in 1989 to 56 wins in 1990.[16] That season, Cummings set a career high in points scored in a single game, with 52 in a 129-95 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[17]
He would remain in San Antonio for six years. His scoring and rebounding averages for the 1989–90 through 1991–92 seasons were close to 20 and 8, respectively, and he helped his team to consecutive 50-win seasons and playoff appearances. By this time, he was recognized as a reliable
Cummings suffered a serious knee injury in the summer of 1992 in a casual pickup game. He would miss the first 74 regular-season games. Upon his return to the lineup, he could no longer put up near-All-Star numbers, and from then on he was used in a more suitable role as a reserve. Cummings would play in San Antonio until 1994–95.
Return to Bucks
In November 1995, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks again. He played 81 games averaging 8.0 points per game in 21 minutes of work.
Seattle Supersonics
In January 1997 he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics as a free agent. He contributed as a role player helping the Sonics reach the Western Conference Semi-finals where they lost to the Houston Rockets in 7 games.
Philadelphia 76ers
He signed with the
New York Knicks
Just before the trade deadline in February 1998, he was traded to the New York Knicks for Herb Williams and Ron Grandison. For the New York Knicks he played in 30 games to finish the 1997–98 season and a total of 74 games combined between Philadelphia and New York.
Golden State Warriors
Before the lockout ending in 1999, he was traded by the Knicks along with
. He managed to play 2 seasons for the Warriors, then retired from basketball after the 1999–2000 season.In his final season, despite serious injuries and then being 38 years old, he averaged 8.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG in just 18 minutes a night.[18]
Career summary
In 18 seasons, Cummings scored 19,460 points, placing him 57th on the list of NBA all-time regular-season scoring leaders, as of December 2022.
Personal life
Cummings wanted to be a professional hockey player growing up, and had not attempted playing competitive basketball until an unexpected high school growth-spurt.[20]
On April 4, 1985, Cummings sang the national anthem in Milwaukee before playing in a home game versus the Detroit Pistons. He received a standing ovation.[21] Granted, it was the National Anthem, everyone was already standing. In December 1989, Cummings and several Spurs teammates released a Christmas song.[22]
Cummings has been an ordained Pentecostal minister since 1977[23] and performed the wedding of former teammate Sean Elliott. He has three sons, Antonio, T. J., and Shawn.
In a creative turn of his career, Cummings released an album, T.C. Finally in early 2007, of songs which he wrote, sang, and played keyboards. The album is reminiscent of the
.NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
* | Led the league |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982–83 | San Diego
|
70 | 69 | 36.2 | .523 | .000 | .709 | 10.6 | 2.5 | 1.8 | .9 | 23.7 |
1983–84 | San Diego
|
81 | 80 | 35.9 | .494 | .000 | .720 | 9.6 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .7 | 22.9 |
1984–85 | Milwaukee | 79 | 78 | 34.5 | .495 | .000 | .741 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 1.5 | .8 | 23.6 |
1985–86 | Milwaukee | 82 | 82 | 32.5 | .474 | .000 | .656 | 8.5 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .6 | 19.8 |
1986–87 | Milwaukee | 82 | 77 | 33.8 | .511 | .000 | .662 | 8.5 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 20.8 |
1987–88 | Milwaukee | 76 | 76 | 34.6 | .485 | .333 | .665 | 7.3 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .6 | 21.3 |
1988–89 | Milwaukee | 80 | 78 | 35.3 | .467 | .467 | .787 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 1.3 | .9 | 22.9 |
1989–90 | San Antonio | 81 | 78 | 34.8 | .475 | .322 | .780 | 8.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | .6 | 22.4 |
1990–91 | San Antonio
|
67 | 62 | 32.8 | .484 | .212 | .683 | 7.8 | 2.3 | .9 | .4 | 17.6 |
1991–92 | San Antonio
|
70 | 67 | 30.7 | .488 | .385 | .711 | 9.0 | 1.5 | .8 | .5 | 17.3 |
1992–93 | San Antonio
|
8 | 0 | 9.5 | .379 | – | .500 | 2.4 | .5 | .1 | .1 | 3.4 |
1993–94 | San Antonio
|
59 | 29 | 19.2 | .428 | .000 | .589 | 5.0 | .8 | .5 | .2 | 7.3 |
1994–95 | San Antonio
|
76 | 20 | 16.8 | .483 | – | .585 | 5.0 | .8 | .5 | .3 | 6.8 |
1995–96 | Milwaukee
|
81 | 13 | 21.9 | .462 | .143 | .650 | 5.5 | 1.1 | .7 | .4 | 8.0 |
1996–97 | Seattle
|
45 | 3 | 18.4 | .486 | .600 | .695 | 4.1 | .9 | .7 | .2 | 8.2 |
1997–98 | Philadelphia
|
44 | 2 | 14.9 | .458 | .000 | .672 | 3.4 | .5 | .5 | .1 | 5.3 |
New York
|
30 | 1 | 17.6 | .477 | – | .700 | 4.5 | .9 | .5 | .2 | 7.8 | |
1998–99 | Golden State
|
50* | 0 | 20.2 | .439 | 1.000 | .711 | 5.1 | 1.2 | .9 | .2 | 9.1 |
1999–00 | Golden State
|
22 | 0 | 18.1 | .429 | – | .821 | 4.9 | 1.0 | .6 | .4 | 8.4 |
Career | 1,183 | 815 | 28.7 | .484 | .295 | .706 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .5 | 16.4 | |
All-Star | 2 | 0 | 17.5 | .423 | – | .833 | 6.0 | .5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 13.5 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985
|
Milwaukee
|
8 | 8 | 38.9 | .577 | .000 | .828 | 8.8 | 2.5 | 1.5 | .9 | 27.5 |
1986
|
Milwaukee
|
14 | 14 | 36.4 | .514 | – | .694 | 9.9 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 21.6 |
1987
|
Milwaukee
|
12 | 10 | 36.9 | .488 | – | .687 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 22.3 |
1988
|
Milwaukee
|
5 | 5 | 38.6 | .562 | – | .659 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 1.8 | .6 | 25.8 |
1989
|
Milwaukee
|
5 | 4 | 24.8 | .362 | .000 | .875 | 6.6 | 1.4 | .6 | .0 | 12.8 |
1990
|
San Antonio
|
10 | 10 | 37.5 | .528 | .200 | .808 | 9.4 | 2.2 | .7 | .4 | 24.9 |
1991
|
San Antonio
|
4 | 4 | 31.0 | .510 | .000 | .500 | 9.3 | 1.0 | .8 | .5 | 14.8 |
1992
|
San Antonio
|
3 | 3 | 40.7 | .515 | .000 | .500 | 11.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 26.0 |
1993
|
San Antonio
|
10 | 0 | 13.8 | .443 | .000 | .625 | 3.9 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 6.7 |
1994
|
San Antonio
|
4 | 1 | 18.0 | .500 | – | .833 | 6.3 | .5 | 1.3 | .8 | 8.0 |
1995
|
San Antonio
|
15 | 2 | 9.0 | .375 | .000 | .733 | 2.1 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 3.9 |
1997
|
Seattle
|
12 | 6 | 24.3 | .489 | – | .667 | 6.0 | 1.2 | .9 | .5 | 8.8 |
1998
|
New York
|
8 | 1 | 15.0 | .441 | – | .250 | 4.4 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 4.0 |
Career | 110 | 68 | 26.9 | .502 | .091 | .706 | 6.7 | 1.6 | .9 | .6 | 15.1 |
See also
- List of NBA rookie single-season scoring leaders
- List of NBA rookie single-season rebounding leaders
References
- ^ "The best Clipper to wear no. 34". May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Terry Cummings Rookie High 39 Points". Statmuse.
- ^ "The only man to outscore Michael Jordan in a playoff series". Basketball Network - Your Daily Dose of Basketball. May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder".
- ^ "1985–86 Milwaukee Bucks Roster and Stats".
- ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, January 7, 1986".
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks at New Jersey Nets Box Score, April 22, 1986".
- ^ "GETTING A MONKEY OFF THEIR BUCKS". Sports Illustrated Vault | Si.com.
- ^ "1986 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7: Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "Washington Bullets at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, January 9, 1987".
- ^ "Dallas Mavericks at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, January 16, 1987".
- ^ "1987 NBA Eastern Conference First Round 76ers vs. Bucks". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, May 10, 1987".
- ^ "New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks Box Score, March 1, 1989".
- ^ "Terry Cummings Stats".
- ^ "Terry Cummings". March 29, 2020.
- ^ "Terry Cummings Career High 52 Points". Statmuse.
- ^ "Terry Cummings". March 29, 2020.
- ^ "All Time Leaders". NBA.com. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "Terry Cummings". March 29, 2020.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Terry Cummings Sings the Pre-Game National Anthem". YouTube.
- ^ "TERRY & THE SPURS CROON A HOLIDAY TUNE – Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune. December 19, 1989.
- ^ Rzeppa, Brian. "Inside The League (6): A TLN Exclusive Interview With Future Hall Of Famer Terry Cummings". Interview. The League News. Retrieved July 2, 2013.