Pat Cummings, Former NBA Star, Dead at 55

Pat Cummings, the forward/center who would lace-up with the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks, and the Miami Heat, was found dead at a Greenwich Village apartment in New York on Tuesday afternoon. He was 55. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Cummings was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in July of 1956. After being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as a junior-eligible in 1978, Cummings would finally hit the court with the team in 1979. However, after three seasons, the 6-foot-9 player found himself being traded to the Dallas Mavericks for a pair of draft choices. Cummings soon became the franchise’s starting center, averaging 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Although the 1984-85 season saw Cummings achieving the highest scoring average of his career, the foot problems he’d been experiencing forced him to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle. Sadly, Pat would never be quite the same. He bounced between several teams before bidding farewell to the NBA in 1990. After a playing a few years with the Continental Basketball Association, Cummings bowed out of the game completely in 1993.

When all was said and done, he’d accrued 6,259 points, 3,825 rebounds, and 807 assists during his career. His death has not gone unnoticed amongst those who love every single aspect of the game. A handful of Twitter reactions to Cummings’ passing can be found below.

For more information about Cummings’ death, stop by Famous Dead.

Image provided courtesy of Fox Sports