Kornél Dávid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The native form of this personal name is Dávid Kornél. This article uses the Western name order.
Kornél Dávid
Position Power forward
Height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg)
Team CB Gran Canaria
Born October 22, 1971 (1971-10-22) (age 36)
Nagykanizsa, Hungary
Nationality Hungary
Pro career 1987–present

Kornél Dávid (in English sometimes Kornel David, born October 22, 1971 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary) is a Hungarian professional basketball player. He was the first and only Hungarian to play in the NBA. He has played for four teams between 1998 and 2001.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Dávid grew up with Honvéd Budapest (Hungary) juniors squad and made his debut with Honvéd Budapest during the 1987-88 season. He was signed for the 1988-89 by Malév SC and played there also the 1989-90 season. In the 1990-91 season, he went to Honvéd Budapest and played there until the 1993-94 championship. In 1994, Albacomp (Székesfehérvár) recruited Dávid and was his team up to the 1996-97 championship season.

[edit] NBA career

Arguably the best player in the history of the franchise, Dávid was signed by the Chicago Bulls on October 1, 1997 and waived on October 28. He then spent the next part of the 1997-98 season with the Rockford Lightning in the CBA but was released on December 1997. He later moved back to Hungary, signed for the remainder of the season by Albacomp Székesfehérvár, winning the 1997-98 Hungarian National Championship in the process. He would also spend part of the next season with Albacomp Székesfehérvár.

On 21 January 1999, Dávid was signed as a free agent by Chicago Bulls and was waived on January '00. A few days later, he signed to the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts after which he moved back to Hungary on February signed for the remainder of the season by Albacomp Székesfehérvár. Again Dávid would bring accolades by leading the Albacomp Székesfehérvár to the 2000 Hungarian National Cup. Next, Dávid signed as free agent by Toronto Raptors on August '00 and was then traded to Detroit Pistons on February '01.

Dávid played 109 NBA games, starting 11, averaging 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

[edit] Post-NBA career

He moved to France for the 2001-02 season, signed on November, by IG Strasbourg. Later, Dávid moved to BC Žalgiris of Lithuania for the 2002-03 season, and promptly captured the Lithuanian National Championship.

He went to Spain for the 2003-04 season, donning jersey number 18 for TAU Cerámica. Dávid played a decisive role in the team's first Final Four appearance. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in the regular season, but his numbers went up to 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in the Top 16, helping Tau to reach the playoffs. When Euroleague.net sat down with Dávid in Vitoria days after the team made it to the Final Four and asked him about his feelings of reaching the big event. "I think it's an unbelievable feeling," Dávid told Euroleague.net. "I am a European player, and as you know, from a small country, Hungary, that is not a big basketball country. To achieve this goal is one of the best moments of my career." He has won the 2004 and 2006 Spanish National Cup (King's Cup) with Tau Cerámica Saski Baskonia Vitoria.

[edit] Current career

Recently, Kornél Dávid has signed a contract to play in ACB team CB Gran Canaria for two seasons, starting in the season 2006-2007.

[edit] External links

Languages