Introduction
Dante Lamar Cunningham (born April 22, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Cunningham was drafted in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2009 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Cunningham, a forward, played college basketball with the Villanova Wildcats.
Early life
Cunningham was born in Clinton, Maryland, to Searcy Blankenship and Ron Cunningham. His older sister Davalyn played in the WNBA.
High school career
Cunningham began his prep career at St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. While a junior, he averaged 10 points per game and 7.4 rebounds. One of his teammates, Dwayne Anderson, would later play at Villanova with Cunningham.
As a senior, Cunningham transferred to Potomac High School, which he led to a 27–0 season under Head Coach Rico Reed. He averaged 13 rebounds, 20 points, and four blocked shots per game at Potomac. He was honored as the Washington Post Metropolitan Player of the Year.
College career
At Villanova University, Cunningham played in all 33 games and was a starter in four during his freshman year.
In his senior year, Cunningham would go on to lead the team in scoring and take home the Big East Most Improved Player award. He led the Wildcats to their first Final Four appearance since 1985.
Professional career
Portland Trail Blazers (2009–2011)
Cunningham was drafted 33rd overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2009 NBA draft. He played for Portland's Las Vegas Summer League team where he averaged over 18 points and 5 rebounds per game in four contests. On August 21, 2009, Cunningham signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.
Charlotte Bobcats (2011)
On February 24, 2011, Cunningham was traded, along with Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks and two future first-round draft picks, to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Gerald Wallace.
Memphis Grizzlies (2011–2012)
On December 20, 2011, Cunningham received a three-year, $7 million offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Bobcats declined to match the offer and subsequently signed the contract with the Grizzlies.
Minnesota Timberwolves (2012–2014)
On July 24, 2012, Cunningham was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Wayne Ellington.
New Orleans Pelicans (2014–present)
On December 4, 2014, Cunningham signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On July 9, 2015, he re-signed with the Pelicans.
NBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Portland | 63 | 2 | 11.2 | .495 | .000 | .646 | 2.5 | .2 | .4 | .4 | 3.9 |
| 2010–11 | Portland | 56 | 9 | 19.8 | .433 | .000 | .711 | 3.4 | .5 | .7 | .6 | 5.1 |
| 2010–11 | Charlotte | 22 | 9 | 24.0 | .508 | .111 | .765 | 4.0 | .6 | .7 | .5 | 9.0 |
| 2011–12 | Memphis | 64 | 5 | 17.6 | .516 | .000 | .652 | 3.8 | .6 | .7 | .5 | 5.2 |
| 2012–13 | Minnesota | 80 | 9 | 25.1 | .468 | .000 | .650 | 5.1 | .8 | 1.1 | .5 | 8.7 |
| 2013–14 | Minnesota | 81 | 7 | 20.2 | .464 | .000 | .567 | 4.1 | 1.0 | .8 | .7 | 6.3 |
| 2014–15 | New Orleans | 66 | 27 | 25.0 | .457 | .100 | .617 | 3.9 | .8 | .7 | .6 | 5.2 |
| 2015–16 | New Orleans | 80 | 46 | 24.6 | .451 | .316 | .695 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .5 | .4 | 6.1 |
| Career | 512 | 114 | 21.0 | .469 | .269 | .653 | 3.7 | .7 | .7 | .5 | 6.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Portland | 5 | 0 | 8.4 | .600 | .000 | .833 | 2.6 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | 4.6 |
| 2012 | Memphis | 7 | 0 | 7.0 | .364 | .000 | .000 | 1.6 | .0 | .1 | .3 | 1.1 |
| 2015 | New Orleans | 4 | 0 | 18.8 | .818 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.5 | .5 | .8 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
| Career | 16 | 0 | 10.4 | .595 | .000 | .889 | 2.6 | .1 | .6 | .4 | 3.3 | |
Personal life
On April 3, 2014, Cunningham was arrested for allegedly choking his girlfriend with whom he lived. Three days later, he was arrested on alleged domestic abuse charges. By August 18, 2014, charges were dropped, due to evidence Cunningham's then girlfriend had fabricated her accusations.
Cunningham was included on a preliminary list for Great Britain's Eurobasket 2009 qualifying matches in 2008. However, he was later ruled ineligible to compete for Britain after an investigation by British Basketball officials into his ancestral ties failed to prove his case to receive UK citizenship.