Tony Dumas (born August 25, 1972) is an American former 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 (appro ...
player.
College career
Born in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, Dumas played collegiately at the
University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), whose athletic program is now known as the
Kansas City Roos. He was the all-time leading scorer in
UMKC history upon the completion of his career, with 2,459 career points. His senior season, he finished seventh in the NCAA in scoring at 27.0 points per game. He is also the only player in Kansas City history to be drafted into the NBA and the first Dallas Maverick to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Dunk-Championship where he finished 6th place.
In May 2021 with a 3.9 G.P.A. Tony returned to The University of Missouri-Kansas City (2021) and completed his bachelor's degree in Science with a Minor in Communication Studies. Tony also received the UMKC Chancellor's Historically Under-Represented Minority Award and Scholarship at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Bloch business school and is currently seeking his Executive master's degree in Business Administration (MBA). Tony Dumas is the loving father of Tony George Dumas.
Professional career
Dallas Mavericks (1994–1996)
Dumas was selected by 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...
in the 1st round (19th overall) of the
1994 NBA draft
The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...
. He played four seasons in the NBA, mainly for the Mavericks. He did have two brief stints with the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
and
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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
. His best year as a pro came during the
1995–96 season as a member of the Mavericks, appearing in 67 games (12 starts) and averaging 11.6 ppg, including a 39-point effort against the Suns on January 12, 1996. In 1995, he appeared in the
NBA Slam Dunk Contest
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...
, finishing last (6th) after three unsuccessful dunks in the first round. After the impressive 1995–1996 season, his play regressed and he wasn't able to return to form after. The most he averaged in a season after that was 3.6 points per game, although he did have a season high 15 point game in a 103–84 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the beginning of the
1996–1997 season.
Phoenix Suns (1996–1997)
On December 26, 1996, Dumas was traded by the Dallas Mavericks with
Jason Kidd
Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...
and
Loren Meyer to the Phoenix Suns for
Sam Cassell
Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...
,
Michael Finley
Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He ...
,
A.C. Green and a 1998 2nd round draft pick (
Greg Buckner was later selected). Dumas was a part of the 1996–1997 Suns team that managed to reach the playoffs. Due to injury Dumas played a total of 6 games in that season as the Suns reached the playoffs with a 40 win team and faced the
Seattle SuperSonics in the first round. Despite being out-talented, the Suns played well in the series and forced the SuperSonics to 5 games before ultimately falling short. Dumas didn't receive much playing time in the playoffs however.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1997–1998)
On October 1, 1997, Dumas was a part of a large transaction. As part of a 3-team trade, Dumas was traded by the Phoenix Suns with
Wesley Person
Wesley Lavon Person (born March 28, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Person became a women's basketball assistant coach and then the h ...
to 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded a 2005 1st round draft pick (
Sean May
Sean Gregory May (born April 4, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina. May was born in Chicago, Illinois ...
was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns; 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
traded
Antonio McDyess to the Phoenix Suns; and the Phoenix Suns traded a 1998 1st round draft pick (
Tyronn Lue was later selected), a 1999 1st round draft pick (
James Posey was later selected), a 2000 2nd round draft pick (
Dan McClintock was later selected), a 2001 1st round draft pick (
Joseph Forte
Joseph Xavier Forte (born March 23, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American player at North Carol ...
was later selected) and a 2002 2nd round draft pick (
Rod Grizzard was later selected) to the Denver Nuggets.
He averaged 2.0 points per game and only received 6.7 minutes of playing time. He also only played 7 games in the season with the Cavaliers. On January 29, 1998, the Cavaliers waived Dumas.
Retirement from the NBA
Dumas retired from the NBA shortly after being released by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He continued playing in different basketball associations like the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...
(CBA) in 1998, where he played for La Crosse Bobcats. In 2001, he moved to Greece playing for
Sporting BC
Sporting B.C. (Greek language, Greek: ΚΑΕ Σπόρτιγκ) is a Greek professional basketball team that is located at Ano Patissia, Athens, Greece, at the area of Elia Zervou 89 and Sarantaporoy. The club's full name is A.O. Sporting Athens B. ...
. In 2001, he played for Rimini in Italy.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumas, Tony
1972 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Basket Rimini Crabs players
Basketball players from Chicago
Cleveland Cavaliers players
Dallas Mavericks draft picks
Dallas Mavericks players
Kansas City Roos men's basketball players
La Crosse Bobcats players
People from Millington, Tennessee
Sportspeople from Shelby County, Tennessee
Phoenix Suns players
Shooting guards
Sporting basketball players
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen