Dávid Kornél (in English sometimes Kornel David, born October 22, 1971) is a Hungarian former professional basketball player. He is yet the only Hungarian who played in the NBA.
Early life
Dávid grew up with the Budapesti Honvéd juniors squad and made his debut with Budapest Honvéd 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 back to Budapesti Honvéd 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.[citation needed]
NBA career
Dávid was signed by the Chicago Bulls on October 1, 1997, and waived on October 28. He then spent part of the 1997–98 season with the Rockford Lightning in the CBA but was released in December 1997. He later moved back to Hungary, and was signed for the remainder of the season by AlbacompSzékesfehérvár, winning the 1997-98 Hungarian National Championship. He would also spend part of the next season with AlbacompSzékesfehérvár.
On 21 January 1999, Dávid was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Bulls and was waived in January 2000. A few days later, he signed the first of two consecutive 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then moved back to Hungary in February and was signed for the remainder of the season by Albacomp Székesfehérvár. Again Dávid would bring accolades by leading Albacomp Székesfehérvár to the 2000 Hungarian National Cup. Next, Dávid signed as a free agent by the Toronto Raptors in August 2000 and was then traded to the Detroit Pistons in February 2001.
Dávid played 109 NBA games, starting 11, averaging 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. A retrospective short documentary about his NBA career entitled Kornél on Tour was produced in 2017.[1][2][3]
Post-NBA career
He moved to France for the 2001–02 season, signing in November with Strasbourg IG. 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. In October 2010 he was appointed as the director of international scouting for the Phoenix Suns.
In December 2012, Dávid became the president of the Hungarian club Alba Fehérvár.
Personal
He is married to handball player Fruzsina Azari. Their first born son, Dalton Barnabás was born in July 2017. Their second son Benedikt Mór was also born in July, in 2021.[4]
