Duke Basketball Champ Scores 54 Points off the Bench

Quinn Cook hasn't been on an NBA regular-season roster since 2021, but at 29 years old, he's a top remaining free agent. And the former captain guard for the 2015 Duke basketball national champs may have helped his chances to land back in the league this season via his most recent performance in the Chinese Basketball Association.

The Zhejiang Guangsha Lions signed Cook in November. Then on Wednesday, the former two-time NBA champion (with the Golden State Warriors in 2018 and Los Angeles Lakers in 2020) led the Lions to a 126-101 home victory over the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin in Shaoxing, China, with his 54 points in 29 minutes off the bench.

He shot 18-for-24 from the field, including his blistering 12-for-15 clip beyond the arc, while adding five rebounds and two assists. According to CGTN Sports Scene, which tweeted the impressive Quinn Cook highlight reel (below), his outing marks the most points by any player in the CBA this season.

🤯2-time NBA champion Quinn Cook @QCook323 in 29 MIN for Guangsha:

54 PTS | 18-24 FG | 12-15 3PT | 5 REB | 2 AST
40 PTS & 10 THREES in 3 quarters

This is the MOST POINTS in a single-game this #CBA season@DukeMBB @thetournament @JoshChapinABC11 @WarriorNationCP @el_baloncesto pic.twitter.com/9SSsUgn85n
— CGTN Sports Scene (@CGTNSportsScene) December 14, 2022

After four years as a memorable Duke basketball go-getter, Cook went undrafted in 2015 and spent his first season as a pro in what was then the NBA D League.

But he earned a spot in the NBA, playing 188 games between stops with five franchises from 2016-17 to 2020-21 and, again, picking up a pair of rings along the way.

Although Quinn Cook played two preseason games for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021 and two more for the Sacramento Kings this year, the teams waived him before the season each time.

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