Christian Vital

Christian Lucien Vital (born March 21, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Legia Warszawa of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies.

Christian Vital
No. 1 – Legia Warszawa
PositionPoint guard
LeaguePLK
Personal information
Born (1997-03-21) March 21, 1997
Queens Village, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight187 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeUConn (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2022Hamilton Honey Badgers
2022Raptors 905
2022–2023Salt Lake City Stars
2023Brampton Honey Badgers
2023–presentLegia Warszawa
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

Vital is the oldest of five children born to Rose Vital-Williams. He grew up playing basketball for the PSA Cardinals Amateur Athletic Union program.[1] He played chess from age five, competing in various tournaments in New York City, and continued playing the game in high school.[2] Vital began high school at the Rectory School in Pomfret, Connecticut, living away from his family.[3] He played basketball for St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Connecticut for his final two years of high school. In his final season, Vital averaged 16.8 points, seven rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, leading his team to a 31–7 record and the National Prep Championship final. He earned New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class AAA first team honors and was selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game.[4] Vital originally committed to play college basketball for UNLV but re-opened his recruitment after head coach Dave Rice left the program. On April 29, 2016, he committed to UConn over an offer from Louisville, among others.[5]

College career

Vital started 10 games as a freshman and averaged 9.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, though the Huskies finished with a 16–17 overall record, the program's first losing season in 30 years.[6] On November 19, 2017, Vital scored a career-high 30 points in a 85–66 win over Boston University.[7] As a sophomore, Vital averaged 14.9 points, a team-leading 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Following the season he declared for the 2018 NBA draft, but opted to return to UConn, citing "unfinished business."[8] Vital averaged 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior while leading the Huskies with 52 steals.[1] As a senior, Vital averaged 16.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game.[9] He was named to the First Team All-American Athletic Conference.[10] Vital scored 1,735 points in his UConn career, hitting an AAC-record 265 three-pointers.[11]

Professional career

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2021–2022)

On August 19, 2020, Vital signed his first professional contract with BG Göttingen of the Basketball Bundesliga.[12] However, his contract was terminated on September 21.[13] After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies,[14] but waived on December 16.[15] He later joined the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League in January 2021, but did not compete in any games.[16]

On October 16, 2021 Vital signed with the Houston Rockets but was waived shortly thereafter.[17] He subsequently joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers[18] where he played 45 games and averaged 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and shot .401 from three-point range while helping the Vipers win the G League Championship.[19]

Hamilton Honey Badgers (2022)

On May 12, 2022, Vital signed with the Hamilton Honey Badgers of the CEBL.[19] On August 14, he won the franchise's first CEBL title with the Honey Badgers.[20] Vital was named the CEBL Final MVP after scoring 17 points in the 90-88 win over Scarborough.[20] Over the season, Vital averaged a team leading 17.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 15 games.[21]

Raptors 905 (2022)

Vital joined the Toronto Raptors for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[22] He did not make the final roster but was added to their G League affiliate, Raptors 905.

Salt Lake City Stars (2022–2023)

On December 15, 2022, Vital was traded to the Salt Lake City Stars.[23]

Brampton Honey Badgers (2023)

On April 1, 2023, Vital signed with Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, but didn't play for them.[24] On May 10, he signed with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[25]

Legia Warszawa (2023–present)

On July 20, 2023, Vital signed with Legia Warszawa of the Polish Basketball League.[26]

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

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 UConn 311028.5.391.366.7083.51.81.1.29.1
2017–18 UConn 322331.7.383.318.8465.41.71.6.014.9
2018–19 UConn 332930.2.453.409.8135.62.41.6.014.2
2019–20 UConn 313132.2.398.346.8996.32.62.5.216.4
Career 1279330.6.407.358.8365.22.11.7.113.7

References
  1. Amore, Dom (November 1, 2019). "Christian Vital hopes to save his best for his last season with UConn men". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  2. Borges, David (January 30, 2017). "UConn freshman Christian Vital excels on hardwood — and on chessboard". The Register Citizen. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  3. Amore, Dom (December 4, 2016). "Christian Vital primed to step for UConn up in hometown". The Bulletin. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. "Christian Vital". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. "Recruit Christian Vital chooses UConn over Louisville". New Haven Register. April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  6. Keefe, Gavin (November 6, 2019). "From Five Guys down to the Dynamic Duo, UConn Class of 2020 is ready to leave its mark". The Day. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  7. "Vital's career night leads UConn to 85–66 win over Boston U". ESPN. Associated Press. November 19, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  8. Amore, Dom (May 21, 2018). "Christian Vital Returning For 'Unfinished Business' At UConn". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  9. Carroll, Charlotte (May 12, 2020). "Christian Vital is trying to move on after the abrupt ending to his UConn career". The Athletic. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  10. Ostrout, Neill (March 20, 2020). "Vital named to All-AAC first team; Bouknight (third team) on all-rookie squad". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  11. Amore, Dom (May 12, 2020). "'You could see the magic starting to happen:' Christian Vital reflects on his UConn career, the empty finish and his basketball future". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  12. Schmidt-Scheuber, Miles (August 19, 2020). "Christian Vital To Start Professional Career With BG Goettingen". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  13. "Goettingen released Vital". Eurobasket.com. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  14. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Christian Vital". NBA.com. December 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  15. "Memphis Grizzlies sign Shaq Buchanan". NBA.com. December 16, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  16. "Memphis Hustle announce 2021 roster". NBA.com. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  17. Hill, Arthur (October 16, 2021). "Rockets Sign, Waive Christian Vital". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  18. Miller, Henry (October 26, 2021). "New faces kick off Vipers training camp". The Monitor. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  19. "Honey Badgers Sign NBA G League Chamption". CEBL.com. May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  20. "Agada And Vital Carry Honey Badgers To First Championship In Club History". www.cebl.ca. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  21. "Hamilton Honey Badgers 2022 Team Stats - 2022 Honey Badgers Stats". www.honeybadgers.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  22. "Toronto Raptors 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  23. "2022-23 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  24. Skerletic, Dario (April 1, 2023). "Christian Vital joins Hapoel Haifa". Sportando. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  25. "Honey Badgers Welcome Back CEBL Finals MVP Christian Vital". CEBL.ca. May 10, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  26. "Christian Vital nowym koszykarzem Legii Warszawa". LegiaKosz.com (in Polish). July 20, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
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