ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - There are players leaving you in awe when things go their way. Or when they make things go their way.
That's how Will Cummings has been on several occasions this season, his first comeback campaign in the Basketball Champions League after eight long years.
It's not like he disappeared from the scene after making his presence felt at first in the 2016-17 season with Aris Thessaloniki. He just dominated in other environments.
He was named the League MVP in Germany, with Oldenburg in 2018-19; he was named the League MVP in France, with Metropolitans 92 in 2021-22; he was a significant piece in Darussafaka's victory in the 2017-18 EuroCup.
That was his first success in Istanbul.
While time has passed, it looks like nothing has changed in the way the Jacksonville-native has been calling plays for his team, leading the control room for Galatasaray.
At the end of the day, at 32, he's putting up 16.6 points and 3.7 assists per game. All this with a permanent seat in the 50-40-90 club - he's shooting excellently, 52.4 percent from two, 45.1 from beyond the arc, and 85.4 at the charity stripe.
But once again - nothing has really changed for Will Cummings, who has now found himself the protagonist of a possible happy-ending story, featured where it all started: Greece.
From Thessaloniki to Athens, with the same goal
Will Cummings' first taste of Basketball Champions League action scored in double-digits in 16-out-of-18 games, proving he had the right to be at the highest level in Europe.
Despite posting a team-high 14.7 points and 1.7 steals, his run didn't include a qualification for the Quarter-Finals.
"I missed the chance when I was playing in the first season. We lost in the Top 16 to ASVEL," Cummings tells the BCL website.
"That was hurtful too because that was my first introduction to professional competitions overseas, and I was expecting to win."
"I had won kind of all my life."
"Getting back this year is special to me just because in my second year back in the competition, I was able to come back to Greece for the BCL Final Four; that's where my career started as well. It's a crazy full circle," he points out.
Now, he's back close to the Aegean Sea, hoping to ride the good wave against La Laguna Tenerife in the first of the two Semi-Finals to be played on May 9 in the SUNEL Arena.
To reach this position, they managed to go over one of the best teams of the season in the whole competition: ERA Nymburk, which went 2-0 against the Turkish powerhouse in the Regular Season.
It was roaring revenge, beating their opponents with their main weapons.
"In the two Regular Season games, they smacked us with the up-tempo, and we were an up-tempo team, I like to think. But being able to be more up-tempo than them in the Quarter-Finals was nice. We got back to our ways, running, gunning, and trying to just outrun them."
Will Cummings wasn't only beneficial, but crucial for Yakup Sekizkok's team in beating the perennial Czech champions, combining for 50 points between the home and road games.
He also set his new BCL career-high with 33 points away from home, shooting 6-of-10 from two-point range, 4-of-5 from deep, and 9-of-9 at the line.
However, what makes Galatasaray really dangerous heading into their first-ever BCL Final Four after five years competing in the tournament is their chameleonic versatility.
"It adds to the word 'unpredictable.' It's hard to really scout us, because there are so many different ways we can attack, and that helps us being able to adapt to situations. You just never know who's going to be the guy sometimes," Cummings explains.
It was the second cornerstone of Galatasaray's season, with the first being the win in the Play-Ins showdown against Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, driven by Nolan Traore.
"It was cool to go against a young prospect like that, seeing his growth. Going to the series, it's a different approach; when you prepare for games like that, if you have such a young player, you're going to have so much more knowledge having been there before."
It's pretty pointless to say who was the MVP of the Play-Ins, is it? With a clutch performance of 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, he sealed the deal in Game 3.
While that winning sequence against the French side opened Galatasaray's gate to the Round of 16, the imminent future only speaks of the challenge with another veteran in the BCL Final Four, powered by SUNEL: the 41-year-old Marcelinho Huertas.
"That's a whole different approach, because I know he's going to be on the same mental aspect as I am. We're just going to prepare and have a lot of fun with it, trying to put ourselves in position to win on Sunday," he commented about the Brazilian.
Being agile through Istanbul's variety
For the second time in his career, Will Cummings is playing in the city that pretty much reflects his journey all over Europe. Istanbul does have a variety of experiences.
"It's so different, in all types of ways. There's so much variety: of people, places, foods, stores, clothes, sounds. It's a melting pot. You've got a lot of different people from all over the world, and it makes for a great cultural city," he speaks about his love for the metropolis.
He just feels at home there.
"I enjoy being in Istanbul while playing a 10-month season overseas, because it allows me to feel like I'm in a place where my family and I can adapt."
Among the variety of things you could possibly find in Istanbul, there are also millions of people supporting different fan bases - night in and night out.
Galatasaray are surely a unique one, as we're not talking only about a basketball team; in fact, we are talking about a whole red-and-yellow sports universe, which unites a strong fanbase in Istanbul and outside of Türkiye.
"You have a lot of passionate people who like sports. That adds to the fan base for each club. It's just a great atmosphere to play," Cummings comments as well.
While this wasn't a huge factor in deciding to sign for Galatasaray, it has surely helped the 32-year-old combo guard down the line when his affection for the fans was growing, even in difficult moments of the season.
"I don't really go places just based on fanbases. I go based on who wants to win the most. And Gala really wants to win," he points to this weekend in Athens.
"It's a great opportunity. The club has a lot of expectations, because of the prestige of the club with all their sports divisions, including basketball. They're just hungry for another trophy," he remembers the last time Galatasaray lifted a trophy, the 2015-16 EuroCup.
"We are hungry for another trophy. The atmosphere among fans, organization, players: everybody wants to do all they can to put ourselves in positions to be playing on Sunday."
Having now reached the tenth season of his overseas professional career, this is the right time for him to return to being successful not only individually, but also team-wise. In order to do so, Will Cummings must step up for his side.
Galatasaray's leader knows how to provide efficiency even to this day.
"The most important thing is to be agile. In your preparation, in circumstances, and situations," he says.
"That's what helped me. I learned it over time, but that's what helped me through my career: being able to adapt and be agile to different situations, whether you're playing a lot, not playing, coming off the bench, starting in a bad city, great city..."
"Be agile in your career, in your life, and just try to make the best of it. Always have that approach to it, and it will be a successful find," Cummings finishes.
If there's a way to contain Tenerife from getting to their back-to-back appearances in the BCL Final on Sunday, that's being agile. Physically and especially mentally.
But Galatasaray are ready to roar, dragged by the destined guard who could finish what he started in Greece.