Vern Fleming (born February 4, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the NBA from 1984 until 1996 for the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets. He played college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Early life
Vern Fleming was born in New York City, New York. He attended high school at Mater Christi in Astoria, New York, where he was a star basketball player.
College and Olympics
As a college player at the University of Georgia, Fleming won a gold medal as a member of the United States men's basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California and then commenced his professional career as the 18th overall selection in the 1984 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers.
Professional athlete
Fleming played point guard with the Pacers for eleven years, often sharing starter duties with both Haywoode Workman and Mark Jackson. Perhaps his best season as a pro came in 1990, when he started all 82 games of the season while averaging career bests of 14.3 points per game and 7.4 assists per game. The following season, on November 23, 1990, Fleming recorded a career high 18 assists, along with scoring 14 points, in a 112–111 win over the Houston Rockets. On April 2, 1994, while playing against the Orlando Magic, Fleming lost several teeth and suffered several lacerations inside his mouth after a collision with Shaquille O'Neal. Fleming spent his final year in the NBA playing for the New Jersey Nets. He retired in 1997.
Career statistics
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
NBA
Source
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | Indiana | 80 | 65 | 31.1 | .470 | .000 | .767 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 1.2 | .1 | 14.1 |
| 1985–86 | Indiana | 80 | 77 | 35.9 | .506 | .167 | .745 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 1.6 | .1 | 14.2 |
| 1986–87 | Indiana | 82* | 82* | 31.1 | .509 | .200 | .788 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 1.3 | .2 | 12.0 |
| 1987–88 | Indiana | 80 | 80 | 34.2 | .523 | .000 | .802 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 1.4 | .1 | 13.9 |
| 1988–89 | Indiana | 76 | 69 | 33.6 | .515 | .130 | .799 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 14.3 |
| 1989–90 | Indiana | 82* | 82* | 35.1 | .508 | .353 | .782 | 3.9 | 7.4 | 1.1 | .1 | 14.3 |
| 1990–91 | Indiana | 69 | 45 | 28.0 | .531 | .222 | .729 | 3.1 | 5.3 | 1.1 | .2 | 12.7 |
| 1991–92 | Indiana | 82 | 6 | 21.2 | .482 | .222 | .737 | 2.5 | 3.2 | .7 | .1 | 8.9 |
| 1992–93 | Indiana | 75 | 8 | 20.0 | .505 | .194 | .726 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .8 | .1 | 9.5 |
| 1993–94 | Indiana | 55 | 5 | 19.1 | .462 | .000 | .736 | 2.2 | 3.1 | .7 | .1 | 6.5 |
| 1994–95 | Indiana | 55 | 1 | 12.5 | .495 | .000 | .722 | 1.6 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | 4.6 |
| 1995–96 | New Jersey | 77 | 3 | 22.7 | .433 | .107 | .751 | 2.2 | 3.3 | .5 | .1 | 7.7 |
| Career | 893 | 523 | 27.7 | .498 | .181 | .764 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .1 | 11.3 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Indiana | 4 | 4 | 35.3 | .361 | .000 | .767 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 1.0 | .3 | 12.3 |
| 1990 | Indiana | 3 | 3 | 37.7 | .471 | .000 | .889 | 4.3 | 6.0 | .7 | .3 | 13.3 |
| 1991 | Indiana | 5 | 0 | 23.0 | .450 | .000 | .786 | 3.4 | 4.6 | .2 | .6 | 9.4 |
| 1992 | Indiana | 3 | 0 | 17.0 | .556 | – | .333 | .7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 7.0 |
| 1993 | Indiana | 3 | 3 | 26.7 | .444 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | 10.0 |
| 1994 | Indiana | 16 | 1 | 15.4 | .513 | .000 | .850 | 1.3 | 2.4 | .6 | .1 | 5.9 |
| 1995 | Indiana | 3 | 0 | 2.7 | .333 | .000 | .000 | .7 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| Career | 37 | 11 | 20.4 | .466 | .143 | .771 | 2.3 | 3.1 | .6 | .2 | 7.7 | |
