Former Trail Blazers Kevin Duckworth dies at 44

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D

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Man they are dropping young

I'm older than this one :shocked:

Former Trail Blazers Kevin Duckworth dies at 44

Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died while on a trip to the Oregon Coast to host a free basketball clinic. He was 44.

The 7-foot Duckworth averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 11 seasons in the NBA, helping Portland reach the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992. The two-time All-Star also played for San Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers.

"Kevin will be remembered by fans as one of the most popular and recognizable players to ever wear the Blazers uniform, but to people who knew him, he'll be remembered as one of the warmest and biggest-hearted," Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said.

The Blazers said he was representing the team on a 19-city tour of Oregon.

Duckworth grew up in the Chicago area and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs out of Eastern Illinois University in 1986.

The Spurs traded him that season to the Trail Blazers, where he had his greatest success, playing with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey on two Western Conference championship teams.

 
Vic

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
RIP to the Duck. :(
rose.gif


I was totally stunned to read this. What a sad day.
 
V

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
:(

Back when he was part of the starting 5 I was obsessed with the NBA. Somewhere I have an autograph of his from my first Blazer game.

I got to meet most of the starting group, they all seemed like pretty nice guys. At the very least they represented the team and Portland well, unlike teams in years since.

Viper GTS
 
dainthomas

dainthomas

Lifer
Dec 7, 2004
14,828
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All the guys on those teams were total class acts, and Duck was no exception. :( This is epitomized by the fact he was still giving back to the community.

rose.gif
 
Vic

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
The Oregonian says the suspected cause was a sudden heart attack (cardiac arrest) Text

Hey, he was a really big dude...
 
S

SludgeFactory

Platinum Member
Sep 14, 2001
2,969
2
81
height is a detriment to your longevity, but this is a little extreme

RIP

EDIT: Eh, I'm forgetting how doughy he was as a player. Looking at that picture (from 2001), he could have been pushing 400 there, who knows what he weighed recently.
 
rbV5

rbV5

Lifer
Dec 10, 2000
12,632
0
0
A huge man with a truely huge heart. :brokenheart:

I've got a large framed photo of Duck fighting a young Dikembe Mutombo for a rebound in my hallway, probably from the '92/'93 season (he was traded later that season) His weight was starting to affect his play by then, but in his prime, he was great, second to Walton, perhaps the best big man to ever play for the Blazers.

He was a great guy and everyone loved Duck around here. The whole city is in mourning. They showed a pic of him earlier in the day he passed away, and there he was with that affectionate grin posing with a couple kids.

We loved the Duck, and he loved us back...he will truely be missed.

RIP big guy :(
 
Atomic Playboy

Atomic Playboy

Lifer
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
81
Class act all the way. He wasn't the best center by a long shot, but he more than made up for it by being one of the nicest guys to ever play in the NBA. RIP.
 
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