EVEN KAREEM DIDN'T WANT NONE OF THE DUCKWORTH PATENTED SOFT TOUCH!
LINCOLN CITY, Ore – Former Portland Trailblazers Center Kevin Duckworth was found dead at a lodge in Oregon. The cause of death was to be determined by a medical examiner but the Lincoln County sheriff’s office said there was no indication of foul play.
Hailing from Chi-town, Duckworth played college ball at Eastern Illionois University before being drafted by the Spurs in the 1986 NBA draft. Kevin was an intregal part of the Blazers NBA Finals teams in 1990 and 1992. The 7-foot Duckworth averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 11 seasons in the NBA. The two-time All-Star also played for San Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers.
As a young basketball fan, I admired Duckworth’s game in the paint. His trademark box fade with the widows peak will live in infamy. I can recall playing Tecmo basketball on Nintendo with the Blazers and Duckworth, along with Drexler, and Porter helped me to be a beast at that game in the 90’s. I am still a beast today in 2k8, just find me on-line and I will give you the business.
During Duckworth’s playing days, Portland had one of the more balanced teams in the League. Porter ran point and buried 3’s from anywhere, Drexler had a sick all around game. Jerome Kersey was the other enforcer down low. They even had a young Cliff Robinson, who went on to play almost 19 years in the NBA. They just could not get past Magic and the Lakers, or Jordan with the Bulls…but what team really could beat the Lakers and Bulls at that time anyway?
“Within the world of basketball, within those Trail Blazers teams, he was a jokester,” said Phoenix Suns coach Terry Porter, who played with Duckworth. “He was a big loving teddy bear. At times guys got frustrated because he didn’t have a mean streak. He was just a great guy. He loved the team atmosphere, loved being a teammate in those successful Blazer teams.“
August 2008 has taken away alot of talented people; Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Julius Carry III, and now Kevin Duckworth. All true NBA fans will all miss the gentle giant Kevin Duckworth. My prayers go out to him and his family.
