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Kevin Duckworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kevin Jerome Duckworth, aka The Duck (born April 1, 1964 in Harvey, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player at center in the National Basketball Association, most notably a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Duckworth attended Eastern Illinois University, and was drafted with the ninth pick in the 2nd round of the 1986 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. All throughout college and early on in his professional career, he experienced weight problems. Later that season, he was traded to Portland for disgruntled rookie Walter Berry.
His rookie season was unspectacular, as Duckworth came off the bench to back up center Steve Johnson (who in turn got the starting center position when Sam Bowie suffered a broken leg). However, the next season Johnson went down with an injury (in addition; Bowie broke his leg again at the beginning of the season), and Duckworth was pushed into the starting role, where he averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Duckworth, who had previously never averaged over 70.0 percent from the free throw line, shot 77.0% that year - earning him the 1988 NBA Most Improved Player Award. The following season, Duckworth improved his averages to 18.1 points and eight rebounds per game, and was named to the Western Conference All-Star team. After the 1988-89 campaign, Bowie was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Buck Williams. Johnson, who was at the end of his career, was left unprotected in the 1989 expansion draft, allowing Duckworth to start at center.
The 1990 and 1991 seasons were also successful for Duckworth and the Blazers. Although 1988-89 was statistically Duckworth's best season; the team enjoyed greater success the in the following years; advancing to the NBA Finals in 1990, and posting a 63-19 record in the 1990-1991season. The presence of Williams as the starting power forward, whose main assignment was rebounding, allowed Duckworth to concentrate on his offensive game. In 1991 Duckworth was also selected as an NBA All-Star for a second time.
Duckworth's production began to slip in the 1991-1992 campaign, as his physical conditioning (a problem which dogged him for his entire career, even in his most productive seasons he carried quite a bit of weight) deteriorated somewhat. Duckworth was outplayed in the 1992 NBA Finals, and was even less productive in the following season (in which the Blazers failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs). At the end of the 1992-93 season, Duckworth was traded to the Washington Bullets for forward Harvey Grant.
Duckworth played four more seasons in the NBA, two for the Bullets, one for the Milwaukee Bucks (though he missed most of the year due to injury), and one for the Los Angeles Clippers in 1996-97. He retired from professional basketball after that season.
As of 2005, Duckworth maintains a home in the Portland area.