Kevin Duckworth Former Blazers center 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.

An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office found that former Portland Trail Blazer Kevin Duckworth died this week of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure.

Cardiomyopathy is a primary disease of heart muscle that, along with Duckworth's high blood pressure, resulted in enlargement of his heart, which had been failing for some time.

The Lincoln County sheriff's office confirmed the death on August 24, 2008 .

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.

Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth, a "gentle giant" with a feathery touch from the paint, has died.
Duckworth, part of a Trail Blazers goodwill tour, was scheduled to hold a basketball clinic on the Oregon coast when he died Monday night. The Depoe Bay Fire Department said it responded about 10 p.m. to a report of a man who was down and not breathing at Salishan Lodge at Gleneden Beach, north of Newport on the central coast.

Phoenix Suns coach Terry Porter, who played with Duckworth. Said "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."

"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.Porter said Duckworth had battled weight problems recently.

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 Porter, Clyde Drexler, Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey on two Western Conference championship teams.

Duckworth remained in the Portland area after he retired in 1997, doing woodwork, fishing and hunting. He ran a construction company in Northern California for a time, and a restaurant venture in Vancouver, Wash., with former NBA player Kermit Washington went out of business.