Walter Dukes

Walter Dukes
Dukes in 1954
Personal information
Born(1930-06-23)June 23, 1930
Rochester, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 13, 2001 (aged 70)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast (Rochester, New York)
CollegeSeton Hall (1950–1953)
NBA draft1953: territorial pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1953–1969
PositionCenter
Number6, 24, 14, 23
Career history
1953–1955Harlem Globetrotters
1955–1956New York Knicks
1956–1957Minneapolis Lakers
19571963Detroit Pistons
1963–1964Camden Bullets
1964–1967Trenton Colonials
1967–1968Asbury Park Boardwalkers
1968–1969Scranton Miners
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points5,765 (10.4 ppg)
Rebounds6,223 (11.3 rpg)
Assists608 (1.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Walter F. Dukes (June 23, 1930 – March 13, 2001) was a center for the New York Knicks (1955–1956), Minneapolis Lakers (1956–1957) and Detroit Pistons (1957–1963). He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.

Born in Rochester, New York, Dukes moved to South Orange, New Jersey, and played high school basketball at Seton Hall Preparatory School, before attending Seton Hall University. He graduated from New York Law School in 1960.[1]

Dukes helped the Lakers win the 1956–57 NBA Western Division in his second season. While with the Pistons, he was named to the 1960 and 1961 NBA All-Star West Teams. Dukes averaged double figures in rebounds in six of his eight seasons in the NBA, and had career averages of 11.3 rebounds per game and 10.4 points per game.

Dukes led the NBA in personal fouls in 1958 (311) and 1959 (332) and led the NBA in disqualifications four consecutive seasons between 1958–59 and 1961–62[2] — still an NBA record. His 121 career disqualifications (in only eight seasons) rank second in the NBA to Vern Mikkelsen, and he holds the record for the highest career percentage of games fouled out (21.9%) for any player with over 400 games played.[3]

On March 14, 2001, Dukes was found dead in his apartment in Detroit, Michigan. According to a police spokesman, he had been dead for about a month when his body was found. He died of natural causes, aged 70.[4]

Career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  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

[edit]

Source[5]

Regular season

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1955–56 New York 60 21.5 .403 .708 7.4 .7 7.8
1956–57 Minneapolis 71 26.3 .364 .689 11.2 .8 10.1
1957–58 Detroit 72* 30.3 .349 .675 13.3 .7 11.2
1958–59 Detroit 72* 32.5 .352 .657 13.3 .9 13.0
1959–60 Detroit 66 32.4 .361 .740 13.4 1.2 15.2
1960–61 Detroit 73 28.0 .405 .703 14.1 1.9 11.7
1961–62 Detroit 77 24.6 .396 .715 10.4 1.6 9.4
1962–63 Detroit 62 14.7 .325 .737 5.8 .9 4.3
Career 553 26.5 .369 .700 11.3 1.1 10.4
All-Star 2 1 21.5 .313 .667 9.5 1.0 6.0

Playoffs

[edit]
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1957 Minneapolis 5 35.4 .421 .741 14.8 1.0 13.6
1958 Detroit 7 40.9 .366 .661 13.9 .6 15.9
1959 Detroit 3 37.7 .500 .765 13.3 1.0 14.3
1960 Detroit 2 39.0 .516 .727 16.5 1.0 24.0
1961 Detroit 5 30.4 .377 .556 9.8 2.2 10.0
1962 Detroit 10 34.7 .429 .754 13.8 2.4 12.4
1963 Detroit 3 2.7 1.000 .3 .7 1.0
Career 35 33.2 .416 .711 12.3 1.5 12.8

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Goldstein, Richard. "Walter Dukes, 70, a Standout At Seton Hall and in the N.B.A.", The New York Times, March 16, 2001. Accessed November 2, 2007. "A native of Rochester, Dukes moved to South Orange, N.J., in 1948 to attend Seton Hall Prep."
  2. ^ The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 379. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.
  3. ^ "nba.com: Regular Season Records: Miscellaneous – Series". NBA.com. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  4. ^ "ESPN: Dukes remembered as Seton Hall's best". Retrieved August 26, 2007.
  5. ^ "Walter Dukes NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2023.