Walter Dukes

Walter Dukes

Dukes in 1954
Personal information
Born	(1930-06-23)June 23, 1930 Rochester, New York,U.S.
Died	March 13, 2001 (aged 70) Detroit, Michigan,U.S.
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	East(Rochester, New York)
College	Seton Hall(1950–1953)
NBA draft	1953:territorial pick
Selected by theNew York Knicks
Playing career	1953–1969
Position	Center
Number	6, 24, 14, 23
Career history
1953–1955	Harlem Globetrotters
1955–1956	New York Knicks
1956–1957	Minneapolis Lakers
1957–1963	Detroit Pistons
1963–1964	Camden Bullets
1964–1967	Trenton Colonials
1967–1968	Asbury Park Boardwalkers
1968–1969	Scranton Miners
Career highlights and awards
2×NBA All-Star(1960,1961) Consensus first-teamAll-American(1953) Haggerty Awardwinner (1953) No. 5retired by Seton Hall Pirates
Career NBA statistics
Points	5,765 (10.4 ppg)
Rebounds	6,223 (11.3 rpg)
Assists	608 (1.1 apg)
Statsat NBA.com
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com

Walter F. Dukes(June 23, 1930 – March 13, 2001) was a center for theNew York Knicks(1955–1956),Minneapolis Lakers(1956–1957) andDetroit Pistons(1957–1963). He playedcollege basketballfor theSeton Hall Pirates.

Born inRochester, New York,Dukes moved toSouth Orange, New Jersey,and playedhigh school basketballatSeton Hall Preparatory School,before attendingSeton Hall University.He graduated fromNew York Law Schoolin 1960.

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— still an NBA record. His 121 career disqualifications (in only eight seasons) rank second in the NBA toVern 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.

On March 14, 2001, Dukes was found dead in his apartment inDetroit,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.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goalpercentage	3P%	3-point field goalpercentage	FT%	Free throwpercentage
RPG	Reboundsper game	APG	Assistsper game	SPG	Stealsper game
BPG	Blocksper game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

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