 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 |
| Drafted by | New 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 | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,765 (10.4 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,223 (11.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 608 (1.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
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 basketball for theSeton Hall Pirates.
Born inRochester, New York, Dukes moved toSouth Orange, New Jersey, and playedhigh school basketball atSeton Hall Preparatory School, before attendingSeton Hall University. He graduated fromNew 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 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.[3]
Dukes played in theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) for theCamden Bullets,Trenton Colonials,Asbury Park Boardwalkers andScranton Miners from 1963 to 1969.[4] He won anEPBL championship with the Bullets in 1964.[5]
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.[6]
| 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 |
Source[7]
| 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 | |
| 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 | |