LINCOLN CITY, Ore. -- 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.
The Lincoln County sheriff's office confirmed the death. He died Monday.
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.
"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.
The Blazers said he was representing the team on a 19-city tour of Oregon.
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 Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey on two Western Conference championship teams. Duckworth was named the NBA's Most Improved Player in his second year in the league.
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.
The cause of death was to be determined by a medical examiner.
Police: Duckworth had enlarged heart, high blood pressure
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon officials said an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed.
Duckworth died Monday at the age of 44 on the Oregon coast, where he was on a goodwill tour for the team.
Oregon state police said Wednesday the autopsy was done by Dr. Larry Lewman, a state medical examiner who concluded that Duckworth died of "hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure."
The police statement said the heart disease had combined with high blood pressure to result in "marked enlargement of his heart which had been failing for some time."
