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Walter Dukes
	Dukes in 1954
Personal information
Born	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 the 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
	2× NBA All-Star (1960, 1961); Consensus first-team All-American (1953); Haggerty Award winner (1953); No. 5 retired by Seton Hall Pirates;
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 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

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

Source^[5]

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