Chris Dudley, formerly of the Portland Trail Blazers
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PORTLAND, UNITED STATES: Minnesota Timberwolves Chauncey Billups (C) makes a pass around the Portland Trail Blazers Chris Dudley (L) during the second quarter of their game in Portland, Oregon, 30 December 2001. AFP PHOTO/JOHN GRESS (Photo credit should read JOHN GRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
Chris Dudley, a former NBA player of 16 years including six over two stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, has announced plans to run for the position of governor of Oregon. And not for the first time.
After retiring as a player in 2003, Dudley transitioned into business and later politics, previously serving as the Republican nominee for governor of Oregon in 2010. He won the Republican Party primary, but lost the final gubernatorial race to the incumbent Democratic Governor, John Kitzhaber, by the smallest possible margin of 49%-48%. With Kitzhaber long gone, however, the next election in November of this year will again have Dudley in it – hoping to go at least 2% better.
One-Time Blazers Starting Center
Dudley played 16 NBA seasons from 1987 to 2003, appearing in 886 regular-season games and starting 331 of them. He was a regular starter for the Blazers for two years from 1994 to 1996, peaking in the 1994-95 season, when he averaged 5.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. For his career, Dudley would go on to average 3.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and was best known for rebounding (particularly on the offensive end), interior defense and physicality.
Dudley’s role in the NBA was to serve as a tough, defensive-minded post player in the era where Extremely Large Humans were at a premium – even if they could not so much catch and finish around the basket on the offensive end. In all, Dudley played for five franchises, including two stints with the Blazers during the 1990s upon returning to finish his career. He never averaged double-digit scoring, and retired with a 41.2% career field goal percentage that is remarkably poor from a paint-exclusive center, but he consistently ranked among league leaders in rebounding efficiency.
Dudley’s impressive hardiness and durability was fruther heightened by the fact that he is a Type-1 diabetic. He was the first player with that impediment to ever play in the NBA – and proudly claims to have never missed a game or a practice because of it.
Lowlights, But Never Embarrassed
Mostly coincident with Dudley’s late career, especially his time with the New York Knicks, were the prime years of Shaquille O’Neal. And Shaq was so good that the entire league adjusted around him. This meant plenty of work for the likes of Dudley, whose size could body up Shaq in the paint, and whose offensive irrelevance meant they did not need to ration their fouls. This willingness to body up Shaq did however lead to the rather ungainly and oft-repeated spectacle of the time Shaq eviscerated Dudley as though he was not even there, leading a furious Dudley to throw the most accurate pass of his life.
Another famous Dudley lowlight came when he set a record for missed free throws. Even worse from the line than Shaq, Dudley’s career 45.8% free throw percentage was significantly worsened in an April 1990 game against the Indiana Pacers, when he missed 13 consecutive foul shots, including an air ball. Overall, he would finish 1-18.
Nevertheless, despite this obvious weakness in his game never being resolved, Dudley added value in the areas where he could and played a long career as a result. He managed to be involved in trades for both Patrick Ewing and Stephon Marbury, did slow Shaq down a bit except for that one time, and put together a long and respectable career despite his body’s best efforts to truncate it. Now, he looks once again to apply that same resolve to the world of politics.