He collapsed in his hotel room, and emergency services were unable to revive him. Duckworth died of heart failure on August 25, 2008 in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. His death was confirmed by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.
Pictures of him in retirement show a man of at least 350 pounds, usually sporting with a big grin, clearly leading a unhealthy lifestyle. Kevin Duckworth's Death A Grave Warning to Former Players Adi S Correspondent I September 1, 2008 Comments. Players bust their humps for decades, and once their goals are fulfilled, it's reasonable that they would want to take it easy. Duckworth was in town as part of a Trail Blazers group hosting a free children's basketball clinic. An autopsy Wednesday showed the cause of death was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure. He was 44. This is especially true considering the circumstances under which we lost Duck.Duckworth's case is one that has become more and more common as years pass—former professional athletes unable to take care of their bodies following retirement, and often paying the ultimate price.Prior to his death, it was obvious that Duckworth was not taking very good care of his himself.
He appeared to have gone into cardiac arrest, fire officials said. With the passing of former NBA center Kevin Duckworth earlier this week, fans of the NBA lost one of the embodiments of what the league wants its players to be like.Duckworth was a hard, worker whose dominance and perseverance on the court was matched only by his kindness and charity off the court.
In his playing days, Duckworth was listed 7'0 and 275 pounds. Once again, an unhealthy lifestyle led following a professional career led to an early death as Johnson was only 52 years old.It can be easy to understand how athletes let themselves go following their playing career. LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) – Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died while on a trip to the Oregon Coast to host a free basketball clinic. Johnson never had troubles with weight in his playing career, being a 6'4", 180-pound guard. Consider the death of former Sonics and Celtics guard Dennis Johnson last year. He was 44. This is understandable. Duckworth, 44, passed away Monday evening in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. An autopsy identified the cause of death as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure. Duckworth's passing is just one of many that could be prevented so long as former players can find a balance between active and retired life. From grade school to seasoned veterans, they train, diet, exercise, and work tirelessly to reach their goals. Paramedics worked on Duckworth for 30 minutes but he never regained consciousness. The culmination of all these factors was congestive heart failure of an already enlarged heart, at the age of only 44.Cases such as Duckworth's are not rare. However, those who knew him at the time of his death, when he was coaching the NBDL's Austin Toros, say that his weight had ballooned close to 300 pounds at that time.He collapsed of a heart attack following a Toros practice one day and was pronounced dead soon after. A good portion of that 275 pounds was muscle, as while Duck struggled with keeping his weight down during some portions of his career, he still possessed high-caliber strength and good quickness for somebody of his size, allowing him to become a two-time All-Star.However, by the twilight of his career, it became apparent that Kevin was truly having problems keeping his weight down, slowing down both literally and figuratively. During the 1994–95 season, during which he was reported to weigh 310 lbs, he was suspended indefinitely for not staying in good physical condition.He was a Heritage Ambassador for the Trail Blazers and was active in the community. He was pronounced dead at 10:23 p… Once they call their career quits, they are free to be regular people. And by regular people, I mean not having to work out daily and not sticking to a strict diet and exercise regimen.