Chris Dudley 14

Position: Center Born: 2/22/65 Height: 6-11 / 2m 11cm Weight: 260 lbs. / 117.9kg College - Yale '87

STORY Rugged center Chris Dudley is consistently one of the NBA's best rebounders and shotblockers--and one of its worst free throw shooters. Although his inside play has been crucial to playoff teams in both New Jersey and Portland, Dudley is perhaps best known for the awkward free throw motion that has produced a .461 career percentage. After playing high school ball at Solana Beach, California, Dudley attended Yale, following his parents, grandfather and uncle at the prestigious Ivy League school. In four years at Yale he averaged 12.7 points and 9.5 rebounds and was a three-time First Team All-Ivy League selection. He led his team in scoring and rebounding in his junior and senior seasons, and he finished second all-time at Yale in rebounding. As a senior, Dudley averaged 17.8 points and 13.3 rebounds and was second in the nation in rebounding behind Pittsburgh's Jerome Lane. Only the sixth Yale graduate ever drafted, Dudley was taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth round (75th pick overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft. He served as a backup to Brad Daugherty in his first two seasons. Midway through the 1989-90 season he was traded to the New Jersey Nets for two draft choices. Although Dudley established himself as a strong figure in the post, his foul shooting problems did not help his cause. In 1988-89 he shot .364 from the line on 39-of-107 shooting; in 1989-90 he posted a .319 free throw percentage (58-of-182). Since then he has shot between .446 and .535 from the stripe in each season. Dudley drew more than 20 starting assignments in each of his next two seasons with New Jersey (1990-91 and 1991-92). He ranked among the league leaders in blocked shots both years while averaging a combined 8.7 rebounds, despite splitting time in the pivot with Sam Bowie. In 1992-93 Dudley was named the Nets' Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after averaging a remarkable 7.2 rebounds and 1.45 blocked shots in only 19.7 minutes per game. A foot injury kept him out of the playoffs that season. Dudley became a free agent in 1993 and signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. His first season with the Blazers was a washout, as he fractured his left ankle early in the 1993-94 campaign and missed all but six games. He bounced back to start all 82 games for Portland in 1994-95 and ranked 17th in the league in both rebounding (a career-high 9.3 rpg) and shotblocking (1.54 blocks per game). His 325 offensive rebounds represented the third-highest total in the league. Dudley had another strong season for Portland in 1995-96, splitting time in the pivot with star rookie Arvydas Sabonis and leading the team in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocked shots (1.25 bpg), ranking among the top 25 in the NBA in both categories. He played the same role in 1996-97, sharing time in the pivot with Sabonis and averaging 7.3 rebounds and 1.19 blocks to rank second on the club in both categories behind the Lithuanian center. In the summer of 1997 Dudley exercised an opt-out clause in his contract to become a free agent, then re-signed with the Blazers only to be traded to New York in a three-way deal that also involved Toronto on October 10, 1997. He played in 51 games for the Knicks, making 22 starts in place of an injured Patrick Ewing, but missed the season's final 28 games due to a fractured fifth metatarsal of the right foot.

PERSONAL - Donated $100,000 to Yale, his alma mater, during the 1996-97 season to create an endowment to help fund the school's basketball program - Honored in the cable TV program "Heroes America" for his charitble contributions to diabetic young people - Earned one of USA Today's "Most Caring Athlete" awards for 1996 - Enjoys sailing, weightlifting, swimming, reading and travel - Loves football and baseball, and his favorite player growing up was Mike Schmidt - His grandfather, Guilford Dudley, served as ambassador to Denmark under Presidents Nixon and Ford CHRIS DUDLEY Pictures Stats Multimedia

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

- Ended the 1997-98 season needing one offensive rebound to reach 2,000th in his career
- Grabbed a 1997-98 season-high 13 rebounds against the Boston Celtics on 1/19/98
- Led the Blazers in blocked shots (1.19 bpg) for the second consecutive season in 1996-97 and ranked 2nd in rebounding (7.3 rpg)
- Scored a 1996-97 season-high 12 points against the Toronto Raptors on 1/28/97 and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls on 2/4/97
- Named the winner of the 1995-96 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
- Led the Nets in blocked shots in 1990-91 (2.51 bpg, 5th in the NBA) and in 1991-92 (2.18 bpg)
- Scored a career-high 20 points, for the Nets, against the New York Knicks on 3/2/91
- Has appeared in 31 career NBA Playoff games, averaging 2.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 14.8 mpg

TRANSACTIONS

- Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth round (75th pick overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft. Traded by the Cavaliers to the New Jersey Nets for 1991 and 1993 second-round draft choices on 2/21/90. Signed as a free agent by the Portland Trail Blazers on 8/3/93. Contract disallowed by NBA on 8/5/93. Contract upheld by NBA special master on 9/2/93. Traded by the Trail Blazers to the New York Knicks in a three-way deal with the Toronto Raptors for a lottery-protected first-round draft choice in 1998 future second round draft choice on 10/10/97.

STATISTICS

Career Stats								REBOUNDS
YEAR	TEAM	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DFF	TOT	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
87-88	Cle	55	1	9.3	.474	--	.563	1.3	1.3	2.6	0.4	0.24	0.35	3.1
88-89	Cle	61	2	8.9	.435	.000	.364	1.2	1.4	2.6	0.3	0.15	0.38	3.0
89-90	Cle-Nj	64	30	21.2	.411	--	.319	2.7	3.9	6.6	0.6	0.64	1.13	5.5
90-91	Nj	61	25	25.6	.408	--	.534	3.8	4.6	8.4	0.6	0.64	2.51	7.1
91-92	Nj	82	21	23.2	.403	--	.468	4.2	4.8	9.0	0.7	0.46	2.18	5.6
92-93	Nj	71	16	19.7	.353	--	.518	3.0	4.2	7.2	0.2	0.24	1.45	3.5
93-94	Por	6	3	14.3	.240	--	.500	2.7	1.3	4.0	0.8	0.67	0.50	2.3
94-95	Por	82	82	27.4	.406	.000	.464	4.0	5.4	9.3	0.4	0.52	1.54	5.5
95-96	Por	80	61	24.1	.453	.000	.510	3.0	6.0	9.0	0.5	0.51	1.25	5.1
96-97	Por	81	14	22.7	.430	--	.474	2.5	4.8	7.3	0.5	0.48	1.19	3.9
97-98	Ny	51	22	16.8	.406	--	.446	2.1	3.3	5.4	0.4	0.25	1.00	3.1
98-99	Ny	46	16	14.9	.440	--	.475	1.7	2.5	4.2	0.2	0.28	0.83	2.5
Career		740	293	20.2	.414	.000	.462	2.8	4.0	6.8	0.5	0.42	1.30	4.5
Playoff		49	14	15.4	.408	--	.438	1.6	2.8	4.4	0.3	0.47	0.55	2.3

SEASON AND CAREER-HIGHS

Season and Career-Highs
	1998-99 HIGHS		CAREER HIGHS
Points	10	@ Wizards, 4/14/99	20	vs. Knicks, 3/2/91
Field Goals Made	5	@ Wizards, 4/14/99	7	8 Times
Field Goals Attempted	8	vs. Hornets, 3/14/99	16	2 Times
Three point Field Goals Made	None		None
Three point Field Goals Attempted	None		1	3 Times
Free Throws Made	4	vs. Magic, 3/18/99	9	@ Warriors, 3/10/92
Free Throws Attempted	5	vs. Hawks, 3/22/99	18	vs. Pacers, 4/14/90
Offensive Rebounds	7	vs. Hornets, 3/14/99	13	vs. Knicks, 3/1/92
Defensive Rebounds	8	vs. Magic, 3/18/99	13	3 Times
Total Rebounds	13	vs. Hornets, 3/14/99	21	2 Times
Assists	2	@ Pacers, 4/4/99	4	4 Times
Steals	2	2 Times	4	@ Bucks, 4/21/90
Blocks	4	vs. Sixers, 4/13/99	7	vs. Bucks, 4/3/92
Minutes Played	33	vs. Hornets, 3/14/99	48	vs. Lakers, 1/25/91