Dave Twardzik (born September 20, 1950) played his way into the hearts of Oregonians as the scrappy point guard who started for the 1977 Trail Blazers NBA Championship team.
Twardzik grew up in Pennsylvania and played at Old Dominion University, an NCAA Div. II school at the time. He helped the team to the 1971 NCAA Tournament title game and is considered to be the best player in ODU history.
Dave was selected by the Blazers in the 1972 NBA Draft but chose to play for the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. In his first season, he played alongside Julius Erving and George Gervin. Twardzik was an ABA All-Star in 1975. When the ABA merged with the NBA, the Squires folded, and Dave became a Trail Blazer.
In Portland, he became part of the team’s memorable pack of guard-forwards along with Bob Gross, Lionel Hollins and Larry Steele – a group that backed up a frontline of Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas. That was the lineup coached by Jack Ramsay that would win the 1977 title give birth to Blazermania.
Twardzik was the perfect combo of ball-handing and defense on the floor. He and Hollins led the team in steals and Dave became starting point guard his very first year. Following the championship season, Twardzik played three more seasons in Portland and retired in 1980 with career averages of 9.3 points and 3.4 assists per game. He became a coach and then executive with several NBA teams, including assistant general manager of the Orlando Magic. Dave was worked in broadcasting with the Trail Blazers and his alma mater, Old Dominion.
Dave Twardzik’s #13 has been retired by the Trail Blazers. He is a member of the Virgina Sports Hall of Fame.