(born Sep. 20, 1950) Dave Twardzik worked his way into the hearts of Oregonians as a scrappy guard, who started for the 1977 Trail Blazers NBA Champion 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 was selected by the Blazers in the ’72 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 All-Star in 1975, and signed with Portland shortly after the NBA and ABA merged in 1976.  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.

Following the 1977 title season, Twardzik played three more seasons in Portland and retired 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 general manager of the Orlando Magic.

Twardzik was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.