Chris Duhon
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Basketball, 1997-2013
Salmen HS/Duke/NBA
Inducted: 2024
Photo Courtesy of Duke Athletics.
Chris Duhon rose to the highest level of basketball, playing in over 600 games in an NBA career that lasted nine seasons. Prior to that, he established himself as an all-time great at Duke University, graduating as the second-winningest player in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He first landed on the national radar as a legendary player at Slidell’s Salmen High School – he shattered most of the school’s records and he was recognized as the McDonald’s National High School Basketball Player of the Year. But before all of the accolades, he was just another youngster learning in the playgrounds and parks of New Orleans, though great mentors and a relentless drive pushed him to the top of the game.
Thanks to a foundation and lessons from a line of influential coaches, Duhon not only accomplished his dreams, but he also learned life lessons which he hopes to pass onto the next generation of young athletes. In addition, he has earned a spot in the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.
“I have been so blessed to have had coaches who gave me the foundation I needed to success,” Duhon said. “They taught me to play the right way and showed me how to compete.”
His first inklings of his own abilities came at the youth level where he played at Joe Brown Park, Pradat Playground, and Goretti Park, in New Orleans East.
“Coach Charles Brimmer set the foundation for me in the parks and playgrounds,” Duhon said. “He took the time and taught us how to play every sport. I guess I was probably about 10 years old when I felt like basketball might be something I could be pretty good at.”
After moving from New Orleans East to Slidell in seventh grade, Duhon enrolled at Salmen High School where he would play for coaching legend Jay Carlin.
“Even at an early age, he had a great understanding of the game,” Carlin said. “He was a very coachable kid who knew it wasn’t all about him. He knew how to get his teammates involved while still doing his thing.”
He broke Salmen’s single-season scoring record twice and set the school’s all-time scoring mark with 2,699 points, including 855 points as a senior when he averaged 23 points, six rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He also averaged 23 points per game as a junior with 6.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game. A three-time all-state, all-parish, all-metro and all-district honoree, he was a Parade All-American, the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, and the National High School Player of the Year.
“When you talk about a student-athlete, that was Chris,” Carlin continued. “He was great student, a good teammate, and very coachable. A lot of kids might have D1 dreams, but don’t have D1 work-ethic. Chris had dreams and he was willing to put in the time and the effort and commitment to reach his potential.”
“Some of my best memories are traveling with our high school team – we played in Vegas, Florida, North Carolina,” Duhon said. “It was great to have a team like that and go up against great teams around the country. But one of my biggest regrets is that we didn’t win a state championship. With everything that Coach Carlin did for me, that is something I wish I could have provided for him. I still think we had the team to win it, things just didn’t bounce our way.”
With his elite high school résumé, he had the opportunity to pick essentially any college in the country. And Duke University and head coach Mike Krzyzewski won over the superstar point guard.
“When I saw Chris the first time, I said this kid is special, such a good athlete, and fast, and he could really defend,” Krzyzewski said. “Of course he could shoot and move the ball, but he could really defend. I loved him the first time I saw him. After meeting his mom (Vivian Harper), you love him even more. She’s fantastic.”
Photo Courtesy of Duke Athletics.
Duhon wasted little time establishing himself as a key player as a freshman on Duke’s 2001 NCAA Championship team, but he also learned that Duke wasn’t an environment to sit back and relax after finding success. Coach K was back on the road recruiting the next round of McDonald’s All-Americans.
“You couldn’t be complacent,” Duhon said. “And we relished the opportunity to practice against the best. All the practices were very competitive, and it made us compete more and that made us all better players.”
In his four-year career at Duke, the 6-1 guard scored 1,268 points with 819 assists (second all-time at Duke as of 2024), 489 rebounds and a school-record 301 steals (as of 2024). He also set the school-record with 4,813 career minutes played (second as of 2024). Duke’s record during Duhon’s career was 123-21 making him the second winningest player in ACC history (fourth as of 2024). In addition to the national championship, he helped the Blue Devils win three ACC Championships and make a Sweet Sixteen trip in 2003 and another Final Four run to cap his career in 2004. Duhon was a finalist for the 2004 Wooden Award, Naismith Award, and the Rupp Trophy.
“There was a standard that we had as a program, and then, there is a standard that [Coach K] has for you individually,” Duhon told WRAL Sports. “That was something that was very, very important for all of us because it just taught us kind of how life is. You’re not going to be given anything. You’re going to have to put in the work, put in the time, put in the dedication.”
“He’s an elite talent, that’s first,” Krzyzewski said. “He was a helluva competitor, never any excuses, he played hurt, he understood his importance to his team. You don’t know about the toughness and competitiveness of a kid until he’s playing for you. I’m not saying that surprised me from him, but even if you compete at high school and AAU, it’s different at high level college basketball and he could do that right away.”
Krzyzewski also relayed a story from the end of Duke’s 2001 national championship game which shows Duhon’s character.
“Chris had the ball at the end of the game, with us in the lead, we’re going to win and he just needs to dribble out the clock,” the legendary coach said. “During the year, [All-American superstar] Jason Williams had talked about his dream being to win the national championship and have the ball at the end of the game and throw it up [at the buzzer]. Chris is just a freshman and he has the ball and I watched him throw that ball to Jason so Jason could do that. He remembered what Jason had said. Chris is a good guy; he was a really good guy to coach.”
Photo Courtesy of Duke Athletics.
Following his collegiate career, Duhon was selected in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He started 73 games as a rookie, helping the Bulls return to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since Michael Jordan’s retirement in 1998.
But he wasn’t done learning and evolving, as a player and a person. After helping the Bulls to three playoff appearances, he wasn’t pleased with his playing time in 2007-08.
“I needed to learn how to continue to be professional, that you can only control what you can control,” he said. “I needed to learn to be a great teammate and continue to work, no matter what else was happening. Every time you’re out there, you’re auditioning for every single team. You need to be professional and always work on your craft.”
Duhon would go on to record his most productive season in 2008-09 with the New York Knicks when he scored 11.1 points per game to go with 7.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. On November 29, 2008, Duhon set a Knick’s single-game record with 22 assists in a game against the Golden State Warriors.
“The best thing [about playing in the NBA] is that you appreciate the hard work it took to get there,” he said. “And it’s one thing to be in the league and another to be able to stay in the league. Again, you’re going against the best in the world every single day, different styles, back-to-backs, and being able to compete at that level is an amazing feeling.”
Overall, he had a nine-year NBA career, seeing action in 606 career games with 319 starts. He scored 3,946 points with 2,690 assists, 1,364 rebounds and 471 steals.
In reflecting on his career, starting at an early age and going through high school, college and the pros, Duhon regularly references accountability.
“It means a lot; I was glad I was able to learn those things,” Duhon said. “Coach Brimmer gave me my start, then Coach Carlin really helped me take it to another level. And then Coach K helped me take it to an even higher level. Coach K is one of the greatest and accountability was big in our program.”
He also credits the likes of Scott Skiles, Stan Van Gundy, and Mike D’Antoni for continuing to help him develop as a player and a person at the professional level.
When his playing career wrapped up in 2013, Duhon moved into coaching, first at the college level and most recently in high school.
“As a high school coach, I understand the value of accountability even more now,” he said. “Not only for sports, but life in general. That’s one of the main things I try to preach to my players now.
“My main goal [as a coach] is to make basketball a great experience for everyone – for the one with opportunities to perhaps play in college and also for the kid who just likes to play basketball even if that may be the highest level he reaches. I hope to teach lessons that can help with any other field or career down the road. Control your attitude, have fun, compete, hold each other accountable – all qualities to become a good team.”
