Tracing former Blazers All-Star Kermit Washington’s fall from grace
Washington was an All-Star for the Portland Trail Blazers in 1980 when he averaged a double-double over 80 games.
Kermit Washington made the NBA All-Star team as a Portland Trail Blazers player during the 1979-1980 season. But he’ll most likely be remembered for just two things.
First, he almost killed the Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich with a punch. And second, he’s on his way to prison.
On Monday, a court sentenced Washington to six years in federal prison. According to reports, Washington spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity donations on vacations, shopping sprees and plastic surgery for his girlfriend.”
Washington must also pay almost $970,000 in restitution.
It’s worth reading the full AP story to get the lowdown on all the details, including a plea deal in which Washington admitted to diverting charity money to his own pocket.
‘The Punch’
Born in Washington, D.C., Kermit Washington played basketball at American University. He was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers with the fifth overall pick in the 1973 NBA Draft.
During a Dec. 9, 1977, game, the Lakers and Rockets started fighting. In the melee, Rockets’ forward Rudy Tomjanovich ran toward Washington, who turned and punched “Rudy T.” The impact was devastating. Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said it sounded “like a melon had been dropped on the floor.”
The punch, according to a story by ABC News, was “akin to being thrown from a car going 50 miles per hour.” It dislocated Tomjanovich’s skull, and spinal fluid leaked from his brain.
The league fined Washington $10,000 and suspended him without pay for 60 games.
The two men have since reconciled. Rudy T went on to coach the Houston Rockets to two straight NBA titles in 1994 and 1995.
Washington and the Blazers
In addition to the Lakers, Washington played for the Celtics and the then-San Diego Clippers before being traded to Portland in 1979.
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It was during the 1979-1980 season that Washington made the All-Star Game as a Portland Trail Blazer. Here’s what we wrote about Washington in a recap of every Blazers All-Star in franchise history:
"Washington played three years in Portland; he made an incredibly high percentage of his shots while wearing the Blazers uniform, and he was a prodigious rebounder. And during his 1979-1980 All-Star season, he averaged 13.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game."
Injuries ultimately derailed Washington’s career. He retired from basketball in 1982, although he attempted a comeback with the Golden State Warriors in 1987. (He played in just six games.)
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Washington’s post-NBA career included work as a restaurateur and as an operator of charitable organizations. He was also a basketball coach and a regional rep for the National Basketball Players Association. “The Punch,” however, followed him everywhere.
In 2016, prosecutors filed charges against Washington for embezzling half a million dollars from a charity set up to help children in Africa. He pled guilty in December 2017.