Por Redaccion Unicaja completes its exterior line-up with the signing of Chris Duarte (1.96 meters, 28 years old) for the next two seasons, with the option to extend the contract for one more season. He is a shooting guard with experience in the NBA, where he has played from 2021 to 2025 for the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Chicago Bulls.
Currently, Duarte plays for the Bayamón Cowboys in the Puerto Rican league, where he has averaged 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He was also included in the league’s ideal five for the season. He is now gearing up for the playoffs in the Puerto Rican competition. As an international player for the Dominican Republic, he will not occupy a non-EU spot as he has a Cotonou license.
Chris Duarte is a highly talented player with a strong scoring ability, which led to him being selected as the 13th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. In his first year in the NBA, he was named to the All-Rookie Second Team for the 2021-22 season after averaging 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1 steal in 55 games. It’s worth noting that he holds the record for the best debut by a rookie in the history of the Indiana Pacers, scoring 27 points in his first game with the team.
In his second season with the Pacers, he averaged 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in just 19 minutes of play, also making appearances with the Indiana Mad Ants in the NBA G League. The following season, 2023-24, he signed with the Sacramento Kings, where he played 59 games with an average of 12.2 minutes per game.
His last season in the NBA was with the Chicago Bulls. In the iconic Illinois franchise, he had less playing time, ending his American journey in the NBA G League with the Windy City Bulls, where he averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in two games.
After leaving the Chicago Bulls last February, he signed with the Bayamón Cowboys in Puerto Rico until the end of the season, where he has been one of the top players in the league, currently competing in the playoffs for the title since July 3.
Duarte’s quality was evident during his college years, playing for Northwest Florida State Raiders and Oregon Ducks. In his last two seasons at Oregon, his growth was remarkable.
He was awarded the Jerry West 2021 trophy as the best college shooting guard in the country, thanks to his impressive stats. Duarte averaged 17.1 points with a 53.2% field goal percentage and a 42.4% 3-point shooting percentage.
Representing his country, the Dominican Republic, Duarte excelled in the 2022-23 World Cup qualification window in America (15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists) and in the Qualification Tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics held in Athens (19 points, 4 rebounds, 2.7 assists).
It’s worth mentioning that Duarte has a previous connection with Málaga, as he shared the court with Domantas Sabonis for 2 seasons, 1 with the Indiana Pacers and 1 with the Sacramento Kings, forming a personal and family bond with the Sabonis family during this time.
With this addition, Unicaja adds talent on both ends of the court to their perimeter with a complete player who has proven himself at the highest level.
Welcome, Chris!