However injuries limited him to just 39 games. Darryl Dawkins was once summoned in the Philadelphia 76ers' locker room to come meet a celebrity who wanted to meet the man known for dunking with backboard-breaking force. Some of you might say that Wilt Chamberlain was the first player drafted from high school. An autopsy was performed Friday and the cause as well as the manner of death are pending further forensic studies. Silver wanted to know how close the union was to rolling out its initiative and how the league could help expedite the process. The good-faith actions of current players were welcome news to retired veterans who have been rattled by the spate of cardiac-related deaths. Join to be notified of new content from Sports History Network, given to him by Stevie Wonder, and that nickname is Chocolate Thunder. Nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder," Dawkins played 13 seasons in the NBA after being drafted out of high school by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975. Darryl Dawkins - Wikidata Short on ego, long on kindness, Darryl always made time to speak with everyone . Darryl Dawkins, the NBA's legendary 'Chocolate Thunder,' dies at 58. . Dawkins resided along Glacier Court in South Whitehall Township. After Philadelphia won the next two games, the Nets won a decisive game 5 when Dawkins' defense on reigning MVP Moses Malone helped New Jersey overcome a late deficit to win their first playoff series. In his final season in the NBA, the Pistons won the NBA championship,[21] and Dawkins finally earned a championship ring.[22][23]. "[26] He named other dunks as well: the Rim Wrecker, the Go-Rilla, the Look Out Below, the In-Your-Face Disgrace, the Cover Your Head, the Yo-Mama, the Spine-Chiller Supreme, and the Greyhound Special (for the rare occasions when he went coast to coast). Although there is no concrete data linking basketball players who are large in stature to early death from cardiac distress, the prevailing opinion among many former NBA stars is there has to be a correlation. He also appears in NBA Live Mobile as a Legend based on his 19791980 season with the Sixers. Louis Dollagaray/Getty Images Twice, he broke backboards dunking in games. His first two seasons with the Nets were successful for both sides, as Dawkins experienced a career renaissance of sorts[7] and the Nets had their most successful seasons to that point. The Mercer County, N.J., prosecutor . Dawkins, 58, had a 14-year NBA career with four different teams. Simply put, Darryl Dawkins was belovedby his family, friends, former teammates and his fans all over the globe. We have black men from our league walking around with prostate cancer, and they don't even know it. August 27, 2015. . The next season, he poured in a career-high 16.8 points per game on .593 field-goal shooting and grabbed 6.7 rebounds per contest. We remember fondly not only his thunderous dunks, but more importantly his powerful presence and personality. Darryl Dawkins, the first NBA player ever to be drafted straight out of high school and a flamboyant personality and showman dunker, died at the age of 58, according to multiple reports. DECISION AND ORDER BRENDA K. SANNES Chief District Judge. Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. For weeks it was the only thing that basketball writers could talk about. But on this night when he shattered the backboard for the first time, he had a special name in mind. A Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest spokesperson confirmed to Comcast SportsNet that Dawkins died there on Thursday. "There are plenty of risk factors that contribute: increased body mass index, hypertension, family history. NBA Star Darryl Dawkins Died at 58 - news.amomama.com His death came less than three weeks before the Sixers community lost another former center in Moses Malone, who died Sept. 13, 2015, at age 60. Known for shattering two glass backboards in 1979 with explosive dunks, Dawkins, who got his nickname from musical great Stevie Wonder, averaged 12 points, 6.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game . Taylor Hawkins: Drugs found in body of late Foo Fighters drummer The club met the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and lost in seven games. Darryl Dawkins, known to fans as 'Chocolate Thunder,' dies at age 58 Darryl Dawkins - Wikipedia Some of you might say that Moses Malone was drafted out of high school a year before Dawkins. Roberts and her staff presented their vision of comprehensive screening for retirees to current players at their annual Las Vegas meeting in July. How many people have we seen in our lifetime who are big and really tall and are 70-something years old? They could have selected Leonardo DaVinci, Mozart, Einstein, Galileo, or George Washington. and just last year explained how Stevie Wonder gave him his famous nickname. Dawkins received a training camp invitation from the Orlando Magic for their inaugural season in 1989,[24] but he opted to play in Italy. The biggest surprise about Darryl Dawkinss death on Thursday is that it came at age 58. Darryl Dawkins, a high-scoring, big-dunking center who played the bulk of his 15-year NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, has died at the age of 58 . Darryl Dawkins dies at age 58 - ESPN.com . Lehigh Carbon Community College, where Dawkins coached for two seasons, says: "LCCC community is saddened by the passing of Philadelphia 76er legend and former LCCC basketball coach Darryl Dawkins. Injuries plagued him late in his NBA career, and he went overseas for several more years to play primarily in the Italian league. In a game against the Kansas City Kings at Municipal Auditorium on November 13, 1979, Dawkins broke the backboard, sending the Kings' Bill Robinzine ducking. We went up for the dunk and Doug Collins, his point guard, was already running away before the dunk was even completed. Anybody who causes a rule to change, or causes the league to install new equipment is a noteworthy player. Dawkins spent parts of 14 seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, New Jersey, Utah and Detroit. Longtime 76ers center Darryl Dawkins died Thursday at the age of 58. The former basketball star was pronounced dead at 11:19 a.m. Thursday in Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, according to Lehigh County Chief Deputy Coroner Andrew Kehm. [3], In a surprise move, Dawkins opted to directly enter the NBA draft out of high school instead of attending college. Following his NBA career, Dawkins had a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters, followed by a season spent with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the Continental Basketball Association in the 199596 season. Bucks", "To the New Jersey Nets, there's no place like the road", "1984 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 6: Milwaukee Bucks at New Jersey Nets", "Utah Gets Dawkins and Turpin in a Three-Team Trade", "Jazz Trade Dawkins For Piston Draft Picks", "When "Chocolate Thunder" wore a Pistons uniform", "NBA's 'Chocolate Thunder' Darryl Dawkins dies at 58", "Magic Set 1st Game Pistons Will Be Foe In Arena On Oct. 13", NBA & ABA Single Season Leaders and Records for Personal Fouls, "Kelly Dawkins' Death Called Apparent Suicide", "Darryl Dawkins: To Lehigh Carbon Community College, by way of Planet Lovetron", "People of all levels remember 76ers legend Darryl Dawkins at viewing", Career Statistics at basketball-reference.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darryl_Dawkins&oldid=1136782345, American Basketball Association (2000present) coaches, American expatriate basketball people in Italy, National Basketball Association high school draftees, Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball), Participants in American reality television series, Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 03:03. Frustrated with the team's inability to handle Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sixers management traded Dawkins to the New Jersey Nets and Caldwell Jones to the Houston Rockets for Moses Malone, who helped Philadelphia win the NBA championship the following year. Dawkins grew up in Orlando, Florida and made history as the first player to be drafted to the NBA directly out of . Seventeen days later, Moses Malone, who had spent the weekend enjoying the annual Hall of Fame festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts, was found dead in a hotel room in Norfolk, Virginia. We don't want to lose another player before [taking action].". Across town, National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts mourned the player she celebrated as a young basketball fan growing up in the Bronx. In September 1986, Dawkins eloped with Kelly Barnes of Trenton, New Jersey. In the second game of the series, Dawkins got into a fight with Maurice Lucas, resulting in both players being ejected. 'Chocolate Thunder,' dies at 58. Once he became a regular starter the home announcer in Philadelphia was in a bit of a dilemma because when the starters are announced in the NBA, they include which university the player came from. His final choices for college were Kentucky, Kansas, and Florida State. Darryl Dawkins, NBA Dunk Legend, Dead at 58 - Rolling Stone She was pronounced dead on arrival at Mercer Medical Center. The Houston Rockets were looking to move the reigning League MVP, Moses Malone, and Philadelphia had a chance to get him. Dawkins was as revered off the court as he was on it. Following his retirement from the NBA, Dawkins - nicknamed Chocolate Thunder by Stevie Wonder - coached the American Basketball Association's Newark Express and the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs, which played in the Lehigh Valley as part of the now-defunct United States Basketball League. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Dawkins averaged 25.8 points and 12 rebounds and led a talent-laden Evans team to a state championship in his senior year at Evans. #chocolate thunder, A photo posted by Dwight Howard (@dwighthoward) on Aug 27, 2015 at 12:31pm PDT. The names you came up with were creative and on point. Legendary Sixers center Darryl Dawkins dies at 58 'Chocolate Thunder' will always have a special place in our hearts.". Former 76ers star Allen Iverson tweeted: Condolences to the family of Darryl Dawkins, a great man!
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