August 27, 2015. . Maurice Lucas, Basketball "Enforcer," Dead from Bladder Cancer The Commissioner at the time was Larry OBrien. "It's too close to home," former star center Bob Lanier said. There were also two rookies tearing up the league at the same time by the names of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. (Reuters) - Former National Basketball Association star Darryl Dawkins, known as "Chocolate Thunder" for his powerful dunks and flamboyant play, died at 58 on Thursday. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. He was the first player to enter the NBA immediately after high school.[4][5]. In the 198283 season, Dawkins averaged 12 points and shot .599 from the floor, ranking third in the league in field-goal percentage. Dawkins was traded to the New Jersey Nets in 1982, and he helped the team make the playoffs for four-straight seasons. Darryl Dawkins, NBA's 'Chocolate Thunder,' Dies - WSJ Dawkins spent parts of 14 seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia, New Jersey, Utah and Detroit. "I have health insurance through my wife's job. "I remember him yelling that he broke a backboard and that he wanted to renegotiate his contract because he could break a backboard.". But Dawkins did not have a university. . "Darryl Dawkins is the father of power dunking," Shaquille O'Neal once said. All Rights reserved. Subsequent reports revealed Malone had complained of an irregular heartbeat and was wearing a heart monitor when he died. "You were one of my favorite players of all time," Houston center Dwight Howard posted Thursday on Instagram under a photo of Dawkins dunking in a game for the 76ers. 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. Dawkins' autobiography Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Times of Darryl Dawkins (co-authored with Charley Rosen)[31] chronicles his on- and off-the-court life as an NBA star. DECISION AND ORDER BRENDA K. SANNES Chief District Judge. Discover what happened on this day. the cause of death was a heart attack. He played the game with passion, integrity and joy, never forgetting how great an influence he had on his legions of fans, young and old.". So, Dawkins is the first player to enter the NBA straight from high school. But the fans in Philadelphia were begging to see the backboard shattered in a home game. It worked. Darryl Dawkins in 1995 AP The Lehigh County coroner's office announced that an autopsy would be performed on August 27, but according to a statement released by Dawkins' family, the cause of death was a heart attack. Darryl Dawkins - Basketball-Reference.com Louis Dollagaray/Getty Images The news came weeks after the late-August death of former Sixer Darryl Dawkins, 58. So he convinced the announcer in Philadelphia to say that Dawkins was from the Planet Lovetron, wherein the offseason he would engage in interplanetary funkmanship. Ahh, you can not make this stuff up. They exercise, they watch their nutrition, they try to limit the stress in their lives. A few days after that the NBA created a new rule that breaking a backboard was an offense that would result in a fine and suspension. SAD NEWS: Darryl Dawkins (1957-2015) One of the NBA's great dunkers, entertainers & characters passed away (age: 58). Deaths of Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone raise health concerns for NBA Darryl Dawkins, NBA player dubbed 'Chocolate Thunder' for his dunks And when he dunked basketballs he did so with a ferociousness few had ever seen. NBA Star Darryl Dawkins Died at 58 - news.amomama.com The name Chuck Taylor should ring a bell for any Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "If you are a big dog, you don't live as long as a little dog, but I'm not convinced that's how it works with humans. The nicknames forever changed depending on how he felt. An autopsy was performed Friday and the cause as well as the manner of death are pending further forensic . That fateful year saw the deaths of Moses Malone, Dolph Schayes, Daryl Dawkins, Rod "Hot Rod" Hundley, Earl Lloyd, Roy Tarpley, Anthony Mason, Jerome Kersey, Harry . Darryl Dawkins, NBA dunk star and Winnipeg Cyclone coach, dies You were the originator of the dunk. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Mercer Medical Center. The situation was far worse. Date of death: August 27, 2015, Died Place: Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States: Nationality: . Legendary NBA player Darryl Dawkins always put the crowd in a frenzy with his signature glass-shattering powerful dunk. The 58-year-old NBA star, who lived in the Allentown area, died Thursday. Dawkins, 58, had a . They could have selected Leonardo DaVinci, Mozart, Einstein, Galileo, or George Washington. Darryl Dawkins, the first high school player to go straight to the National Basketball Association when he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975, died Thursday at a hospital in Allentown, Pa. The commissioner realized that the rule may not be enough to stop players from doing this in the future. [17] For the playoffs, Dawkins averaged 18.4 points. He drifted for several years, floating through Italy and the Continental Basketball Association and even had a brief run with the Harlem Globetrotters, not fully retiring from basketball until 2000. As a 6ft 10in (2.08m) senior at Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Florida, Dawkins averaged 32 points and 21 rebounds to lead his team to the state championship. Surely, a 19-year-old is not ready to walk into a grown mans world no matter how big and athletic he is. His nickname, "Chocolate Thunder", was bestowed upon him by Stevie Wonder. He never made an all-star game. And with that, he became the answer to a trivia question. All structured data from the main, Property, Lexeme, and EntitySchema namespaces is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License; text in the other namespaces is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. While there was an obvious benefit to exercising, there was also data, according to O'Keefe, that showed some marathoners who engaged in "extreme" exercise over many years developed enlarged hearts and scarring from tearing of tiny heart muscles. While union officers (among them president Chris Paul and vice president LeBron James) were keenly receptive, they pressed for more specifics and wanted assurances the program would be sustainable. Darryl Dawkins, the 14-year NBA vet . You were one of my favorite players of all time. Darryl Dawkins, the legendary basketball player whose board-shattering dunks earned him the moniker "Chocolate Thunder", has died. / CBS/AP. 80+ NBA players that died too young and the causes (<60 years old) He was 58, and even though officials said an autopsy would be performed on Friday . Today, players regularly battle to see who can dunk the hardest, but the late 1970s when Chocolate Thunder roamed the courts, Dawkins was slamming the ball through rims in a way other players never dreamed. 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", "Dawkins, who had many ties to the Lehigh Valley, was pronounced dead at 11:19 a.m. Thursday at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, the Lehigh County Coroner's Office said.". In his second season, after playing limited minutes during the regular season, Dawkins was called upon to help the Sixers in their playoff run, to battle Dave Cowens of the Celtics and Moses Malone of the Rockets. A Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest spokesperson confirmed to Comcast SportsNet that Dawkins died there on Thursday. Darryl Dawkins, The NBA's 'Chocolate Thunder,' Has Died He was 58, and even though officials said an autopsy would be performed on Friday his family released a statement saying the cause of death was a heart attack. He was the fifth overall pick in the draft that year and helped the Sixers make three NBA finals before his trade to New Jersey in 1982. Taylor Hawkins: Drugs found in body of late Foo Fighters drummer "Win or lose, every night I could barely get to my locker.". Others were comparatively subtle even if they seemed just as ridiculous. Then they lost again in 1980 to the Lakers. 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. TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Police were investigating the death Sunday of the estranged wife of professional basketball player Darryl Dawkins. "The Sixers family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of an absolute legend, Darryl Dawkins. Longtime NBA center Darryl Dawkins, perhaps best known for his emphatic slam dunks, died Thursday at the age of 58.. After WFMZ-TV initially reported the former Philadelphia 76ers star's death, a . I just think we haven't been in the forefront of peoples' minds. Dawkins died Thursday at a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the Lehigh County coroner's office. [27], Stevie Wonder, who frequently attended Sixers games, gave Dawkins the nickname "Chocolate Thunder".[28]. RIP Chocolate Thunder: Former NBA star Darryl Dawkins dead at 58 Darryl Dawkins' cause of death awaiting further tests. Police Investigating Death of Basketball Player's Wife | AP News [36], Over 600 people attended his public casket viewing. He also coached at times, at both the minor league and junior college levels. The entertainer is blind, yet even he could tell there was something unique about Dawkins' game. The 1950s is often viewed as "baby boom" and a period of conformity, when young and old alike followed group norms rather than striking out on their own. Dawkins also played in Italy, the Continental Basketball Association and even had a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. The man known as 'Chocolate Thunder' threw it down like few before him, and his impact on above-the-rim play can be felt to this day. 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. And Dawkins is definitely a noteworthy player. Dawkins set an NBA record for fouls in a season (386 in 198384). "When we have this type of thing -- two former players dying back-to-back just weeks apart -- they see themselves as this select little group. Thank u for the long talks and great memories. A shaken Silver called Roberts the morning after Malone passed away. Remember, this is 1975. Over the next three seasons, Dawkins and Caldwell Jones split time at the center and power forward positions. "But simply being an NBA player is not one of them.". The Associated Press, ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk and ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report. Dawkins . Dr. Alfred Bove, physician emeritus at Temple University School of Medicine and a former Philadelphia 76ers team doctor, dismissed the notion that NBA stars are at higher risk for cardiac-related deaths than the general population. Dawkins appeared to return to form the following season averaging 15.3 points and shooting .644 from the floor, but an injury midway through the season kept him out of 31 of the team's final 32 games. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn American basketball player-coach.

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