Darryl Dawkins, seen here at the 2013 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, died Thursday at age 58. His family, wife Janice, children Dara, Tabitha, Nicholas and Alexis, along with countless family, friends, and fans, all mourn his loss. Darryl Dawkins, NBA dunk star and Winnipeg Cyclone coach, dies Darryl Dawkins was selected with the 5th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1975 NBA draft. At 6 feet, 11 inches and more than 250 pounds, he broke two glass backboards in one month during the 1979 season prompting the NBA to adopt a new rule making it a finable offense to shatter a backboard. Sources: Bucks favored to sign veteran Dragic. 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 . He briefly had stints in the Continental Basketball Association and the International Basketball Association. Dawkins' role in helping the Sixers win the Eastern Conference championship established him as one of Philadelphia's top players, on a team that included Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Lloyd Free, and Doug Collins. Other than that he had a very average NBA career. Date of death: August 27, 2015, Died Place: Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States: Nationality: . His final choices for college were Kentucky, Kansas, and Florida State. Chocolate Thunder has gone back to Lovetron. Darryl Dawkins Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family On August 27, 2015, Darryl Dawkins died of non-communicable disease. Dawkins leaves behindwife Janice, and four children. An autoposy will be conducted on . Surely, a 19-year-old is not ready to walk into a grown mans world no matter how big and athletic he is. "We haven't done enough for our past players, who have a rich history of promoting our game. [20] Dawkins was often inactive for games as he was still recovering from his back injuries and dealing with the death of his estranged wife. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. Longtime 76ers center Darryl Dawkins died Thursday at the age of 58. Unfortunately for Dawkins, he wasnt able to stick around with the 76ers to win a championship. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. He was also the player/coach of the Winnipeg Cyclone, a team in the short-lived International Basketball Association in 19992000. In the 198283 season, Dawkins averaged 12 points and shot .599 from the floor, ranking third in the league in field-goal percentage. He was also Dr Dunkenstein and Sir Slam. A similar program for retired players, said Dr. Tim Byrne, who is part of the Phoenix Suns medical staff, would be more than sufficient. Darryl Dawkins, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, died Thursday of currently unknown causes, as confirmed by the Lehigh Valley County Coroner's office. That was the hardest dunk anyone had ever seen at the time. "[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). Dawkins subsequently played nine seasons in the National Basketball . We want to shine a light on forgotten stories that need to be remembered again. "It's too soon.". Always told you I would make it to the NBA since I was little, I thank the man above for allowing me to come through on my promise to you. Lanier said many retired players recognize the formula for healthy living, but the pounding of a long NBA career has left many of them hobbled and, in some cases, incapacitated, thus unable to exercise at all. "A guy who never saw me," a beaming Dawkins said in a 2011 interview, "gave me the name 'Chocolate Thunder.'". His sudden death in 2015 due to a heart attack was a sad day for lovers of the game and caused ripples . No immediate cause of death has yet been announced . He was on everybodys recruiting list. Darryl Dawkins, NBA player dubbed 'Chocolate Thunder' for his dunks He said a construction worker recently came to his home to remove some debris and asked him, "Is this your play house?". Trenton police said Kelly Barnes Dawkins, 28, died . His two backboard-shattering dunks came about a month apart early in the 1979-80 season, one against Kansas City, the other . The club met the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and lost in seven games. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday. Prayers go up for the Dawkins family. Not many. It took the arena crew over an hour to clean everything up and bring out a whole new basket support. Anybody who causes a rule to change, or causes the league to install new equipment is a noteworthy player. He was also 611 and had really filled out at around 230 lbs. "I'm just one of his sons.". An autopsy was performed Friday and the cause as well as the manner of death are pending further forensic studies. He averaged double digits in nine consecutive NBA seasons, with his best year likely being the 1983-84 campaign for New Jersey. The good-faith actions of current players were welcome news to retired veterans who have been rattled by the spate of cardiac-related deaths. Then the team had an opportunity to upgrade at the center position. But the one thing he could always do from the beginning was to dunk with such ferocity that he left the backboard shaking after each one. MacMullan: Deaths of Dawkins, Malone raise health concerns for NBA retirees, Owner: Snyder, Fields will bring Hawks success, Isaac has surgery on adductor, done for season, Clips' Powell out at least a week to treat shoulder, Kyrie teams with Luka for 82: 'Had to join party', LeBron to have tendon injury checked in 3 weeks. Former 76ers basketball star Darryl Dawkins dies: local media - Yahoo! No cause of death was immediately announced and an autopsy was scheduled for Friday. The team had been to the NBA Finals three times while Dawkins played on the team. The guest was Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder. Darryl Dawkins, Lovable N.B.A. Figure and Fierce Dunker, Dies at 58 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. Aug 27, 2015 at 5:58 pm. Because his condition was detected early, Haywood said, he's expected to enjoy a full recovery. But they lost the Finals in 1977 to the TrailBlazers. Dawkins set an NBA record for fouls in a season (386 in 198384). In 2009 he was named head coach of Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, he was 58 years old. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also played briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz late in his career. The Lehigh County, Pennsylvania coroner's office said Dawkins died Thursday morning at a hospital. Dawkins was selected No. 80+ NBA players that died too young and the causes (<60 years old) Former National Basketball Association star Darryl Dawkins, known as "Chocolate Thunder" for his powerful dunks and flamboyant play, died at 58 on Thursday. Louis Dollagaray/Getty Images Darryl Dawkins death. That's because people [my size] don't live that long. So, Dawkins is the first player to enter the NBA straight from high school. Darryl Dawkins, who in 1975 became the second man, after Moses Malone, to jump directly from high school to the pro basketball, has died. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Who was the first player to enter the NBA straight from high school? The union's coffers will be replenished by a lucrative television deal with ESPN and TNT that kicks in for the 2016-17 season. You were very inspirational to a lot of young players. Some of you might say that Moses Malone was drafted out of high school a year before Dawkins. Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team.From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford.He was a two-time All-American and national player of the year as a senior in 1986 while at Duke from 1982 to 1986. Dawkins languished on the Sixers' bench for his first two seasons. [17] For the playoffs, Dawkins averaged 18.4 points. 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. Darryl Dawkins was born in Orlando on Jan. 11, 1957. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? This November 1979 file photo shows Kansas City Kings' Scott Wedman and Philadelphia 76ers' Julius Erving watching as Kings' Bill Robinzine, left, and 76ers' Darryl Dawkins run for cover after Dawkins shattered the glass backboard during a basketball game in Kansas City, Mo. Prior to the 197879 season, Philadelphia traded McGinnis to the Denver Nuggets, clearing the way for Dawkins to be a permanent frontcourt starter. Basketball Manitoba paid tribute to Dawkins in a tweet posted shortly after news of his death broke. The station did not report a cause of death. Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum top NBA quotes of the week, Shaken by deaths, union to help retired players, MacMullan: How Moses Malone mentored a young Charles Barkley, Recipient of Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. The team was led by Dr. J, Julius Erving. "I'd like to be able to answer the question, 'What does a retired basketball player's heart look like?'". Dawkins died on August 27, 2015, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the age of 58. Darryl Dawkins (Basketball Player-coach) Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife 5 overall in the NBA draft by the . "The NBA family is heartbroken by the sudden and tragic passing of Darryl Dawkins," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. 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. All Rights reserved. In 2005, Dawkins was one of several former NBA players to audition for an analyst position with ESPN, as part of the network's reality series Dream Job. "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. I thought, "Boy, I'd like to have a guy like that watching my back." The cause of death is said to be a heart attack, according to Dawkins' family. "Being tall does increase the risk for atrial fibrillation, but that is not a fatal condition and can be treated with medication," O'Keefe said. And when he dunked basketballs he did so with a ferociousness few had ever seen. Darryl Dawkins: Dr. Dunkenstein, Double D, Sir Slam, and Chocolate Dawkins appears in NBA Ballers and the NBA 2K video games as a reserve member of the 1980s Legends East Team. In 197980, he averaged 14.7 points and a career-high 8.7 rebounds, helping the Sixers back to the NBA Finals, which they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. He was the head coach of the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the United States Basketball League until they folded. Updated on: August 28, 2015 / 6:03 AM He then played a little bit of minor league basketball in some leagues that do not even exist anymore. Current and former NBA players took to social media to respond to Dawkins' death. The biggest surprise about Darryl Dawkinss death on Thursday is that it came at age 58. Well, hes famous because of two dunks in late 1979. Darryl Dawkins' Estranged Wife, 28, Found Dead in the New Jersey Home His best scoring season was in 1985 when he averaged 16 points per game for the lowly New Jersey Nets. "Simply put, Darryl Dawkins was beloved-by his family, friends . ILLUSTRATION: Associated Press. Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV. Darryl Dawkins, a.k.a. 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