Connie Hawkins

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Connie Hawkins (1968)

Cornelius Lance Hawkins (born July 17, 1942 in Brooklyn , New York - † October 6, 2017 ) was an American basketball player . Between 1967 and 1978 he played in the NBA for the teams of the Phoenix Suns , Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks . Before that, he played for several years in other US professional leagues. Hawkins was six feet tall and played in the forward position . He is considered the forerunner of Julius Erving and Michael Jordan in terms of the spectacular, dunking-specific style of play.

Hawkins grew up in New York. There he is still considered one of the greatest streetball legends of all. After high school at Brooklyn Boys High , he went to the University of Iowa , where he had to sit out the first year due to the then prevailing NCAA rules. But before he could play his first game in college, he was banned from suspected involvement in the Jack Molinas betting scandal . Participation in the betting scandal could have been ruled out, however, because at the time of the scandal he was not eligible to play due to the NCAA rules. Hawkins left university and moved to the newly formed ABL for the Pittsburgh Rens , where he was named MVP in the first season .

The financially weak ABL did not exist for long, and so Hawkins switched to the Harlem Globetrotters in 1963 . He played for the show troupe until 1966, when he moved to the newly founded ABA for the Pittsburgh Pipers . This he led in the season 66/67 straight away to the championship of the ABA and was also elected MVP due to his 26.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.

The NBA has not been an option for Hawkins for a long time as he was undesirable and banned from the league due to his involvement in the Molinas betting scandal. After all, it was not until 1970 that the NBA lifted Hawkins' ban. Connie Hawkins moved to the Phoenix Suns. He was no longer the standout star in the NBA, but he was still one of the top players and in 1970 was the first Suns player to be elected to the All-NBA first team . After seven years in the NBA, Hawkins, now 33, ended his career without having won a title.

On May 11, 1992, Connie Hawkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for career achievement as a player .

See also

Web links

Individual proof

  1. ^ Report: Hall of Fame forward Connie Hawkins passes away at 75
  2. ^ ESPN.com - CLASSIC - SportsCentury biography of Connie Hawkins. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Hawkins, Connie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hawkins, Cornelius L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2017