Darryl Dawkins

Player information
Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins (2009)
Nickname	Chocolate Thunder
birthday	January 11, 1957
place of birth	Orlando , Florida , USA
date of death	August 27, 2015
Place of death	Allentown , Pennsylvania , USA
size	211 cm
Weight	114 kg
position	center
NBA draft	1975 , 5th Pick , Philadelphia 76ers
Clubs as active
1975–1982 Philadelphia 76ers 1982–1987 New Jersey Nets 1987 Utah Jazz 1987–1989 Detroit PistonsUnited States United States 00000United States United States

Darryl Dawkins (born January 11, 1957 in Orlando , Florida , † August 27, 2015 in Allentown , Pennsylvania ) was an American basketball player who was active in the NBA from 1975 to 1989 . His trademark were his extremely powerful slam dunks . In the 1979 season he broke the back wall behind the basket twice.

The greatest achievement in Dawkins' career was reaching the 1980 Finals with the Philadelphia 76ers . He also played for the New Jersey Nets and briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz . His nickname was Chocolate Thunder , which he got from the musician Stevie Wonder . With this title he also published his autobiography: "Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Time of Darryl Dawkins" .

Because of its dunks, the suspension of modern NBA baskets has been changed. If the baskets were previously firmly anchored to the board, they were now suspended so that they yielded when dunked instead of being torn out and the back wall attached to them destroyed. These breakaway rims were invented back in 1975, but the need was not recognized until 1979 with Dawkins.

Darryl Dawkins died of a heart attack in a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, aged 58 .

Web links

Commons : Darryl Dawkins - collection of images, videos and audio files

Darryl Dawkins - player profile on NBA.com
Darryl Dawkins - player profile on basketball-reference.com

Individual evidence

↑ sports.yahoo.com: Stevie Wonder gave Darryl Dawkins his 'Chocolate Thunder' nickname Article from August 5, 2011 (English)
↑ sport1.de: Mourning NBA darling Dawkins Article from August 27, 2015
↑ Bruce Weber: Darryl Dawkins, Lovable NBA Figure and Fierce Dunker, Dies at 58. In: The New York Times , August 27, 2015 (English). Retrieved August 28, 2015.

personal data
SURNAME	Dawkins, Darryl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH	January 11, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH	Orlando , Florida
DATE OF DEATH	August 27, 2015
Place of death	Allentown , Pennsylvania

[1] sports.yahoo.com: Stevie Wonder gave Darryl Dawkins his 'Chocolate Thunder' nickname Article from August 5, 2011 (English)

[2] sport1.de: Mourning NBA darling Dawkins Article from August 27, 2015

[3] Bruce Weber: Darryl Dawkins, Lovable NBA Figure and Fierce Dunker, Dies at 58. In: The New York Times , August 27, 2015 (English). Retrieved August 28, 2015.