RIP, Chocolate Thunder

[MisterCreosote]

Former NBA star Darryl Dawkins passes away at 58

 

[Flip Wilson]

Crap. Sorry to hear this. I really liked Dawkins.

 

[Sea Bass]

Wow. I would have guessed he was much older than 58.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Damn. He was a new era in fun.

Best nickname ever?

 

[Bronco77]

Doesn't seem all that long ago that he was making his debut with the Sixers at age 18. He wasn't the first to turn pro at such as early age, but certainly one of the most memorable from that era.

 

[Drip]

RIP Darryl Dawkins. You entertained and kept people smiling. You were Shaq before there was a Shaq.

 

[MisterCreosote]

Doesn't seem all that long ago that he was making his debut with the Sixers at age 18. He wasn't the first to turn pro at such as early age, but certainly one of the most memorable from that era.

He was the first to go directly to the NBA from high school. Moses Malone did it a year earlier, but with the ABA.

There was another guy before them, but I believe he had to wait a few years after his high school graduation to join the team that drafted him.

 

[da man]

Wow. I would have guessed he was much older than 58.

That's funny because I was surprised he wasn't younger.

 

[da man]

RIP Darryl Dawkins. You entertained and kept people smiling. You were Shaq before there was a Shaq.

Except not nearly as good a player.

 

[BadgerBeer]

He was the first to go directly to the NBA from high school. Moses Malone did it a year earlier, but with the ABA.

There was another guy before them, but I believe he had to wait a few years after his high school graduation to join the team that drafted him.

Bill Willoughby came out the same years as Dawkins. I think the Hawks drafted him in the second round.

 

[da man]

Bill Willoughby came out the same years as Dawkins. I think the Hawks drafted him in the second round.

Yes, he was with the Hawks. I remember his introduction at the Omni -- "From Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New Jersey...". He had quite the undistinguished career.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Except not nearly as good a player.

In fairness, there might be 20 guys (and maybe 5 big men) who were as good as Shaq in his prime.

 

[da man]

In fairness, there might be 20 guys (and maybe 5 big men) who were as good as Shaq in his prime.

This is what I'm saying.

 

[clintrichardson]

his autobiography (written with Charlie Rosen) is hilarious and also has some genuinely sad episodes. but it feels like a real and honest portrait of a kid at 18, rich and famous and living the life of a man who introduces himself as being from Planet Lovetron. while we look at the NBA as being all about the holy Quest for the Championship, he was a reminder that that's value in entertaining the paying customers along the way.

 

[MisterCreosote]

One of the great quotes about Dawkins was something like, paraphrasing, "He's the only one whose flashiness and potential overshadowed the disappointment of his career, not the other way around."

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Cause of death? I didn't see that in any of the stuff I just read. Guessing perhaps, heart attack?

RIP.

That 77 Sixer team with him, Free, Erving, Caldwell Jones, Collins, McGinnis, etc. would have been one of the more entertaining groups in an entertaining time to have hung around with.

 

[MagoIL]

Dawkins = part-time starter for great Sixers teams. Personality like Shaq, stats like Andrew Bogut:

Player Comparison Finder | Basketball-Reference.com

 

[Steak Snabler]

Question of the board: Is Dawkins the most famous and/or beloved pro athlete of all-time that was never an All-Star?

 

[exmediahack]

I loved Dawkins as a kid... especially as I was at "the game".

1979. Kansas City. Municipal Auditorium. We had Kings season tickets as I loved them even more than the Royals. Back then you cared about the Celtics, Blazers, Lakers, Spurs, Sonics and the 76ers games. Everyone else I could take or leave.

Dawkins shattered the backboard and I... missed it.

We were in line for popcorn at the end of halftime and didn't get back to our seats in time. Heard a big scream from back in the arena. Came out of the concourse to a mess on the floor. Shattered glass everywhere.

Craig Sager showed up - his station was across the street - conducting interviews while the cleanup crews were across the street.

I did not see what happened - only heard about it - until the following night's 6 pm sportscast.

Three years ago while back home for the MLB all star game, son and I "trespassed" into Municipal (Fan Fest was next door) and we stood on the floor where it happened in this empty arena 33 years before.

 

[old_tony]

Family has released a statement. Heart attack.