He shattered backboards and laughed. He named his dunks so audaciously that Muhammad Ali must have scratched his head and rethought some of his own luminous sports poetry. His nickname — Chocolate Thunder — was given to him by music legend Stevie Wonder. He broke rules as well as backboards, becoming the first player in a long line of illustrious names like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant to be drafted into the NBA right out of high school (in 1975).
For a short time Darryl Dawkins was the biggest and most famous personality on a Philadelphia 76ers team that featured none other than Julius Erving, aka Doctor J. Darryl Dawkins died in Los Angles on August 27, 2015. He was 58 years old. He’ll be missed, not least for his “Get out the wayin’, back-door swayin’, game delayin’, if you ain’t groovin’ you best get movin’ dunks.” RIP Darryl Dawkins.
Darryl Dawkins (1957-2015) A ferocious dunker, Dawkins was also an accomplished elocutionist, a master of rhyme, coining many of his dunks.
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) August 27, 2015
