J-Speaks: NBA Hall of Famer, and High Flyers Passes at 75

He was a basketball legend on the New York City playgrounds, and went on to be a legend in not just the National Basketball Association (NBA), but the American Basketball League (ABL), American Basketball Association (ABA), the Harlem Globetrotters, and Harlem Wizards. He had individual success, and along the way manage to win a title during his time with the American Basketball Association. Over the weekend, we said goodbye to a dynamic, highflying, and jaw dropping player in the game of basketball. 

On Friday, Hall of Famer Cornelius "Connie" Hawkins, who played in the NBA for 17 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Atlanta Hawks passed away. He was 75 years old. A cause of death was not disclosed. 

Hawkins, as reported by NBA.com, had been in poor health for the past several years, and in 2007 was diagnosed with colon cancer. 

“We lost a legend, a player I had very deep affection for who kind put us on the map” Jerry Colangelo, the former Suns general manager when Hawkins played, and then owned the franchise said over the weekend. 

Hawkins passing was announced by the Suns on Saturday, where he spent his most productive years in the NBA. 

His professional basketball career though was delayed for years by a point shaving scandal that began in New York, NY, during his freshmen year at the University of Iowa in 1961. That led to the NBA blackballing him, even though Hawkins, and the principles involved always contended that he was not involved with the scandal.

“It was devastating,” Hawkins said to NBA.com in a 2009 interview. I was innocent, but no one would listen to me. Plus, coming from a poor family, no one even thought about trying to get a lawyer to fight it. We just weren’t that sophisticated.”

Born in Brooklyn, NY on July 17, 1942, “The Hawk” as he became to be known was one of the first players to known for his ability to score the basketball via his acrobatic repertoire.

Age of 11 is when Hawkins could dunk the basketball, which made him an unstoppable force on the asphalt playgrounds in New York. His aerial moves became legendary tales that were a told across the five boroughs. 

While he made himself into an okay jump shooter, Hawkins was at his mystical best at attacking the basket against anybody who would try to guard him one-on-one. 

His ability to get by defenders with the quickest of ease, grip the ball with one hand, and score the basketball via a thunderous dunk, or a breathtaking acrobatic layup defied the laws of gravity.  

“One of the first players to play above the rim,” Colangelo said, “and kind of set the tone for those who followed, Julius Erving in particular, in terms of his charisma on the court, and the ability to do things on the court.”   

Before the great “Dr. J.,” Hawkins was one of the first NBA players that produced his own brand of basketball theater, although he did for many years before smaller audiences. 

He produced the kind of entertainment, and as mentioned earlier jaw dropping assaults on the rim, that the likes of Hall of Famer Michael Jordan displayed, especially in the early part of his career with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1980s, and early 1990s. 

“‘The Hawk’ revolutionized the game, and remains to this day an icon of the sport, and one of basketball’s great innovators,” the Suns said in a statement. “His unique combination of size, grace, and athleticism was well ahead of its time, and his signature style of play is now a hallmark of the modern game.” 

Hawkins’ basketball journey began with the Pittsburgh Rens of the American Basketball Association for two years, and then spent the next four performing across the globe with the Harlem Globetrotters. 

It was during this period that Hawkins filed a $6 million lawsuit against the NBA where he claimed that they unfairly banned him because as mentioned earlier, there was no evidence that linked him to gambling activities. 

At the suggestion of his attorneys, Hawkins joined the Pittsburgh Pipers in the inaugural season of the ABA in the 1967-68. He led them to a 54-24 record in the regular season, and he was the leading scorer in the league that season, while garnering the regular season MVP. Hawkins also led the Pipers to the 1968 ABA title. 

Things were not the same for the Pipers, who moved to Minnesota the next year, when a knee injury limited Hawkins to just 47 games in the 1968-69 campaign. The Pipers still made the postseason, were eliminated in the opening round. 

The NBA, and Hawkins settled their legal battle, as the future Hall of Famer was paid a cash settlement of close to $1.3 million, and then NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy lifted the ban. 

The Suns, who were an expansion franchise at the time selected Hawkins with the No. 2 overall pick after losing a coin flip for the rights to then Lew Alcindor, now Hall of Famer, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

“I was the happiest guy in the world,” Hawkins, who made his debut in the NBA at age 27 once said. “Once I became an NBA player, I never looked back. People still to this day ask me if I was bitter about that, and I still tell them the same thing. Hell no. I’m just glad I was able to play.”

And play he did with four straight All-Star appearances (1970-73). His rookie season was a memorable one with averages of 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. In the final game of his rookie season, Hawkins had 44, points, 20 boards, eight assists, five blocks, and five steals. 

Hawkins as previously mentioned also played for the Lakers from 1973-75, and the Hawks in the 1975-76 before retiring. He finished his career with averages of 18.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. 

Colangelo has said if Hawkins, who was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 had entered the league after his collegiate days, “he could have been one of the Top 10 or 15 players to ever play the game.”

The original member of the Suns Ring of Honor when he retired from basketball worked as a community representative for many years. 

Over the weekend, the basketball world said goodbye to a game changing, player who soared on the asphalts courts of New York, and then on the hardwood courts of the ABL, ABA, and NBA. He also showed perseverance in dark moment that would break most players careers. Connie Hawkins was a dynamic basketball player on the court, who became the first superstar athlete in the "Valley of the Sun," and as Colangelo said of the Hall of Famer was, “a very warm, compassionate guy who was very humble in his own way,” off the court.

On his Instagram post, Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward/center Kevin Love wrote, "Connie Hawkins was the reason I chose to wear "42" as a young kid in Portland, Oregon. My father would tell me stories of this living legend, and put me on the phone with him from when I was in grade school. I studied his game, and was mesmerized at the athleticism he displayed on the court. I remember him running at full speed, grabbing the ball out of the air with one hand, and rising for a powerful finish. What he was able to do with the ball at his size paved the way for some of the all-time greats. He was one of the first people I loved watching fil of early on, and someone that inspired me to play the game. Truly an iconic player Rest in Peace to "The Hawk."

Information, and quotations are courtesy of  10/9/17 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Zach Lowe, and Stephen Jackson; 10/7/17 NBA.com article, via the Associated Press, "Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins Dies at 75;"and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Hawkins