Darryl Dawkins

Highlights

Known as "Chocolate Thunder", he is one of the most popular players in NBA history

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Darryl Dawkins is a former professional basketball player, most noted for his days with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also played briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz late in his career.

Dawkins was one of two players to go straight from high school to the NBA, drafted fifth overall out of Maynard Evans High School by the Sixers in the 1975 NBA Draft.

He was a fan favorite because of his backboard-shattering dunks. He broke two backboards in the 1979-80 season: one at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium on November 13, 1979 (which he called "The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam-Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam"); and a second backboard 23 days later at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Because his dunks resulted in delays while teams went to find another backboard, the NBA eventually modified their basketball rims to make them collapsible in the event another superstar wanted to emulate Dawkins' dunks.

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