“Chocolate Thunder” dies

Darryl Dawkins, whose flamboyant personality and backboard-shattering dunks earned him the nickname “Chocolate Thunder” and forced the NBA to introduce breakaway rims, died Thursday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania. He was 58.

His family released a statement Thursday afternoon saying that the cause of death was a heart attack.

“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, Darryl Dawkins, who succumbed today to a heart attack,” his family said in a statement. “Darryl touched the hearts and spirits of so many with his big smile and personality, ferocious dunks, but more than anything, his huge, loving heart.”

Dawkins played 14 seasons in the NBA, including seven with the Philadelphia 76ers and five with the New Jersey Nets.

The 6-foot-11 Dawkins became the first player to be drafted directly out of high school in the first round when the Sixers took him with the fifth overall pick in 1975. Dawkins averaged 12 points, 6.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game over the course of his career, but his statistics were overshadowed by a larger-thanlife persona that made him a much-needed fan favorite in an era when the league was struggling with it’s popularity.

Nicknamed Chocolate Thunder by Stevie Wonder, Dawkins was a showman who named many of his favorite dunks. Those names included “Dunk You Very Much,” “Yo Mamma,” and “Spine Chiller Supreme.”

He may be most remembered for shattering two backboards with dunks during a three-week span in 1979. The moves led to the NBA passing a rule that made shattering a backboard an offense that could be punishable by fine and suspension. It also led to the league’s 1981 adoption of breakaway rims.