Hawkins was Dr. J before Dr. J
Connie Hawkins, basketball’s dazzling schoolyard legend who soared and swooped his way to the Hall of Fame, has died at 75.
His death was announced Saturday by the Phoenix Suns, the team with which he spent his most productive NBA seasons. The Suns told The Associated Press they confirmed the death with his family but did not disclose details.
Hawkins was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he ruled the asphalt playgrounds and tales of his basketball feats spread across the boroughs.
He was a decent shooter, but he was at his masterful best should anyone attempt to cover him one-on-one. He would blow by defenders and finish at the rim with breathtaking wizardry or a thunderous slam. Before there was Julius Erving, Hawkins produced his own brand of basketball theater, although he played before decidedly smaller houses.
Hawkins played two seasons in the ABA and was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1968, helping the Pittsburgh Pipers to a title.
He didn’t play in the NBA until he was 27, the league keeping its distance because of a college pointshaving scandal in New York City while Hawkins was a freshman at Iowa in 1961. Hawkins was not directly implicated but his name became attached to others involved.
He signed with the Suns in 1969 and was an NBA AllStar for four straight seasons. His best season in the NBA was his first, when he averaged 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He also played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks before retiring in 1976.
Tennis
NADAL REACHES ANOTHER
FINAL » Top-seeded Rafael Nadal will play for his sixth title of the year after defeating third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the China Open semifinals.
Nadal, the 2005 China Open champion, has a tourleading 60 match wins in 2017.
The Spaniard will play eighth-seeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia, a 6-3, 7-3 winner over second-seeded Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
On the women’s side, Simona Halep beat ninthseeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals to guarantee the Romanian will take over the top spot for the first time in her career when the rankings are released Monday.
Halep will become the first Romanian woman to achieve the feat.
Motor sports
BOWMAN EARNS XFINITY
VICTORY » Alex Bowman raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while four drivers were eliminated from playoff contention. Bowman, who will replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. next year in the Cup series, led 32 laps in the race delayed 5 ½ hours because of rain. Bowman is not eligible for the playoffs.
Justin Allgaier, William Byron, Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer, Elliott Sadler, Brennan Poole, Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Brendan Gaughan, Michael Annett, Blake Koch and Jeremy Clements were eliminated from the playoffs.
Reed nipped Gaughan for the eighth spot overall by one point. Gaughan finished in 11th place one spot ahead of Reed but it wasn’t enough to catch him in the playoffs.
Soccer
COSTA RICA CLINCHES CUP BERTH » Kendall Waston scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, giving Costa Rica a 1-1 tie against visiting Honduras and clinching the Ticos’ second straight World Cup berth and fifth overall. The dramatic late goal means the United States likely needs at most a draw at Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night to qualify for its eighth straight World Cup berth.
MMA
JOHNSON SETS UFC RECORD
» Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his flyweight title for a UFC record-breaking 11th time, stopping Ray Borg by armor submission at 3:15 of fifth round.
The card was the first major sporting event in Las Vegas since the mass shooting that killed 58 people this week. A moment of silence kicked off the pay-per-view portion of the event, then a handful of survivors and first responders were brought into the octagon and recognized as Everlast performed “America the Beautiful”. The UFC has pledged to donate $1 million to help victims and their families.
The 31-year-old Johnson (27-2-1) broke the defense record he shared with longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva.