Darryl Dawkins

Darryl Dawkins won me over instantly with one detail: he shattered two backboards with his dunks in 1979 and forced the NBA to redesign its rims with breakaway hardware. That's not just a highlight, that's a man who literally rewrote the rules of the game. At 211 cm and entering the pros essentially straight out of high school, he played with a ferocity I can only imagine. What I love is the contrast, the same player who broke glass later coached and ran a restaurant. Losing him at 58 in 2015 felt far too soon, and I salute a man who moved an era through sheer force.

Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A three-time NBA finalist center, he most notably played for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets with brief tenures at the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons later on. His powerful dunks, which shattered two backboards in 1979, led the NBA to adopt breakaway rims.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Darryl Dawkins

Name (Japanese)

ダリル・ドーキンス

Reading

だりる・どーきんす

Born

January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Rooster

Origin

Orlando, Florida, United States

Blood type

Private

Height

211 cm

Agency

Private

Occupation

basketball player / basketball coach / restaurateur

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Maynard Evans High School

University

Private

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%80%E3%83%AA%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9

Tags

• Florida
• basketball player
• basketball coach
• restaurateur

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.