Darryl Dawkins was always known as a fun and great character off the court and a vicious dunker on the court. On Thursday afternoon it was reported that the 58-year-old known by the nickname "Chocolate Thunder" has passed away, according to WFMZ.
Dawkins was never really a great NBA player, but he was someone that every basketball fan loved to watch as he was one of the most powerful dunkers before power dunking was even a thing. Dawkins made NBA history in 1975 when he was the first player in league history to be drafted straight out of high school which paved the way for current stars like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Dawkins played 15 seasons in the NBA with four different teams, but he spent most of his time with the New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers. The 6-foot-11 Dawkins had career averages of 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the field in his career.
Aside from the fact that he got his nickname from Stevie Wonder, one of the most well-known moments of Dawkins' career was when he shattered two separate backboards in two different games during the 1979 season. Dawkins will go down as one of the legendary dunkers in the NBA's history.
After retiring from the NBA Dawkins coached a team in the now-defunct United States Basketball League and most recently coached the Lehigh Carbon Community College men's basketball team.
Take a look at some of the top dunks in the career of "Chocolate Thunder"