Athletes - Connie Hawkins

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	Athletes - Connie Hawkins

Cornelius "Connie" Hawkins (born July 17, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Hall of Fame National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player and New York City playground legend, born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Hawkins was known as one of the first players capable of swooping, soaring flights to the hoop, followed by acrobatic, throw-down dunks.

Hawkins's career was limited when as a freshman at the University of Iowa, he was implicated in a gambling and point-shaving scandal in New York. Though Hawkins was not arrested or indicted, he was linked to the scandal and therefore prohibited from continuing his college career or joining an NBA team.

Hawkins initially toured the world with the Harlem Globetrotters. Then at age 19, played for the Pittsburgh Rens of the ABA and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Hawkins joined the Pittsburgh Pipers in the inaugural 1967-68 season of the American Basketball Association, leading the team to a 54-24 regular-season record and the ABA championship.

With Hawkins' star power secured in the ABA, combined with a lawsuit against the NBA as well as high-profile positive publicity, NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy lifted the ban against Hawkins after settling his antitrust suit for more than $1 million. Hawkins then played 7 additional seasons in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Atlanta Hawks. His #42 jersey was retired by the Suns.

Connie Hawkins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. He currently works in community relations with the Suns.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Connie Hawkins ]

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Athletes - Connie Hawkins

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