07 October, 2017
"Someone said if I didn't break them (the laws of gravity), I was slow to obey them", Hawkins once told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Before there was Julius Erving, Hawkins produced his own brand of basketball theater, though he played before decidedly smaller houses.
"'The Hawk' revolutionized the game and remains to this day an icon of the sport and one of basketball's great innovators", the team issued the following statement.
Before joining the National Basketball Association at age 27, Hawkins played two seasons in the ABA, winning the league title and MVP honors with the Pittsburgh Pipers in 1967-68.
Connie Hawkins (r.), seen here with the 1992 Hall of Fame class with Bob Lanier, Jack Ramsay and Lou Carnesecca, died Friday.
Rightfully, he became the first Suns player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and his No. 42 hangs in the rafters at Talking Stick Resort Arena as part of our Ring of Honor. "Hell no. I'm just glad I was able to play". He also played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks. He also played one season in the American Basketball League in 1961, previous to his NBA career. That year, Hawkins led the league with 26.8 points per game.
He finally got his shot at the NBA in 1969 and became an All-NBA First Team selection as a 27-year-old rookie with the Phoenix Suns. Spending some of his best years in the ABA, and living in a time where highlights reels were few and far between, Hawkins' name often gets lost in history.
After his brief stint in the ABA, Hawkins landed with the Phoenix Suns in 1969-70, playing in 81 games and registering 24.6 points per game off of 49 percent shooting. "He put us on the map".
