National Basketball Association

Appreciating Darryl Dawkins, a combination of power and charisma

Published Aug. 27, 2015 4:37 p.m. ET

foxsports

Darryl Dawkins was a mythmaker in real time, an athlete whose raw power and unparalleled charisma created a unique legacy. He was a pioneer, an icon and a persona unlike any the NBA had experienced.

Twenty years before Kevin Garnett was selected fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dawkins made the leap from high school to the NBA. He had the confidence and ability to pull off something few thought a teenager could handle.

Thus began a 14-year career and public life the NBA universe is forever grateful for. Labeling someone "ahead of his time" is a truism, but Dawkins personified the cliché as a player who, on and off the court, could thrive in any era.

He understood his role as an entertainer and played to the audience without forgetting the duties of his job, forever toeing the line between brutish competitor and winking charmer. Dawkins had fun. He was successful. It's why appreciating his life and career is so easy today.

Coined "Chocolate Thunder" by Stevie Wonder, Dawkins never made an All-Star team or won any major awards, but he was efficient before that word held recognized value. His 60.5 career True Shooting percentage ranks 12th in NBA history, and in 1985-86 he was one of the most efficient scorers in basketball, holding his own beside all-time greats like James Worthy, Kevin McHale, Charles Barkley and Adrian Dantley.

Dawkins was 29 years old at the time, but a back injury midway through the 1985-86 season effectively ended his ability to impact games. Robbed of the athleticism that made Dawkins as unique a weapon as the league had seen, he exited three years later.

Much like a pricetag can't capture the taste of a juicy steak, statistics aren't meant to tell Dawkins' story. They can't describe his impact, the flair and creativity he brought to a game designed to showcase jazzy theatrics.

He was a spectacle, powerful enough to shatter a backboard (which he famously did twice during the 1979 season) and springy enough to sky higher than just about everyone else on the planet to grab a rebound.

He branded himself without necessarily being "brand conscious" or knowing every other player in the NBA would do the same thing 30 years later. Everything about him was so damn original.

Once asked to reflect on his younger self, Dawkins said "Well, if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably do it the same way." Nobody disagrees.