No. 76 - Connie Hawkins

One of my favorite books growing up was “Foul! The Connie Hawkins Story,” which detailed the sad/remarkable career of a forgotten great.

Like Roger Brown, who also grew up in New York, Hawkins would have been nothing more than a footnote if not for the ABA. Hawkins was basketball’s top recruit when he went to Iowa. While there, a national point-shaving scandal surrounding former NBA player Jack Molineaux was uncovered. Molineaux had befriended Brown and Hawkins, lending them his car and giving them walking around money. Molineaux likely was befriending them in hopes of approaching them later, but by the time the scandal was uncovered, neither Hawkins nor Brown had ever been in a position to shave points. Freshman were ineligible in the NCAA back then.

Despite this, Hawkins and Brown were kicked out of school and informally banned by the NBA. Hawkins spent years playing for the Harlem Globetrotters and one year in the aborted American Basketball League – where he was MVP - to make a living. When the ABA was launched in 1967, teams were desperate for players and Hawkins was signed by the Pittsburgh Pipers – and simply dominated. He led the league in scoring and minutes played per game, finished second in rebounds and third in assists. He improved upon those numbers in the playoffs as he led the Pipers to the first ABA title. He was regular season MVP and Playoff MVP. Even with a 5 percent discount on ABA stats, Hawkins came in at No. 9 in 1-year or peak season rankings.

That one remarkable season is going to keep Hawkins in my top 100 as long as the NBA exists. Hawkins was 25 in that first year in the ABA. The next year, he suffered a knee injury, which bothered him for the rest of his career. Still, in 1969 when the NBA settled a lawsuit filed by Hawkins and reinstated him, Hawkins signed with the Phoenix Suns and showed the league what they’d been missing by making the All-Star game, leading the expansion franchise to the playoffs and pushing the Wilt Chamberlain Lakers to seven games in a playoff series. The 6-8 Hawkins started a few of those games at center against Wilt and averaged 25.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.

Although Hawkins would make another two all-star games, his teams would make only one more playoff appearance, robbing Hawkins of valuable playoff points that could have pushed him up the rankings. All the barnstorming with the Globetrotters caught up to him and he was out of the NBA by 33. Fortunately, there is some good footage of Hawkins available on Youtube. What you see is a mix of Dr. J with his huge hands and ability to adjust shots in midair and Kevin Durant in how he could simply turn, face, rise up and shoot over defenders. In 1992, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Connie Hawkins bio info
Career	1967-1976
Games	616
Points	18.7
Rebounds	8.8
Assists	4.1
FG Pct.	47.9%
All-Star Games	5
MVPs	1
ABA titles	1
Playoff seasons	4
Playoff games	33
Points	25.0
Rebounds	12.0
Assists	4.5
FG Pct.	46.8%
Hall of Fame	1992

Top 100 rankings
	Points	Top 100 ranking
1-year	461.58	9th
5-year	1,281.71	92nd
10-year	1,640.95	Not in top 100
Career	1,640.95	Not in top 100

Connie Hawkins at his peak
1967-1968	Hawkins	Top 5	Points
PER	28.8	25.51
Win Shares	17.9	14.90
Box +/-	NA	NA
VORP	NA	NA
Total Advanced Stats	46.7	40.41	115.56
Playoff PER	30.0	24.91
Win Shares	4.0	3.05
Box +/-	NA	NA
VORP	NA	NA
Total Advanced Stats	34.0	27.96	121.59
Reg. Season Win %	71.43		71.43
Playoff Win %	78.57		78.57
MVP Voting (75 points)	173/176		73.72
Playoff MVP (25 points)	25		25
Total Score (95%)			461.58

Hawkins’ 10 greatest seasons
1967-1968	461.58
1968-1969	307.54
1969-1970	236.99
1973-1974	170.71
1971-1972	124.90
1970-1971	123.78
1972-1973	99.52
1975-1976	70.72
1974-1975	65.21

Career winning percentage
	W	L	Pct.
Regular Season	318	288	52.48%
Playoffs	18	15	54.55%