In the NBA, as in other sports, some players can have tremendous potential as players, but never quite live up to those expectations. Today's profilee was the first NBA draft pick direct from high school in 1975 (following Moses Malone going to the ABA), and while he had his moments with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, his reputation exceeded his stats. He is "Chocolate Thunder" Darryl Dawkins

Darryl Dawkins was born January 11, 1957 in Orlando, Florida. At Maynard Evans High School, Dawkins led his team to the Florida state championship as a senior and was dubbed as "probably the best high school player ever and one of the best people I've ever met" by his coach, Fred Pennington. Ironically, Dawkins won his state title the same year as Moses Malone became the first ever player to skip college entirely for the pros by signing with the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars. Following in Malone's footsteps, Dawkins declared for the 1975 NBA Draft as a hardship case. The Philadelphia 76ers selected Dawkins fifth overall in that draft.

Realizing that Dawkins needed time to develop, the Sixers didn't play him much as a rookie; he only played in 37 games, averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG in under five minutes of action per game. By year two, Dawkins began to emerge as a solid reserve, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.9 RPG as the Sixers reached the NBA Finals. Despite losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games, Dawkins was more than respectable in the stats column, raising his averages to 7.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG. But during the 1977-78 season, new coach Billy Cunningham gave Dawkins an expanded role, and he responded well, with 11.7 PPG and 7.9 RPG, playing over 25 minutes per game and helping Philadelphia reach the conference finals.

Dawkins' big break occured the following year, when George McGinnis was traded to the Denver Nuggets. Now a starter, Dawkins had the best two-year stretch of his career. In 1978-79, he averaged 13.1 PPG and 8.1 RPG, and the following year, he had his best pro season, with averages of 14.7 PPG and 8.7 RPG, helping the Sixers return to the NBA Finals. In the process, Dawkins forever etched his persona into the league with two rim-shattering dunks during the season. In November 1979, he completely shattered the glass backboard in a game against the Kansas City Kings, and then three weeks later, he tore the rim off the backboard against the San Antonio Spurs, turning him into a cult hero (the league shortly thereafter instituted a rule saying that anyone who breaks the backboard would get fined and suspended). "Chocolate Thunder" had arrived, but almost as quickly, he left.

After another productive season in 1980-81 (14 PPG and 7.2 RPG), Dawkins missed 34 games the following year, and though the Sixers reached the Finals for a third time, their repeated failures against the Los Angeles Lakers forced Sixer management to rethink their center position. In further irony, the man they chose to pursue was the man Dawkins followed into the NBA, Moses Malone. The Sixers traded Dawkins to the New Jersey Nets for a first-round pick before acquiring Malone from the Houston Rockets for Caldwell Jones and another first-round pick. While Malone led the Sixers to an NBA title, Dawkins had a respectable first season in New Jersey. with averages of 12 PPG and 5.3 RPG in helping the Nets reach the playoffs.

In 1983-84, Dawkins had his highest scoring season ever, with a 16.8 PPG average, despite setting a league record with 386 personal fouls, and gained a measure of revenge on his old team by helping the Nets beat the Sixers in the first round of the playoffs. But during the following season, Dawkins began to become beset by injuries. He was limited to 34 games in 1984-85, and 51 games the following year, during which he suffered a back injury that all but ended his career. Dawkins played just 26 games between 1986-87 and 1988-89, bouncing from the Nets to the Utah Jazz and finally the Detroit Pistons before being forced to retire after the 1988-89 season. Dawkins would play several seasons in Italy for Torino, Olimpia Milano and Telemarket Forli, and attended training camps with the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the Celtics in 1995 before finally calling it quits. He had scored 8,733 points (12 PPG) and grabbed 4,432 rebounds (6.1 RPG), but it was more potential than substance for the man from "Lovetron".

Season-by-Season Statistical Review:
1975-76: 37 GP, 2.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.1 APG, 50.0 FG%, 33.3 FT%
1976-77: 59 GP, 5.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 62.8 FG%, 50.6 FT%
1977-78: 70 GP, 11.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 57.5 FG%, 70.9 FT%
1978-79: 78 GP, 13.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 51.7 FG%, 67.2 FT%
1979-80: 80 GP, 14.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, 52.2 FG%, 65.3 FT%
1980-81: 76 GP, 14.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 60.7 FG%, 72.0 FT%
1981-82: 48 GP, 36 GS, 11.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 56.4 FG%, 69.5 FT%
1982-83: 81 GP, 81 GS, 12.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 59.9 FG%, 64.6 FT%
1983-84: 81 GP, 80 GS, 16.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 59.3 FG%, 73.5 FT%
1984-85: 39 GP, 30 GS, 13.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, 56.6 FG%, 71.1 FT%
1985-86: 51 GP, 3 GS, 15.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 64.4 FG%, 70.7 FT%
1986-87: 6 GP, 2 GS, 9.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 62.5 FG%, 70.8 FT%
1987-88: 6 GP, 0 GS, 1.7 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.3 APG, 22.2 FG%, 40.0 FT%
1988-89: 14 GP, 0 GS, 1.9 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.1 APG, 47.4 FG%, 50.0 FT%