Connie Hawkins

The most gifted player of his era who was banned from the NBA for seven years — won the ABA title before returning.

Cornelius L. Hawkins was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1942 and was considered the most gifted player of his generation at Boys High School in Brooklyn — a school that also produced Lenny Wilkens. He was banned from the NBA in 1961 due to a gambling association during his one year at the University of Iowa — an association that was later shown to be tangential and unjust. He played seven years of basketball outside the NBA — in the industrial league, the Harlem Globetrotters and the ABA — while his case wound through the courts. The ABA signed him in 1967 and he immediately became its premier player, winning the ABA championship and MVP award with the Pittsburgh Pipers in 1968. He averaged 26.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in his ABA MVP season. A lawsuit against the NBA resulted in a $1.3 million settlement and reinstatement in 1969 at age 26 — years past what should have been his prime. He was selected to four NBA All-Star games with Phoenix. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. His injustice is one of basketball's most significant stories.

Athletic forward with exceptional leaping ability, creative scorer, strong rebounder

Pioneer of modern athletic basketball style, overcame betting scandal to reach Hall of Fame

• ABA Champion (1968)
• ABA MVP (1968)
• All-Star 4x
• Hall of Fame (1992)
• NBA 50th Anniversary Team