SIXERS TO HONOR LATE NBA LEGEND DARRYL DAWKINS WITH TRIBUTE NIGHT ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 VS. BROOKLYN NETS
TRIBUTE NIGHT INCLUDES SPECIAL HALFTIME CEREMONY FEATURING DAWKINS’ FORMER TEAMMATES BOBBY JONES AND WORLD B. FREE
FIRST 15,000 FANS TO RECEIVE DOUBLE-SIDED DARRYL DAWKINS POSTER, PRESENTED BY XFINITY
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 5, 2016 – The Philadelphia 76ers will honor late Sixers great and NBA legend Darryl Dawkins with a special tribute night on Saturday, February 6, when the Sixers host the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m.
Darryl Dawkins Tribute Night will be highlighted by a special halftime ceremony featuring live interviews with Dawkins’ former Sixers teammates Bobby Jones and World B. Free. The first 15,000 fans to enter the arena will receive double-sided Darryl Dawkins posters, presented by XFINITY.
“Those of us fortunate enough to have known Darryl remember his open heart, generous nature, and insatiable appetite for life and laughter. For his larger than life personality, game-changing style of play, and thunderous dunks, he was the epitome of a Sixers player. We pay tribute to both the dominating player on the court, and the lighthearted spirit that created ‘The Planet Lovetron’ – we are so proud to call him a Sixer,” said Scott O’Neil, Philadelphia 76ers Chief Executive Officer.
The Sixers will honor Dawkins’ life and career with additional homages throughout the evening. Sixers players will wear ‘Chocolate Thunder’ shooting shirts during pregame warm-ups. Sixers players, Sixers Dancers and Sixers Phlight Squad, presented by Lundy Law, will wear custom-made Darryl Dawkins socks. Prominent NBA personalities will deliver special in-arena video messages and a 6-11 life-sized Dawkins cutout will be displayed on the concourse along with a memory wall for fans to share their personal tributes.
Dawkins was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth overall pick of the 1975 NBA Draft and became one of the first players in NBA history to directly enter the league following his high school career. He went on to play the first seven seasons of his 14-year NBA career in Philadelphia. Dawkins’ legend swelled in 1979, when he twice shattered backboards with his rim-rattling dunks. All told for his career, Dawkins appeared in 726 games (232 starts) for Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit and Utah and held averages of 12 points and 6 rebounds per game. Dawkins’ 57.2 career field-goal percentage ranks eighth all-time in NBA history. He finished among the top-five NBA league leaders in field-goal percentage in four different seasons during his career.
Darryl Dawkins Tribute Night is the second of four Sixers Tribute Nights this season. Illustrious team statistician Harvey “Super Stat” Pollack will be memorialized on Wednesday, March 2 and Dolph Schayes Tribute Night and his number “4” retirement ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 12. Late Sixers legend Moses Malone was honored on December 1.
Individual tickets for Darryl Dawkins Tribute Night as well as all single game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now by phone at 215-339-7676, online at SIXERS.COM and in person at the box office.
