Hersey R. Hawkins Jr. (born September 29, 1966) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. After starring at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Westinghouse High School, the 6'3" (1.90 m) shooting guard attended

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...

. Hawkins played for 4 teams throughout his 12-year

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

career. Hersey was given his nickname, “The Big Kiss”, by David Gborie.

College

Hersey spent four seasons as the starting shooting guard at Bradley University, starting all 125 games the Braves played and finishing with 3,008 points. At the time of his graduation in 1988, he was the fourth-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history and is currently 10th. In 1986–87, he finished fifth in NCAA Division I in scoring with 27.2 points per game, following that season with a historic campaign, averaging 36.3 points per game in 1987–88. Before being drafted into the NBA, he was a member of the last collegiate USA men's national basketball team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

coached by John Thompson. They disappointingly finished with the bronze medal after losing to the all-professional

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the semifinals as Hawkins was injured, depriving the U.S. team of his outside shooting and overall scoring ability.

Career in the NBA

Philadelphia 76ers

He was then drafted 6th overall by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in first round of the

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

, but his rights were immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for the draft rights to former 1988 Olympic teammate Charles Smith. On the 76ers, "Hawk" was the second scoring option after

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

. Hawkins earned NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors in 1989. In 1991, he averaged 22.1 points and appeared in the

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

. In a game against the Boston Celtics, he had 9 steals. He also scored a career-high 43 points in a game against the Orlando Magic.

Charlotte Hornets

In 1993, Hawkins was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for

Dana Barros Dana Bruce Barros (born April 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college, he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He wa ...

, Sidney Green and draft picks. In 1994, he grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against the Houston Rockets. Hawkins wore #32 with the Hornets during the 1993–94 season since Alonzo Mourning wore #33. Next season, he would change his jersey number to #3.

Seattle SuperSonics

After two productive seasons in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Hawkins and David Wingate were traded to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

for

Kendall Gill Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who now works as a television basketball analyst. Early life Gill was born in Chicago and attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinoi ...

. In 1996, he played a key role, complementing

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played the point guard position. Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with ...

Detlef Schrempf Detlef Schrempf (born January 21, 1963) is a German-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies from 1981 to 1985, and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the ...

and Shawn Kemp on a Sonics team that made it to the NBA Finals but lost 2–4 to his hometown team, the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

. He won the NBA Sportsmanship Award in his final season in Seattle.

Chicago Bulls

On August 12, 1999, Hawkins was traded along with

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

to the Bulls for

Brent Barry Brent Robert Barry (born December 31, 1971), also known by the nickname "Bones", is an American basketball executive, broadcaster and former player. He is the current vice president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. The shooti ...

, but his one-year tenure in Chicago was marred by injury, and he only averaged 7.9 points per game in 61 games.

Return to Charlotte

He returned to Charlotte as a free agent in 2000 for his final season, and he retired in 2001 with 14,470 career points.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 79 , , 79 , , 32.6 , , .455 , , .428 , , .831 , , 2.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.8 , , .460 , , .420 , , .888 , , 3.7 , , 3.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 38.9 , , .472 , , .400 , , .871 , , 3.9 , , 3.7 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 22.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 37.2 , , .462 , , .397 , , .874 , , 3.3 , , 3.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 36.8 , , .470 , , .397 , , .860 , , 4.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.3 , , .460 , , .332 , , .862 , , 4.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.3 , , .482 , , .440 , , .867 , , 3.8 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.4 , , .473 , , .384 , , .874 , , 3.6 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.6 , , .464 , , .403 , , .875 , , 3.9 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 31.7 , , .440 , , .415 , , .868 , , 4.1 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 34 , , 32.9 , , .419 , , .306 , , .902 , , 4.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 61 , , 49 , , 26.6 , , .424 , , .390 , , .899 , , 2.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .409 , , .370 , , .857 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 983 , , 896 , , 32.6 , , .461 , , .394 , , .870 , , 3.6 , , 2.9 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 14.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , – , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 24.0, , .125, , .000, , 1.000, , 1.7, , 1.3, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 41.5, , .497, , .389, , .937, , 3.1, , 3.6, , 1.2, , 0.7, , 23.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8, , 8, , 41.1, , .465, , .538, , .937, , 5.8, , 3.4, , 2.5, , 1.3, , 20.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 4, , 32.5, , .406, , .308, , .882, , 5.3, , 2.0, , 1.5, , 0.5, , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21, , 21, , 34.0, , .452, , .344, , .895, , 3.0, , 2.2, , 1.3, , 0.2, , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12, , 12, , 40.3, , .470, , .458, , .914, , 4.5, , 2.8, , 2.5, , 0.3, , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 33.7, , .466, , .395, , .875, , 5.7, , 3.6, , 1.8, , 0.1, , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , 0, , 8.3, , .375, , .250, , .714, , 1.5, , 0.7, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 74 , , 68 , , 34.2 , , .455 , , .396 , , .907 , , 3.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 14.1

Post-playing career

Hawkins was named as an assistant by head coach Ty Amundsen for the 2006–2007 season at Estrella Foothills High School varsity basketball in

Goodyear, Arizona Goodyear (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Valin Thak'') is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census had a population o ...

. He also came to the Hoopfest in 2009. He is currently the Player Development Director for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. Hawkins is married with three sons. His son Corey, who holds the Arizona high school record for most points in a career, now plays for the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the NBA Development League. He played for

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

from 2010–11 and

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

from 2012–15. His son Brandon played college basketball at University of the Pacific before finishing his career at

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

. His son Devon played basketball at West Linn High School in Oregon and Clark College in Washington. Former NFL offensive lineman Flozell Adams is Hersey's cousin.

References

External links

*
1988 Oscar Robertson Trophy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Hersey 1966 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Chicago Bradley Braves men's basketball players Charlotte Hornets players Chicago Bulls players George Westinghouse College Prep alumni Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics National Basketball Association All-Stars Philadelphia 76ers players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

College

Career in the NBA

Philadelphia 76ers

Charlotte Hornets

Seattle SuperSonics

Chicago Bulls

Return to Charlotte

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Post-playing career

See also

References

External links