Juaquin Hawkins

Juaquin Hawkins
Los Angeles Slam
Position Small forward
League ABA
Personal information
Born (1973-07-02) July 2, 1973
Lynwood, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school Lynwood (Lynwood, California)
College Long Beach State (1993–1996)
NBA draft 1996 / Undrafted
Playing career 1996–present
Career history
1996–1997 Hung Fu Rams
1998 Long Island Surf
1999–2000 Fort Wayne Fury
2000–2001 Toyota Alvark
2001 San Miguel Beermen
2001–2002 Southern California Surf
2002–2003 Houston Rockets
2003–2004 Long Beach Jam
2004–2005 Orange County Crush
2005 Long Beach Jam
2005 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2005–2006 Matsushita Electric Panasonic Kangaroos
2006–2007 Hitachi SunRockers
20072008 Gold Coast Blaze
2009–2010 Los Angeles Lightning
2011–2012 Los Angeles Slam
2012 Los Angeles Lightning
2012–present Los Angeles Slam
Career highlights and awards
  • ABA champion (2004)
  • CBA champion (2005)
  • IBL champion (2009)

Juaquin Hawkins (born July 2, 1973) is an American professional basketball player. He played with the Houston Rockets during the 2002–03 NBA season.[1]

Professional Basketball Career

After going undrafted in the 1996 NBA Draft, he signed a free agent contract to play with Kobe Bryant, Nick Van Exel, Shaquille O'Neal on the Los Angeles Lakers. He was one of the last cut from the final roster. After that, he played for the Hung Fu Rams in Taiwan and the Long Island Surf of the United States Basketball League. He played with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 1998 NBA preseason and was the last player cut. He then played with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1998 and 1999. After that, he played with the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association along with future Rockets teammate Moochie Norris. After that, he played with the Southern California Surf of the ABA. In 2000–01, he played for Toyota Alvark in Japan. Finally, during the 2002–03 season, he made the Houston Rockets as the second oldest rookie in the NBA during that time. He even started 10 games that year.[2]

After that year he went to veteran camps with the Golden State Warriors and was cut after a few games. He then played in the ABA with Dennis Rodman, Derrick Dial, Matt Barnes, and DeMarr Johnson and won a league championship. He then played in Japan, and in 2008, he helped the Gold Coast Blaze reach the playoffs in their inaugural season before being sidelined with an illness. He had a stroke after which some doctors thought he would never play again. After several months of speech and physical therapy he recovered and in 2009 he played in the IBL with the Los Angeles Lightning and won a championship. Other former NBA players Toby Bailey, Byron Russell, Darrick Martin and Lamond Murray were a part of this team.

Houston Rockets and other NBA teams

Hawkins signed with the Houston Rockets of the NBA on September 30, 2002. On November 22, 2002, he put up career highs with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Washington Wizards. He suited up all 82 games for the Rockets as they missed the playoffs by one game.[3]

Off the court

In 2010, Juaquin was featured along with his wife Kim Hawkins in episode 3 of the TV series Breakthrough with Tony Robbins.

Hawkins has co-written a book about his life, called Stroke of Grace, regarding his journey to the NBA and his experience suffering a devastating stroke.

References

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