It became an almost commonplace practice for a while, but it really wasn’t a safe practice or an acceptable practice. A backboard shattering, also referred to as backboard breaking or smashing, is an accident or deliberate stunt in basketball. It happens when a player slam dunks with enough force to break the tempered glass backboard, which may also result in the hoop detaching. This event typically leads to game cancellations or delays, a foul against the player responsible, potential serious injuries, and significant cleanup and replacement costs. The act of shattering a backboard is hazardous, as it propels small shards of glass over the players, sideline press, referees, and spectators. Nevertheless, On November 13, 1979, during a game at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins soared over Kansas City Kings forward Bill Robinzine and executed a slam dunk that shattered the fiberglass backboard. Witnesses described the noise as resembling a bomb detonating on the court. Glass shards scattered everywhere, cutting Robinzine’s arms and legs and embedding in Dr. J’s Afro. Dawkins later remarked, “It wasn’t really safe, but it was a Darryl Dawkins thing to do.” It also wasn’t the first time it happened. Chuck Connors, who would later gain fame as an actor in “The Rifleman,” was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard, not with a dunk but with a set shot. While playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946, during pregame warmups, Connors’ shot hit the front of the rim. The backboard shattered because an arena worker had neglected to install a protective piece between the rim and the backboard. I can only imagine his shock.
When 6’10”, 260-pound Dawkins joined the 76ers in 1975, he was the first NBA player drafted directly from high school. His nickname, reportedly bestowed on him by Stevie Wonder, was “Chocolate Thunder.” His aim was to become the league’s most entertaining player. His slam dunks, huge crowd-pleasers, and he named them all: “the In-Your-Face Disgrace, Look Out Below, Turbo Sexophonic Delight, Rim-Wrecker, Go-Rilla, Spine Chiller Supreme, Cover Your Head, Yo Mama, and his personal favorite, the Get-Out-of-the-Waying, Backboard-Swaying, Game-Delaying, If-You-Ain’t-Grooving-You-Best-Get-Moving Dunk.” His notorious Kansas City backboard shattering dunk was aptly named “the Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam Glass-Breaker-I-Am Jam.”
Apparently, he liked this showiness, because a few weeks later, Dawkins shattered another backboard, this time at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Following this incident, NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien summoned the young player to his office and issued a stern warning: for each backboard Dawkins broke, he would face a $5,000 fine and suspension. While the dramatic dunks were generating publicity for the NBA, which was then facing difficulties, they also led to lengthy game delays as janitors cleaned up the broken glass, not to mention the inherent danger. Consequently, the league decided to equip every arena with shatterproof backboards and breakaway rims. If you can’t stop the players from this risky behavior, you make it impossible to perform.
Darryl Dawkins’ iconic backboard-shattering dunks are some of the most memorable moments from an 
especially exuberant era in NBA history. I don’t think there is one person who hasn’t see a replay or two. He continued his basketball career in Italy, where he broke several backboards that were not Dawkins-proof and later coached the Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs in the United States Basketball League. Dawkins was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957, to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins. His grandmother Amanda Celestine Jones was fond of the young Darryl and personally raised him. Dawkins passed away in 2015, at the age of 58
Leave a Reply