Tom Hawkins (basketball)

Thomas Jerome Hawkins (December 22, 1936 – August 16, 2017) was an American professional basketball player.

A 6'5" (1.96 m) forward, Hawkins starred at Chicago's Parker (now Robeson) High School before playing at the University of Notre Dame, where he became the school's first African-American basketball star. He was then selected by the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers in the first round of the 1959 NBA draft, and he would have a productive ten-year career in the league, playing for the Lakers as well as the Cincinnati Royals as he registered 6,672 career points and 4,607 career rebounds.

Hawkins later worked in radio and television broadcasting in Los Angeles and served as vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Hawkins died in his home in Malibu, California on August 16, 2017.