LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins (born April 6, 1972[1]) is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. He is currently a commentator for Fox Sports.[2]

Dickey Simpkins
Personal information
Born (1972-04-06) April 6, 1972 (age 52)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High schoolFriendly
(Fort Washington, Maryland)
CollegeProvidence (1990–1994)
NBA draft1994: 1st round, 21st overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1994–2006
PositionPower forward
Number8, 0
Career history
19941997Chicago Bulls
1997–1998Golden State Warriors
19982000Chicago Bulls
2000–2001Makedonikos
2001Atlanta Hawks
2001–2002Rockford Lightning
2002Maroussi
2002Criollos de Caguas
2002–2003UNICS Kazan
2003–2004Lietuvos Rytas
2004Leones de Ponce
2004–2005Dakota Wizards
2005Plus Pujol Lleida
2005Alaska Aces
2005Blue Stars Beirut
2006Brose Bamberg
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points1,388 (4.2 ppg)
Rebounds1,187 (3.6 rpg)
Assists305 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Simpkins was born on April 6, 1972, in Fort Washington, Maryland. As a 6' 9" forward/center, Simpkins starred at Friendly High School in Maryland.

College career

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Simpkins would go on to play college basketball at Providence College. He would play four seasons for the Providence Friars basketball team, averaging 9.8 points per game during his collegiate career. During his time at Providence, Simpkins was twice named to the Big East All-Tournament team in 1993 and 1994. In 1994, he helped the Friars win the conference title and earn a spot in the 1994 NCAA tournament. In 2013, Providence inducted Simpkins into the college's athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

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Simpkins was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 21st pick in the 1994 NBA draft. Behind Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, and later Dennis Rodman in the Bulls' playing rotation, he saw limited action in his first few seasons as a Bull, scoring 513 points in 167 games. He earned two NBA Championship rings in 1996 and 1997, but was not on the team's active roster for either playoff run, and in fall 1997 the Bulls traded him to the Golden State Warriors for guard/forward Scott Burrell.

The Warriors subsequently waived Simpkins, and the Bulls claimed him. Simpkins posted a .634 field goal percentage in 21 games, and in the spring of 1998 he participated in the playoffs for the first time of his career, earning his third championship ring. After the 1998–99 NBA lockout, the Bulls parted ways with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Rodman and Luc Longley, which provided Simpkins with significantly more playing time. During the 1999 season he emerged as a part-time starter, averaging career highs of 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds, and in the following season, he played a career-high 1,651 minutes.

After the Bulls signed Brad Miller in September 2000, the Bulls renounced their rights to Simpkins, who would spend a season in Greece before joining the Atlanta Hawks during the 2001–02 NBA season. He only played one game for the Hawks, though, and spent the rest of the season in Greece and the CBA. He later played in Russia, Puerto Rico, Lithuania, Spain, Philippines, Lebanon, and Germany.[3] In 2005, Simpkins joined the Alaska Aces (PBA) of the Philippine Basketball Association as replacement for Leon Derricks.[4] He led the team to a three-game quarterfinals loss against the sixth-seeded Red Bull franchise.[5]

Post-playing career

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Simpkins has worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He is the founder of the basketball development company Next Level Performance Inc. (NLP), and is a national motivational speaker. He is currently a color commentator at Fox Sports 1 (FS1) for the Big East games.

He was a scout for the Charlotte Hornets[6] and the Washington Wizards.[2]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994–95 Chicago 59 5 9.9 .424 .694 2.6 0.6 0.2 0.1 3.5
1995–96 Chicago 60 12 11.4 .481 1.000 .629 2.6 0.6 0.2 0.1 3.6
1996–97 Chicago 48 0 8.2 .333 .250 .700 1.9 0.6 0.1 0.1 1.9
1997–98 Golden State 19 0 10.3 .458 .000 .385 2.4 0.8 0.3 0.1 2.8
1997–98 Chicago 21 0 11.3 .634 .000 .591 1.5 0.8 0.2 0.1 3.7
1998–99 Chicago 50* 35 29.0 .463 .000 .645 6.8 1.3 0.7 0.3 9.1
1999–00 Chicago 69 48 23.9 .405 .000 .542 5.4 1.4 0.3 0.3 4.2
2001–02 Atlanta 1 0 3.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Career 327 100 15.9 .440 .222 .618 3.6 0.9 0.3 0.2 4.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998 Chicago 13 0 5.7 .375 .444 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.2
Career 13 0 5.7 .375 .444 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 1.2

References

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  1. ^ Dickey Simpkins. Yahoo! Sports.
  2. ^ a b "'Why would I play you?': Stories from the end of the Bulls' bench". ESPN.com. May 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "GHP Bamberg adds Simpkins". Archived from the original on September 5, 2006.
  4. ^ ""As 'Last Dance' premiers, Tim Cone turns nostalgic on love for the Triangle Offense" by Gerry Ramos (dated 20 Apr 2020". MSN.
  5. ^ "PBA imports who have won an NBA championship". ESPN.com. July 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "Charlotte Bobcats Staff Directory". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009.
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