Juaquin Hawkins (born July 2, 1973) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played with the Houston Rockets during the

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The Hornets relocate from Ch ...

Professional basketball career

After going undrafted in the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th NBA draft, draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996–97 NBA season, 1996, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns s ...

, he signed a free agent contract to play with

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA ...

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

on the

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

. 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 The Long Island Surf were a professional basketball team based in Long Island, New York. They played 14 seasons in the United States Basketball League (USBL). History The franchise was established in 1985 as the Long Island Knights, and played i ...

of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

. He played with the

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

during the 1998 NBA preseason and was the last player cut. He then played with the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

in 1998 and 1999. After that, he played with the

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

along with future Rockets teammate

Moochie Norris Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push ...

. After that, he played with the Southern California Surf of the

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

. In 2000–01, he played for

Toyota Alvark Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948, ...

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.

Houston Rockets and other NBA teams

Hawkins signed with the Houston Rockets of the

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

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 The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. He suited up all 82 games for the Rockets as they missed the playoffs by one game.NBA.com: Juaquin Hawkins Bio
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References

External links

*
Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Juaquin 1973 births 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Alvark Tokyo players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Chinese Basketball Alliance imports Fort Wayne Fury players Gold Coast Blaze players Houston Rockets players living people Long Beach Jam players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Lynwood High School alumni Panasonic Trians players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players small forwards sportspeople from Lynwood, California Sun Rockers Shibuya players Undrafted NBA players