View source for Dickey Simpkins

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1972)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Dickey Simpkins
| image           = 
| width           = 
| caption         = 
| height_ft       = 6
| height_in       = 9
| weight_lb       = 248
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1972|04|06}}
| birth_place     = [[Fort Washington, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| high_school     = [[Friendly High School|Friendly]]<br />([[Fort Washington, Maryland]])
| college         = [[Providence Friars men's basketball|Providence]] (1990–1994)
| draft_year      = 1994
| draft_round     = 1
| draft_pick      = 21
| draft_team      = [[Chicago Bulls]]
| career_start    = 1994
| career_end      = 2006
| career_position = [[Power forward]] / [[center (basketball)|center]]
| career_number   = 8, 0
| years1          = {{nbay|1994|start}}–{{nbay|1996|end}}
| team1           = [[Chicago Bulls]]
| years2          = {{nbay|1997|full=y}}
| team2           = [[Golden State Warriors]]
| years3          = {{nbay|1997|end}}–{{nbay|1999|end}}
| team3           = Chicago Bulls
| years4          = 2000–2001
| team4           = [[Makedonikos B.C.|Makedonikos]]
| years5          = {{nbay|2001|start}}
| team5           = [[Atlanta Hawks]]
| years6          = 2001–2002
| team6           = [[Rockford Lightning]]
| years7          = 2002
| team7           = [[Maroussi B.C.|Maroussi]]
| years8          = 2002
| team8           = [[Criollos de Caguas (basketball)|Criollos de Caguas]]
| years9          = 2002–2003
| team9           = [[BC UNICS|UNICS Kazan]]
| years10         = 2003–2004
| team10          = [[BC Lietuvos rytas|Lietuvos Rytas]]
| years11         = 2004
| team11          = [[Leones de Ponce (basketball)|Leones de Ponce]]
| years12         = 2004–2005
| team12          = [[Dakota Wizards]]
| years13         = 2005
| team13          = [[CE Lleida Bàsquet|Plus Pujol Lleida]]
| years14         = 2005
| team14          = [[Alaska Aces (PBA)|Alaska Aces]]
| years15         = 2005
| team15          = [[Blue Stars (Lebanon)|Blue Stars Beirut]]
| years16         = 2006
| team16          = [[Brose Bamberg]]
| highlights      = 
* 3× [[List of NBA champions|NBA champion]] ({{nbafy|1996}}–{{nbafy|1998}})
* [[Baloncesto Superior Nacional|BSN]] champion (2004)
* [[Russian Basketball Cup|Russian Cup]] champion (2003)
* [[Continental Basketball Association statistical leaders|CBA rebounding leader]] (2002)
| stats_league    = NBA
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 1,388 (4.2 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 1,187 (3.6 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 305 (0.9 apg)
}}
'''LuBara Dixon''' "'''Dickey'''" '''Simpkins''' (born April 6, 1972<ref>[https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/2644 Dickey Simpkins]. Yahoo! Sports.</ref>) 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.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=May 17, 2020 |title='Why would I play you?': Stories from the end of the Bulls' bench |url=https://tv5.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29180154/last-dance-bulls-bench |website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

==Early life==
Simpkins was born on April 6, 1972, in [[Fort Washington, Maryland]]. As a 6' 9" [[power forward (basketball)|forward]]/[[center (basketball)|center]], Simpkins starred at [[Friendly High School]] in Maryland.

==College career==
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 Division I men's basketball tournament|1994 NCAA tournament]]. In 2013, Providence inducted Simpkins into the college's athletic Hall of Fame.

==Professional career==
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 Finals|NBA Championship]] rings in [[1996 NBA Finals|1996]] and [[1997 NBA Finals|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 (basketball)|guard]]/[[forward (basketball)|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 (basketball)|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 [[Continental Basketball Association|CBA]].  He later played in [[Russia]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Lithuania]], [[Spain]], [[Philippines]], [[Lebanon]], and [[Germany]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.euroleague.net/noticia.jsp?temporada=E05&jornada=15&id=788| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060905002806/http://www.euroleague.net/noticia.jsp?temporada=E05&jornada=15&id=788| archive-date = 2006-09-05| title = GHP Bamberg adds Simpkins}}</ref> In 2005, Simpkins joined the [[Alaska Aces (PBA)]] of the Philippine Basketball Association as replacement for Leon Derricks.<ref>{{Cite web |title="As 'Last Dance' premiers, Tim Cone turns nostalgic on love for the Triangle Offense" by Gerry Ramos (dated 20 Apr 2020 |website=[[MSN]]|url=https://www.msn.com/en-ph/sports/more-sports/as-last-dance-premiers-tim-cone-turns-nostalgic-on-love-for-the-triangle-offense/ar-BB12ToZB}}</ref> He led the team to a three-game quarterfinals loss against the sixth-seeded Red Bull franchise.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2020 |title=PBA imports who have won an NBA championship |url=https://tv5.espn.com/basketball/pba/story/_/id/28999146/nba-champions-played-pba-imports |website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

==Post-playing career==
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]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlotte Bobcats Staff Directory |website=[[NBA.com]] |url=http://www.nba.com/bobcats/bobcats_staff_directory.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220151008/http://www.nba.com/bobcats/bobcats_staff_directory.html |archive-date=February 20, 2009}}</ref> and the [[Washington Wizards]].<ref name="auto" />

== NBA career statistics ==
{{NBA player statistics legend|champion=y|leader=y}}

=== Regular season ===
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Nbay|1994}}
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1994–95 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| 59 || 5 || 9.9 || .424 || – || .694 || 2.6 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 3.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{Nbay|1995}}†
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1995–96 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| 60 || 12 || 11.4 || .481 || '''1.000''' || .629 || 2.6 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 3.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{Nbay|1996}}†
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1996–97 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| 48 || 0 || 8.2 || .333 || .250 || '''.700''' || 1.9 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 1.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Nbay|1997}}
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1997–98 Golden State Warriors season|Golden State]]
| 19 || 0 || 10.3 || .458 || .000 || .385 || 2.4 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 2.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{Nbay|1997}}†
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1997–98 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| 21 || 0 || 11.3 || '''.634''' || .000 || .591 || 1.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 3.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Nbay|1998}}
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1998–99 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| style="background:#cfecec;"| 50* || 35 || '''29.0''' || .463 || .000 || .645 || '''6.8''' || 1.3 || '''0.7''' || '''0.3''' || '''9.1'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Nbay|1999|trunc=y}}
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1999–2000 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
| '''69''' || '''48''' || 23.9 || .405 || .000 || .542 || 5.4 || '''1.4''' || 0.3 || '''0.3''' || 4.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{Nbay|2001|trunc=y}}
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2001–02 Atlanta Hawks season|Atlanta]]
| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || – || – || – || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 327 || 100 || 15.9 || .440 || .222 || .618 || 3.6 || 0.9 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 4.2
{{S-end}}

=== Playoffs ===
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[1998 NBA Playoffs|1998]]
|style="text-align:left;"|[[1997-98 Chicago Bulls season|Chicago]]
|13||0||5.7||.375||–||.444||1.0||0.2||0.2||0.1||1.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
|13||0||5.7||.375||–||.444||1.0||0.2||0.2||0.1||1.2
{{S-end}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Basketballstats|bbr=s/simpkdi01}}
*[http://www.nba.com/blog/blog12.html NBA Blog Squad]
*[http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=GER&PlayerID=13573 Eurobasket.com Profile]

{{Navboxes|list1=
{{Chicago Bulls 1995-96 NBA champions}}
{{Chicago Bulls 1996-97 NBA champions}}
{{Chicago Bulls 1997-98 NBA champions}}
{{1994 NBA draft}}
}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpkins, Dickey}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Alaska Aces (PBA) players]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Germany]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Russia]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Spain]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Atlanta Hawks players]]
[[Category:BC Rytas players]]
[[Category:BC UNICS players]]
[[Category:Bamberg Baskets players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Prince George's County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:Chicago Bulls draft picks]]
[[Category:Chicago Bulls players]]
[[Category:College basketball announcers in the United States]]
[[Category:Criollos de Caguas basketball players]]
[[Category:Dakota Wizards (CBA) players]]
[[Category:Golden State Warriors players]]
[[Category:Leones de Ponce basketball players]]
[[Category:Liga ACB players]]
[[Category:Makedonikos B.C. players]]
[[Category:Maroussi B.C. players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Fort Washington, Maryland]]
[[Category:Philippine Basketball Association imports]]
[[Category:Power forwards]]
[[Category:Providence Friars men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Rockford Lightning players]]