American basketball player (born 1972)
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 scout for the Washington Wizards.[2]
Early life and high school career
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
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
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
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]
