which might jeopardize its ability to bar players who had actually participated in gambling, the NBA elected to settle after the 1968–69 season and admit Hawkins to the league. The league agreed to a $1.3M settlement in 1969. The league paid Hawkins a cash settlement of nearly $1.3 million ($ in current dollar terms), and assigned his rights to the expansion Phoenix Suns. He would be assigned to the Suns as a result of them winning a coin toss over the Seattle SuperSonics. Although the Pipers made a cursory effort to re-sign him, playing in the NBA had been a longtime ambition for Hawkins and he quickly signed with the Suns. Phoenix Suns (1969–1973) In 1969, still recovering from knee surgery in his final ABA season, Hawkins hit the ground running with the Phoenix Suns, when he played 81 games and averaged 24.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. In the final game of his rookie season, Connie had 44 points, 20 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks and 5 steals. The Suns finished third in the Western Conference, and in the 1970 NBA playoffs they were knocked out by the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Western Conference Semifinals series in which Hawkins carried the Suns against a team that had future Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. In Game 2 of the series, on March 29, 1970, Hawkins led the Suns to a 114-101 victory while scoring 34 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, and recording 7 assists. For the series, Hawkins averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists per game. He missed 11 games due to injury during the 1970–71 season, averaging 21 points per game. He matched those stats the next year, and was the top scorer on a per-game basis for the Suns in the 1971–72 season. He averaged a comparatively low 16 points per game for the Suns in the 1972–73 season. Los Angeles Lakers (1973–1975) Averaging 11.3 points nine games into the 1973–74 season and having been replaced in the starting lineup by Mike Bantom, Hawkins was traded from the Suns to the Lakers for Keith Erickson and a 1974 second-round selection (31st overall–Fred Saunders) on October 30. Atlanta Hawks (1975–1976) Injuries limited Hawkins' production in the 1974–75 season, and he finished his career after the 1975–76 season, playing for the Atlanta Hawks. Milestones Connie Hawkins was named to