NBA.com: Dickey Simpkins Bio

A center in college, 6-10 LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins came into the NBA as a forward but got only modest playing time in his first four seasons, all with the Chicago Bulls except for 19 games in the first half of the 1997-98 campaign, when he was with the Golden State Warriors. That changed in 1998-99, when he played in all 50 games and made 35 starts, posting career-highs in all major categories. He started 48 games for the Bulls in 1999-2000 and was the team's second-leading rebounder. A four-year player at Providence, Simpkins put up respectable numbers for the Friars. He posted his collegiate career high on the boards as a freshman, grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game. In his senior season he enjoyed his best year on the offensive end, scoring 11.8 points per contest. The Bulls, on the verge of losing power forward Horace Grant to free agency, selected Simpkins with the 21st overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft but in three seasons he has yet to live up to that first-round status. Simpkins saw limited playing time in his first NBA season. In 59 appearances he averaged 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in just under 10 minutes per game. In 1995-96 he posted similar numbers, averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in just over 11 minutes per game in 60 appearances. But in 1996-97 his figures went down to 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game in 48 outings. Prior to the 1997-98 season, Simpkins was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for swingman Scott Burrell. After seeing limited action with Golden State he was waived in midseason but re-signed by the Bulls for the stretch run and earned another championship ring. He was a starter for most of the 1998-99 season and was the Bulls' second-leading rebounder at 6.8 per game. He also averaged career-highs of 9.1 points and 1.3 assists in 29.0 minutes per game. He ranked second on the team in rebounding again the following season, although his averages dipped to 4.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Grabbed 12 boards in an 88-86 loss to Orlando on 3/20 Snared a game-high 14 rebounds in a 98-92 win over Detroit on 1/22 Totaled 10 points and 7 boards in a 95-83 loss in Dallas on 11/27 Scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in an 84-74 loss to New York on 11/3

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Recorded 16 points (7-8 FG) and a game-high 10 rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets on 4/30 Totaled 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in an 83-77 victory over the Washington Wizards on 4/20 Matched his career-high with 21 points (6-9 FG, 9-9 FT) and grabbed 5 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/6 Posted 16 points (6-10 FG) and a team-high 10 rebounds in an 88-87 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 4/4 Registered a team-high 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals against the Charlotte Hornets on 3/24 Scored in double-figures in 6 consecutive games and notched 3 double-doubles, averaging 13.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 1.3 apg, from 3/12 to 3/21 Recorded a career-high 21 points (7-13 FG, 7-10 FT), a team-high 8 rebounds and 4 assists against the Philadelphia 76ers on 3/3 Totaled 17 points (5-10 FG, 7-9 FT) and 10 rebounds in a 90-88 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on 2/28

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Registered 14 points (3-3 FG, 8-10 FT) and 5 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers on 4/13 Scored a career-high 17 points (6-8 FG) and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 103-85 victory over the Washington Wizards on 4/7 Waived by the Warriors on 2/17 and signed as a free agent by the Chicago Bulls on 3/2 On the injured list from 11/9 to 12/17 due to a right pectoralis strain

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
In another disappointing season, Simpkins appeared in 48 games off the bench in 1996-97, averaging 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game. He posted season-highs of 11 points and nine rebounds in a 111-69 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on March 5. He was on the injured list Nov. 11-22 due to achilles tendinitis in his right ankle, and was not on the Bulls' playoff roster.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Simpkins appeared in 60 games in his second pro season and averaging just 11.4 minutes per game, although he did make 12 consecutive starts at power forward from Nov. 9 through Dec. 2. The 6-10 forward averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, with highs of 12 points in 21 minutes in his first start at Cleveland on Nov. 9 and eight rebounds on two occasions. Simpkins was not on Chicago's postseason roster as the team elected to go with more experienced frontcourt players like James Edwards and John Salley for its playoff run.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
After Horace Grant signed with the Orlando Magic in the offseason, opportunities opened up for some of the Chicago Bulls young frontcourt players, including Simpkins and Corie Blount. But Simpkins, who was taken with a late first-round pick by the Bulls in the 1994 NBA Draft, saw limited action in his rookie campaign, appearing in 59 games and starting 5. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per contest. Simpkins missed six games in March with tendinitis in his right Achilles tendon and sat out one game in April with the flu. Simpkins had his best games late in the year, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds on April 5 against the New Jersey Nets and scoring a career-high 16 points on April 20 against the Detroit Pistons. He was not a member of the team s postseason roster as the Bulls advanced to the conference semifinals before falling to the Orlando Magic in six games.