After going undrafted in the
2007 NBA draft, Dawson signed with the
Austin Toros of the
NBA Development League on November 1, 2007. On February 4, 2008, he was waived by the Toros after playing two games in an injury plagued. Afterwards, he signed with Marineros of Dominican Republic for the rest of the season. On November 6, 2008, Dawson re-signed with the Austin Toros. In 30 games, he averaged 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and one block in 24.2 minutes. The next season, he played in Japan for
Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins. In December, 2010, Dawson re-signed with Austin. In 29 games with the Austin Toros in the 2011–12 season, Dawson averaged 17.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, shooting 56 percent from the field earning himself the
NBA D-League's Impact Player of the Year. He eclipsed previous career highs that he set in the 2008–09 season when he averaged 10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. With Dawson in the lineup, the Toros put together a record of 19–10, helping them to the league's second best record at 33–17 going into the 2012 NBA D-League Playoffs. During the
2011–12 season, he played two stints with the
San Antonio Spurs of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). The
Meralco Bolts of the
Philippine Basketball Association selected Dawson as an import for the 2013 Commissioner's Cup. In July 2013, he signed with
Metros de Santiago of the
Dominican Republic. However, he was waived on October 26 after appearing in three preseason games. On October 31, 2013, Dawson was re-acquired by the Austin Toros and averaged 14 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. In March, 2013, Dawson signed with
Petrochimi Bandar Imam to play in the final of the WABA League. He was the leading scorer for Petrochimi with 21 points, but lost the title. On April 24, 2014, Dawson signed with Heilongjiang Fengshen of the Chinese
NBL In June 2014, Dawson re-joined joining the Atlanta Hawks for the
2014 NBA Summer League. On August 6, 2014, Dawson signed with
Élan Chalon of France for the 2014–15 season. On June 16, 2015, he signed with the
Leones de Ponce of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015
BSN season. In 11 games, he averaged 8.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. On May 30, 2016, he signed with
Blackwater Elite for the
2016 PBA Governors' Cup. On September 23, 2016, Dawson signed with the
Utah Jazz, On October 31, he was acquired by the
Salt Lake City Stars of the
NBA Development League. On November 26, he was waived by the Stars after suffering a foot injury. He averaged 6.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in 25 minutes. On January 4, 2017, he re-signed with Leones de Ponce. On December 27, 2017, Dawson signed with
Comunicaciones of the Argentinian
LNB, averaging 16 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals in 23 games. On May 13, 2018, he returned to Puerto Rico, this time with
Cariduros de Fajardo. ==Career statistics==