Hawkins was drafted in the third round, 51st overall, by the
Golden State Warriors in the
1975 NBA draft. He appeared in 32 games for the Warriors in his rookie season, averaging 3.9 points and 0.9 rebounds in only 4.8 minutes per game. The Nets had been left short at the guard position following the sale of superstar
Julius Erving due to financial difficulties. Hawkins quickly became the closest thing the Nets had to a star, averaging 19.3 points per game and leading Nets head coach
Kevin Loughery to remark "All I know is that Bubbles Hawkins has become a hero just when we needed one." That year, on February 7, 1977, Hawkins scored a career best 44 points in a 93–89 win over the
New Orleans Jazz. During the festivities of the
1977 NBA All-Star Game, Hawkins faced and lost to
Pete Maravich in the first round of an NBA-sanctioned game of horse as part of a televised tournament. However, Hawkins' NBA prominence would be relatively short lived, and Loughery's high opinion of Hawkins was not extended to the 1977–78 season, with the Nets now playing in
New Jersey. Hawkins would play in only 15 games for the Nets that season, before being released after a series of conflicts with the coach. Hawkins would get one more chance in the NBA, signing before the 1978–79 season with the
Detroit Pistons, but only appeared in four of the team's first nine games before again being released. ==Death==