Playground legend Dwayne “Pearl” Washington returned to his home court one last time.
The playmaking point guard was remembered Friday by roundball royalty at a jam-packed Brooklyn funeral where speakers hailed Pearl as the ultimate assist man — on and off the court.
“Pearl Washington came to Syracuse and made our basketball team,” said his old college coach, Jim Boeheim. “He made the (Big East) Conference. “He made our program. He made me.”
Boeheim, the hoops Hall of Famer who led Syracuse to the Final Four this year, choked up as he remembered the breathtaking Brooklyn icon.
“There are a lot of great players,” said an emotional Boeheim. “But there’s only one Pearl Washington.”
Hundreds of people packed the Christian Cultural Center in East New York, where Washington was laid out in a black casket surrounded by photos from across his stellar playing career.
A white basketball jersey with “Washington 31” across the back hung near the casket, along with a number of floral arrangements in Syracuse orange-and-white.
“My dad is truly a gem,” his son Dwayne Jr. told the mourners. “That’s why everybody called him the Pearl.”
Washington’s daughters Damira and Tatiana also spoke at the service that began with the songs “I Have a Friend in God” and “Amazing Grace.”
Washington died last week at 52 after a battle with brain cancer. Among those turning out to honor Pearl at the two-hour service were fellow Syracuse alums John Wallace, Wendell Alexis and Rafael Addison.
One-time city hoops stars like St. John’s coach Chris Mullin, ex-Villanova player Ed Pinckney and NBA guard-turned-broadcaster Kenny Smith also paid their respects.
“He was flamboyant, flashy, but he was quiet, modest and humble off the court,” said Mullin, who battled Washington during the Big East’s mid-’80s hey-day.
Addison recounted the infamous showdown where the 6-foot-2 Pearl threw a punch at Georgetown 7-footer Patrick Ewing.
“I asked Pearl, ‘Couldn’t you have punched (guard) Michael Jackson or somebody? Why Patrick?'” Addison recalled. “He said, ‘I just don’t like them, Raf. I just don’t like them.'”
