A native of Gary, Indiana, he attended Lew Wallace High School and played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans.

In his senior season for Michigan State, he helped his team reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

[6][7][8] Sources: Following interest from several schools, receiving offers from Purdue, Indiana, UCLA, Georgetown and Marquette among others, Dawson verbally committed to Michigan State in August 2010.

[11][12] Dawson scored 10 points in his competitive debut for Michigan State, a 67–55 loss to North Carolina in the 2011 Carrier Classic.

[15][16][17][18] His freshman season came to an end after he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament, in a game against Ohio State.

[24][25] A few days after the incident with Payne, Dawson had a season-high performance in both scoring and rebounding, with 18 and 13 respectively, to help the Spartans overcome Wisconsin 49–47.

[33] Source:[5] On June 25, 2015, Dawson was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 56th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, only to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for cash considerations later that night.

[34] After posting 12.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game in the 2015 NBA Summer League, he signed a two-year contract with the Clippers on July 15.

[37] On December 28, he made his NBA debut, recording one blocked shot in three minutes of action against the Washington Wizards.

[44] On March 31, 2017, Dawson signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League for the rest of the season.

On July 15, 2019, Dawson signed with Cañeros del Este of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto.

[48] On January 9, 2019, Dawson recorded career-highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds, while shooting 10-of-18 from the field, along with seven assists in a 111–90 win over Correcaminos UAT Victoria.

[52] On November 29, 2019, Dawson signed a two-month contract with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli National League as an injury cover for Jakim Donaldson.

[55] In November 2020, Dawson signed a contract with Kaohsiung Jeoutai Technology of Super Basketball League in Taiwan.

[58] On February 21, 2021, Dawnson made his P.League+ debut and scored 21 points and 13 rebounds in a game against the league leading Taipei Fubon Braves.