Dominique Wilkins was the most underappreciated NBA superstar

Dominique Wilkins was the most underappreciated NBA superstar

Dominique Wilkins would be out of the TV screen and then all of a sudden you saw his hand attached to a body reach out and slam the basketball people had never seen anything like that before taking off at the foul line dunking over somebody or coming down on a brake jump

Over two people or even somebody put a basketball on top of the backboard balanced it up there and he went up got it and dunked it he was the human highlight film he did things that nobody else in the league could imagine a dozen times a game then of course there was

Part of the Wilkins repertoire the staple spin move whirling Bank shots flying Slammers off the break and rainbow jumpers scoring 57 points Jordan getting 41. game seven in Boston Garden against bird Wilkins getting 47 but Hawks falling a basket short or the playoff game against Indiana scored 50 without a single dunk

Impossible Baseline hook he flung over Kevin McHale to clinch the double overtime victory over the Celtics while scoring 54. what if I told you that the Utah Jazz picked Dominique Wilkins in the 1982 NBA draft Jazz traded him to the Atlanta Hawks for John Drew and Freeman Williams plus undisclosed cash

A six-year contract and Wilkins was home it was Utah’s worst decision of their franchise history stories about Wilkins spread nationwide long before he entered the NBA he passed up his final year of Eligibility as the all-time leading scorer of Georgia with 1 688 points in three years and was

Picked after James Worthy went to the Los Angeles Lakers and Terry Cummins to San Diego I thought about coming to Atlanta since I was in college I never thought it would be possible other teams were talking about trading for me Hawks coach Mike Fratello had the most significant

Influence on his game demanded that Wilkins Improvement jump shot expand his range and use his left hand Seven Seasons under Fratello were Nick’s best years it was a time that he established himself as one of the game’s great players with a vast array of dunks jumpers Coast to Coast drives and he

Would explode inside for blocks or follow dunks the greatest game I ever played that was the greatest fourth quarter any two guys ever played Nick recalls game seven East finals in the 1988 playoffs I talked to Larry about it and he feels that way too for one 12-minute span

Wilkins and bird dueled like a pair of gunslingers bird would hit Runners and jumpers Wilkins would ants with dunks and drive the lane with spin moves on and on it went neither player conceding anything bird scored 20 Wilkins 16 in the quarter in the closing one minute 30 seconds

Nick would finish with 47 and burn 34 but the Celtics prevailed 118 116. 1988 San Antonio 48 points in 42 minutes the game quickly evolves into a route 1986 New Jersey he quickly emerged as a premier scorer 57 points 25 by halftime add 16 in the third quarter and 16 in

The fourth 1986 Chicago 57 versus Jordan 30 points by halftime in a Prelude to Wilkinsburg duel 1986 game two of the playoffs against Detroit he scores 50 17 in the third quarter in The crucial minutes guarded by Joe Dumars he repeatedly posts him up dunks over him exploits Dumars with spin moves

After an emotionally charged press conference in April 1990 Fratello announces resignation and Wilkins Evolution as a player continued under Bob Weiss who was the opposite character of Fratello eruptured Achilles tendon threatened his career in January 1992 a six-month break a lot of people thought he’d never come

Back he won’t be able to do his moves instead he worked harder in the 1992 summer and came to training camp in great shape because he was in the best condition of his career he responded to critics many believe was his best season in MVP candidate he thought that he

Never got the credit that he deserved as one of the League’s Superstars because he had been perceived as one-dimensional and hadn’t won an NBA championship in his last year with the Hawks they said his productivity was down but it was for the team’s betterment the Hawks were having a great year

His best season in terms of the chemistry and road to the championship was under Lenny Wilkins his last season in Atlanta the Hawks this time would challenge New York and Chicago for the Eastern Conference title they were worth watching as long as Nick was on the Hawks roster but a trade

Happened the same year he was bitter and angry over the Hawks decision to trade him to the Clippers expected to trade was in the works but instead the Hawks front office was not honest with him they were 36 and 16 while the Clippers were 17 and 34. I

Felt I helped get this team to this point and then they disrespected me he was upset about trading for Danny Manning who being younger shouldn’t have been a factor there are guys in the league who are 24 and can’t do the things I do once you hit 30 people expect you to sit

In a rocking chair the Hawks fans were unsure how to watch their team without Dominique Wilkins except for the year he tore his Achilles tendon but unfortunately this would be an empty feeling when he came back home with the Clippers uniform he put up the kind of numbers that Atlanta fans

Frequently saw during his 12 years with the Hawks 36 points as this team clipped his ex-team’s four-game winning streak with a 97-94 upset you played harder against your friends than your enemies when you get traded there’s nobody you would rather beat than your buddies who you used to play with this was special

Danny Manning who got traded for Wilkins was in foul trouble and scored six points on a three for ten shooting Wilkins drew a pre-game Standing Ovation that lasted for one minute 40 seconds it just shows how genuine Hawks fans were they were behind him even in the Clippers uniform with LA down

74-67 he began the fourth quarter with three consecutive transition layups including a breakaway double pump Jam he went over ELO grabbed the rebound and then scored the basket the Clippers LED 93-92 and went on to win for Atlanta it was the end of an era Wilkins remained hardened by the trade

For years he failed to comprehend unwilling to accept it sounds crazy doesn’t it the disappointment still hasn’t left me the Hawks have a chance to win a title and I wanted to be part of that I still don’t understand it it’s the most senseless trait I can imagine

He refused to speak with Hawk’s president Stan Kasten and general manager Pete Babcock he also felt betrayed by coach Lenny Wilkins of whom he said I did everything Lenny asked but I never really felt part of the offense and he had no support from his teammates except phone calls from Kevin Willis

Dwayne Farrell none of the Hawks publicly blasted the trade which Wilkins interprets as a lack of loyalty while a few including John concac have further stung Nick by saying Danny Manning’s skills were more compatible with the rest of the teams man sometimes I still can’t believe it I

Just tried to go on after 12 years a legacy of highlights and dedication assures Dominique Wilkins stature among the all-time Atlantic greats his Atlanta career had been cut for trade to the LA Clippers but his name should have its place on the same wall in Atlanta Sports history with Evander Holyfield Henry

Aaron and Bobby Jones foreign

Story of the most underappreciated and underrated superstar, and hands down the best in-game dunker ever.

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Written and produced by Oldskoolbball (Tarik Arslan)