Dominique Wilkins

Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team member and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "The Human Highlight Film".

In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

Wilkins is the leader in most years with the Hawks for 12 seasons, the most games played with 882 in Hawks franchise history, the most minutes played with 32,545 in Hawks franchise history, the most career points in Hawks franchise history with 23,292 points, and the most points per game with 26.4 in Hawks franchise history.

He was the back-to-back MVP for the team's consecutive Class 3-A State Championships (1978–1979).

Wilkins was in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated while in high school for a performance in a game vs. a higher classification school in which he scored 48 points, had 27 rebounds, 9 dunks, and 8 blocks.

Wilkins then starred in the McDonald's All-American Game, the Capital Classic, the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic, and the Dapper Dan Classic all-star games.

He had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the McDonald's game, 26 points in the Capital Classic, and 22 points in the Derby Classic.

Wilkins entered the University of Georgia in 1979 with a reputation as an exciting player and left as the “Human Highlight Film”.

Wilkins was instrumental in the Hawks' prominence in the 1980s, when the club recorded four consecutive 50-win seasons during the decade.

He averaged 21.6 points a game over his Bulldogs career and was named to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team in 1981.

Likely to go as one of the very top picks of the 1982 NBA draft, he left college after his junior year.

Wilkins was selected third overall (behind James Worthy and Terry Cummings) by the Utah Jazz in the 1982 NBA draft.

However, Wilkins was not willing to play in Utah; the team wanted him to play power forward, while he wanted to play small forward.

At the same time, the Jazz were reeling from cash flow problems.

As a result, the Jazz traded Wilkins to the Atlanta Hawks several months after the draft for John Drew, Freeman Williams and $1 million in cash.

The trade is now considered among the most lopsided deals in NBA history, as Drew and Williams would play a combined four seasons for the Jazz.

Wilkins notched his first Slam-Dunk Championship at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis during the 1984–85 season.

He went on to finish the season with a 27.4 scoring average, good for sixth in the NBA.

He ranked second on the Hawks in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and steals (135).

For the first of two straight seasons, he led the NBA in field-goal attempts, with 1,891.

After going 0-for-11 from the three-point line the previous season, Wilkins made 25 of 81 three-point shots in 1984–85.

He also shot better than 80 percent from the free throw line for the first of 10 consecutive seasons.

Despite Wilkins's efforts, Atlanta finished 34–48 and failed to reach the playoffs.

Wilkins led the NBA in scoring in the 1985–86 season.

Wilkins averaged more than 25 points per game for ten consecutive seasons, and captured a scoring title in 1985–86 with an average of 30.3 points per game.

His trademark dunk was a powerful one- or two-handed windmill dunks he used to capture the slam dunk contest titles in 1985 and 1990.

As a basketball player, he was known as an acrobatic scorer, somewhat of a gunner, though an outstanding finisher and one of the greatest dunkers in NBA history.

Wilkins exploded into the NBA's elite circle in 1985–86, winning the league scoring title with an average of 30.3 points per game.

As Wilkins entered his thirties and the Hawks needed more of an all-around contribution from their star, Wilkins averaged 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the 1990–91 season.

A nine-time NBA All-Star and the winner of two NBA slam dunk contests, Wilkins registered 26,668 points and 7,169 rebounds in his NBA career.

As of 2024, he ranks 17th on the NBA scoring list.

Wilkins's nickname was "The Human Highlight Film" for his athletic ability and highlight reel dunks.

In addition to his 11 seasons with the Hawks, Wilkins had short stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League, with whom he won his first titles, the FIBA European League and the Greek Cup), Fortitudo Bologna of Lega Basket Serie A, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Orlando Magic before he retired in 1999. As a member of the U.S. men's national team, Wilkins won gold at the 1994 FIBA World Championship.

Wilkins was born in Paris while his father was stationed in France as an officer in the U.S. Army.

He has a younger brother, Gerald Wilkins, who also played in the NBA, mainly for the New York Knicks.

His family moved to Dallas and Baltimore before settling in Washington, North Carolina, where he attended Washington High School.

His #21 jersey was retired by the Hawks on January 13, 2001.

He is one of five players whose jerseys have been retired by the Hawks.

In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.