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Dominique Wilkins News
Dominique Wilkins: A Brief Biography
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American retired professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a 9-Time All-Star, 1-Time All-NBA First Team, 1986 NBA Scoring Champion, 4-Time All-NBA Second Team, and All-NBA Rookie First Team. Nicknamed "The Human Highlight Film", Wilkins is widely recognized as one of the best dunkers in NBA History.
Wilkins attended Washington High School where he earned back-to-back MVP awards for the team's consecutive Class 3-A State Championships in 1978-1979. In a match against a higher classification school, he scored 48 points, had 27 rebounds, 9 dunks, and 8 blocks and was featured in "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated. Wilkins played his college basketball at the University of Georgia. He averaged 21.6 points per game and was named SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1981.
Wilkins was drafted as the 3rd overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. He was later traded to the Atlanta Hawks for cash. Wilkins was instrumental in the prominence of the Hawks in the 1980s. He helped the Hawks record four consecutive 50-win seasons during the decade. With an exception to his rookie season and his last three seasons of his career, Wilkins never averaged fewer than 20 points per game and also captured a scoring title in 1985–86, averaging 30.3 points per game.
Apart from his 11 seasons with the Hawks, Wilkins also had some small stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Orlando Magic. Late into his career, he also played in Greece's top-tier level Greek Basket League for the Panathinaikos Athens. He helped the team win the FIBA European League and the Greek Cup. He also played Fortitudo Bologna, a professional team in Italy's top-tier level LBA.
Wilkins was known for his athletic ability and highlight reel dunks. He won the slam dunk contest titles in 1985 and 1990 with his trademark powerful one- or two-handed windmill dunks. As a player, he was an acrobatic scorer, somewhat of a gunner, and an outstanding finisher. In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
