It’s possible that the greatest nickname ever given to an NBA played was The Human Highlight Film. For fans who were lucky enough to watch Dominique Wilkins play live, few would disagree that his generational athleticism warranted such a moniker. It’s possible that there might be additional future stars coming up that Wilkins helped tutor. His son from his marriage to Robin Campbell Wilkins has a bright future in the game. Jacob Dominique Wilkins is 16 years old, and is a budding star in the Georgia prep circuit. The former Atlanta Hawks star also hosts the Dominique Wilkins Basketball Academy, which might also help a prospect develop on the way to achieving their basketball dreams.
Dominique Wilkins – Childhood
Jacques Dominique Wilkins’ life began on January 12, 1960 in Paris, France. His parents were John Wilkins and Gertrude Baker. Due to Dominique’s father’s position in the United States Air Force, the family would move constantly when the future NBA star was a child. Eventually, they would move back to the United States, and Dominique would spend a few years living in Baltimore, Maryland.
The particular area of Baltimore where Wilkins lived was not the most safe. He would have need to apply himself in order not to fall in with the wrong crowed. He fell in love with the game of basketball, and got tougher by playing against older kids, many times for money. They did not want to have to pay Wilkins if they lost, so they would play physically with him. However, Dominique Wilkins would end up persevering and winning most of those matchups.
Dominique Wilkins – High School
Dunbar high school would be where Wilkins would start his high school career, but his father’s work would prompt the family to move again. They would relocate to Washington, North Carolina, where Wilkins would round out his upperclassman years. Washington High School was very pleased to take Wilkins on, as the head coach even let him to get the teenager away from the projects in his new town.
With Wilkins on the roster, the team would crush the competition, going 76-1 en route to winning two state championships.
Dominique Wilkins – College
Dominique Wilkins would find a little more stability playing college basketball at the University of Georgia. He is one of the greatest players in Southeastern Conference(SEC) history, with college career averages of 21 points per game and over seven rebounds per contest. The supreme athlete would also make his mark on the defensive end, averaging nearly two blocks and over a steal per game during his time on campus.
He received a plethora of individual honors in his three years with the Bulldogs, such as SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player in 1981 and had numerous honorable All-American mentions. Despite his electric offensive play, the Bulldogs did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament at any point during Wilkins’ career, which is an interesting historical footnote.
Dominique Wilkins – Atlanta Hawks
It is common knowledge that Dominique Wilkins is one of the most beloved Atlanta Hawks ever. However, there was a chance that the prospect who starred in college in Athens, Georgia may have never played for the local professional team.
That’s because Wilkins was selected third overall in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. It is not unusual for teams to trade picks or players on draft night due to strategic positioning done by general managers, but Wilkins’ situation was a little unusual.
When the Jazz took the Bulldogs top scorer, he was less than thrilled. He did not want to play for Utah because apparently they wanted him to play power forward. Wilkins felt like he was not strong enough to contend with the players at that position during that time, and wanted freer reign on the perimeter as a small forward. It is not clear when the Jazz were made aware of Wilkins’ philosophical difference with how they planned to deploy him, but they ended up trading him just over two months later to the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta was thrilled to bring in such an exciting local player, and Wilkins rewarded them with tremendous scoring ability from the get-go. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie team in 1982-1983.
Dominique Wilkins would play for the Hawks from 1982-1983 until midway through the 1993-1994 season, but the team never made it farther than the second round of the playoffs. After stacking one impressive regular season campaign after another, Atlanta would bow out each spring to the likes of legendary NBA teams like the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons, who would win titles in the 1980’s.
Although the team was decently well-rounded with players like Doc Rivers and Tree Rollins, Wilkins was undoubtedly their best player. He was named to nine All-Star teams during his Hawks tenure, and had some big games when he needed to play his best.
One of his most iconic performances came in Game 7 of a 1988 second round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Atlanta had a golden opportunity to knock one of their nemeses out, and very nearly did so. Larry Bird and Wilkins went toe to toe, and the game came down to the wire. At the end of the day, Wilkins’ 47 point performance was not enough to send Boston packing. It would be the best chance he ever had to sniff the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals.
Even though the team success was not what he had hoped for, Wilkins’ style of play drew attention from fans all over the league. The Human Highlight Film would ferociously dunk on anyone in transition, in a post-up setting, or off of a rebound. Pound for pound, he may have been the most athletic player in the NBA, and one of the most physically gifted in NBA history.
That leaping ability was firmly on display during All-Star Weekend. Wilkins was one of the headline attractions in the Slam Dunk Contest. In a classic back and forth, he would get the best of Michael Jordan in the 1985 edition held in Indianapolis. Wilkins would come close to winning other crowns in 1987 and 1988, but was defeated by 5’7” super-leaper Spud Webb and Jordan respectively. Wilkins was able to win another Slam Dunk Contest in 1990 by beating Kenny Smith in the last round.
Dominique Wilkins – Los Angeles Clippers
Atlanta did their best to get over the hump with Wilkins as their centerpiece, but it just wasn’t working out. In February 1994, they traded their star player to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Danny Manning.
The Clippers were not going to make the postseason that year, and they let Wilkins command the offense. He put up 29 points per game during his short time with Los Angeles.
Dominique Wilkins – Boston Celtics
Since his contract was up after his 25 games with Los Angeles, Wilkins had the freedom to go wherever her wanted. At 35 years old, never having won a ring, he might have been expected to join a contender while accepting a more complementary role. However, he decided to prioritize playing time and contributions ahead of the 1994-1995 campaign, and signed with the Boston Celtics.
At this point, Boston was clearly in rebuilding mode, as Bird and Kevin McHale had since retired. Robert Parish was remarkably still in the NBA, but had left to play for the Charlotte Hornets. With Wilkins as their leading scorer, the Celtics squeaked into the postseason in the final year of the Boston Garden’s existence, but were bounced by Shaquille O’Neal and a strong Orlando Magic team.
Dominique Wilkins – San Antonio Spurs
After a year away from the NBA, Dominique Wilkins would return to the league at age 37 to play for the San Antonio Spurs. It seemed like this might be the future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer’s chance to advance deep into the postseason one last time, but it was not meant to be. The 1996-1997 season was injury riddled for Spurs All-Star center David Robinson, who missed all but six games with a back and foot injury. Although the timing and luck proved fortuitous for San Antonio, who would win the lottery and draft Tim Duncan the very next year, it was a bad break for Wilkins. He would still show shades of his old Hawks self though on more than one occasion, averaging over 18 points per game in 63 games played.
Dominique Wilkins – Orlando Magic
Dominique Wilkins would spend another year away from the NBA after his year in San Antonio. He would make one last return to the league for the lockout shortened 1998-1999 season. He would be utilized as a deep reserve on the bench of the Orlando Magic, who still had some 1995 NBA Finals holdovers like Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson. The team would qualify for the postseason, but Wilkins saw only two minutes of action in their first round series loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Dominique Wilkins – International Career
In an interesting turn of events, Domonique Wilkins would spend a couple of years playing in Europe before his time with the Spurs and Magic respectively. In 1995-1996, he starred for Greek team Panathinaikos, and was a big hit overseas. The NBA All-Star would lead the team all the way to the Euroleague title, and was named MVP of the Final Four teams in that playoff tournament.
Before his season in Orlando, Wilkins would take his talents to Italy to play for Fortitudo Bologna. The 38 year-old would not disappoint, averaging over 19 points and nearly seven rebounds per game.
Is Dominique Wilkins from Georgia?
Although Dominique Wilkins has been associated with the state of Georgia for around 40 years, he is not originally from there. Actually, he is not even originally from the United States, as he was born in Paris, France when his father was serving in the military. His family would eventually relocate to Baltimore, Maryland. When Wilkins was in high school, the family would move once again, this time to North Carolina. It was only when Wilkins got to college that his Georgia roots would start to take shape. He played college basketball for the University of Georgia, and professional basketball predominantly for the Hawks.
What does Dominique Wilkins do now?
Older fans of the Atlanta Hawks luckily did not have to go far to continue getting their fix of The Human Highlight Film. Dominique Wilkins did eventually leave the Hawks in the early 1990’s to play for other NBA teams, but he would return to the team in a broadcasting capacity. Wilkins has been a color analyst for Hawks telecasts for the last 13 seasons, which is a thrill for Hawks fans. He sits next to Bob Rathbun most nights, who is responsible for the play by play commentary of the game. Wilkins will likely continue to work in this job for a long time.
Why was Dominique Wilkins not on the Dream Team?
The 1992 Dream Team that competed on behalf of the United States in the Barcelona Olympics was arguably the best collection of talent ever assembled on a basketball court. Even though some of the greatest players ever were already guaranteed a spot on the team, there was a good chance that Dominique Wilkins would be able to get a spot on the roster. However, in January 1992, the high flying forward ruptured his Achilles, which knocked him out for the remainder of the NBA season. The injury would also take him out of consideration to play on The Dream Team.
