I started to write an article about the biggest snubs in sports. It was going to include the worst MVP or Heisman decisions, the biggest snubs from the All Star game, and the biggest snubs for other accolades as well. As I was writing it I came across one snubbed athlete that deserved his own article.
In the history of the NBA there have been a lot of extremely talented athletes; it might be the sport with the most athletic players. But as great as Shaq is we’ve seen other physically dominating players, as good as Larry Bird was we’ve seen a lot of guys who could knock down shots from all over the court, and as good as Magic Johnson is we’ve seen players make behind the back passes before. It’s not very often that you see a NBA player that does stuff that you have never seen before. I’m sure you’re thinking about that Jordan guy, but he’s never been snubbed for anything. I’m talking about Dominique Wilkins.
Dominique Wilkins, nicknamed “‘Nique” or “The Human Highlight Film”, is one of the most prolific scorers and best dunkers you will ever see. Dominique Wilkins went to college at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the third pick in the 1982 Draft. Dominique Wilkins didn’t want to play for the Jazz so they traded him to his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Dominique Wilkins was one of the best scorers and dunkers of his time and was known for his incredible dunks. Thanks to Dominique Wilkins the Atlanta Hawks, now a horrible franchise, rose to prominence.
Dominique Wilkins came into the league and started scoring off the bat, averaging 17.5 points per game his rookie season. But it would only get better than that because his rookie season was the last season in Atlanta that Dominique Wilkins averaged less than 20 points per game. His points per game increased from 17.5 to 21.6 and then 27.4 in 84-85 and 30.3 in 85-86. Dominique Wilkins would average 30 points per game twice and 29 points per game three other times. While he played for the Atlanta Hawks Dominique Wilkins averaged 27 points per game. At first Dominique Wilkins was known just as a scorer but he eventually evolved into a great all around player. During Dominique Wilkins’ tenure with the Atlanta Hawks they had four consecutive 50 win seasons. The Atlanta Hawks have had just as many 50 win seasons in the 11 seasons with Dominique Wilkins as their twenty seven seasons without Dominique Wilkins.
Dominique Wilkins was nicknamed “The Human Highlight Film” because you could collect just his highlights from the game and that would be enough to wow the audience, mostly because of his incredible dunks. Due to his great dunks Dominique Wilkins was often a competitor in the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest. Dominique was in the very first slam dunk contest in 1984 which was won by Larry Nance. However, in the second NBA Slam Dunk Contest Dominique Wilkins went head to head with the one and only Michael Jordan in the finals and beat him.. In 1986 Dominique Wilkins defended his title but lost to his teammate Spud Webb. Michael Jordan missed the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest due to injury and Dominique Wilkins missed the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest. But finally in 1988 we got the much awaited rematch between Dominique Wilkins in Michael Jordan. The 1988 Slam Dunk Finals was probably the best ever as the two dunkers got three dunks each and both got two perfect 50 scores. Michael Jordan’s second dunk only got a 47, so Dominique Wilkins needed to match that with his third dunk but fell short with a 45. Many people thought that Dominique Wilkins got hosed and that he was given a 45 just so that Michael Jordan would win, but that Dominique Wilkins deserved to win. Anytime you out dunked Michael Jordan not once but twice, you’re a pretty special player. Dominique Wilkins returned to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest one more time in 1990 and defeated Kenny Smith in the Finals.
Dominique Wilkins won the NBA Scoring Title in the 1985-1986 season, made the All-NBA first team once, the second team four times, and the third team twice. Dominique Wilkins was also named to the All Star game nine consecutive seasons from 1986 to 1994 and finished in the top 10 scoring in each of those seasons. Dominique’s 26,668 career points ranks him ninth in the history of the NBA above great players such as John Havlicek, Alex English, Reggie Miller, Jerry West, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.
But as I said to open the article, I originally thought of Dominique when coming up with a list of the biggest snubs of all time, Dominique was actually involved in a few. Of course I already mentioned how he probably should’ve won the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest but lost to Michael Jordan just because of Jordan’s popularity, but it wasn’t the last time he would get snubbed either. In 1992 the Olympics decided that college players would no longer represent the USA in basketball. Instead they would have NBA players represent them. The first team the USA assembled in 1992 was called the Dream Team and considered to be the best team ever assembled. Dominique Wilkins was somehow left off that team despite being a higher scorer than anyone on the team other than Michael Jordan. Obviously you can’t blame them for wanting Magic Johnson, John Stockton and Larry Bird on the team for their abilities at other parts of the game and certainly you need Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley to play in the post but Dominique Wilkins should make the team before Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin or Scottie Pippen. And they also chose Christian Laetner over Dominique Wilkins? Please. It gets even worse than that though, in 1996 the NBA named their 50 Greatest Players and Dominique Wilkins was nowhere to be seen. You’re 9th scorer all-time isn’t one of the best 50 players? But the most ridiculous snub was yet to come. When Dominique Wilkins name showed up on the NBA Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, he DIDN’T get in. Are you serious? Does anybody who votes on the NBA Hall of Fame even watch basketball? How can you not induct the 9th best scorer of all time? Points scored are the number one stat in basketball. Being in the top 10 all time in points in the NBA is like being a top 10 homerun hitter in baseball or in the top 10 in touchdowns in the NBA. Reggie Jackson is 10th all time in homeruns and Mickey Mantle is 13th, could you imagine one of them not getting in to the baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot? Barry Sanders is 11th all time in touchdowns in the NFL and Tim Brown is 15th, can you imagine either one of them not making the NFL Hall of Fame on the first ballot? Well that’s what the equivalent of Dominique Wilkins not getting into the Hall of Fame is. They finally rectified the situation by inducting Dominique Wilkins this year, but I’m not sure if they really voted him in or if they heard the thousands of people calling the NBA Hall of Fame committee a bunch of morons and wanted to shut them up. But it’s clear to me with all the snubs he’s faced and the little credit he gets that Dominique Wilkins is possibly the most underrated athlete to ever play any sport.
