Best known as The Human Highlight Film, Dominique Wilkins was a prolific scorer. His arsenal of dunks and moves oohed and ahed fans in the NBA. He played 11 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and led the NBA in scoring with 30 points per game in the 1985-86 season. If you were to fast forward to today and think of a prolific scorer that matches Dominque Wilkins the name that comes to mind for me is Carmelo Anthony. Ironically, their career scoring average is exactly the same at 24.8 points per game.
Wilkins was instrumental in the Hawks’ prominence in the 1980s, when the club recorded four consecutive 50-win seasons during the decade. 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 2016, he ranks 15th on the NBA scoring list.
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.
His #21 jersey was retired by the Hawks on January 13, 2001. He is one of four players whose jerseys have been retired by the Hawks.
In case you are wondering who the 4 players to have their numbers retired in Hawks history …Bob Pettit #9 Dominique Wilkins #21 Lou Hudson #23 Pete Maravich #44 and Dikembe Mutombo #55.
Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday spotlights…The Human Highlight Film …Dominique Wilkins.
| Career history | |
|---|---|
| 1982–1994 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1994 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1994–1995 | Boston Celtics |
| 1995–1996 | Panathinaikos |
| 1996–1997 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1997–1998 | Fortitudo Bologna |
| 1999 | Orlando Magic |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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|
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 26,668 (24.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 7,167 (6.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,677 (2.5 apg |
smallthoughtsinasportsworld 
Can you imagine The Human Highlight Film doing his thing in this age of non-stop highlights? It would be wild! But I’m glad he came to us inside another time, when those of us who were there didn’t have highlights on demand. He gave us a show every time out. And I’ll never forget that time in the playoffs when he went toe to toe with Larry Bird in the Boston Garden. What great theater it was.
And add to that, Wilkins is just the coolest dude in the room. I had the pleasure of meeting him and the late Chuck Daly at a trade show in Chicago back in the ’90s. We talked on everything, and they were two of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet.
Now I am gonna have to YouTube me some Dominique highlights. Just because…
Nice. He didn’t get the right recognition he deserved. Jordan got the headlines but Nique was every bit the player.
He truly was.