Baller of the Day: Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins

Career Statistics

24.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 46 FG%, 81 FT%

“One of the NBA’s true marquee players for more than a decade, Dominique Wilkins earned the nickname “Human Highlight Film” with a plethora of spectacular individual plays dating back to his college years at Georgia. A member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1983, the high-flying 6-8 forward was been named to seven All-NBA teams and nine consecutive All-Star squads and is a two-time winner of the NBA Slam-Dunk Championship.

In 1986 he won the NBA scoring title with an average of 30.3 points per game, and in 1992 he set an NBA record by sinking 23 free throws in a game without a miss. He’s the Atlanta Hawks’ all-time franchise leader in both scoring and steals.

One of only 12 players to score over 25,000 points in his NBA career, Wilkins returned to the NBA in 1996-97 after one year in Europe and led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring with an 18.2 average at the age of 37. He left the NBA ranked seventh on the all-time scoring list with 26,534 points and 10th in career scoring average at 25.3 ppg.

Born in Paris, France, where his father was stationed while with the Air Force, Wilkins attended high school in Washington, North Carolina. The older brother of NBA player Gerald Wilkins, Dominique attended college at Georgia, where he averaged 21.6 points over three seasons. It was his acrobatic exploits there that earned him the nickname of the “Human Highlight Film.”

He entered the 1982 NBA Draft after his junior year and was selected by the Utah Jazz with the third overall pick. He refused to sign with the Jazz, however, and was dealt in September, 1982 to the Atlanta Hawks for John Drew, Freeman Williams and cash. Wilkins was an instant hit for the Hawks, averaging 17.5 ppg as a rookie. He came back in his second season with an average of 21.6 ppg, starting a remarkable streak in which he would average above 20 points per contest for 11 consecutive seasons.” [Read]

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[Sources: NBA.com, YouTube, Basketball-Reference.com]