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The most celebrated player to ever put on a Hawks uniform, newly-minted Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins enters his third season as the Hawks’ Vice President-Basketball. Previously the team's special assistant to the executive vice president and player development assistant, Wilkins reports to team President/CEO Bernie Mullin and works in various management functions within the organization's basketball and business areas.
Wilkins is responsible for advising the senior management team on basketball-related issues, working as a strong voice in the community, and serving as a member of the executive committee and the Hawks' Free Agent Acquisition Committee. The 6-8 forward, who concluded his NBA career with 26,668 points, is the ninth all-time leading scorer in league history and his 24.8 career scoring average is 11th on the all-time charts. Wilkins' 23,292 points with the Hawks are the franchise's best, and he ranks second overall in team history in steals (1,245), sixth in assists (2,322) and fifth in blocked shots (592). One of league's true marquee players, his outstanding contributions on the court were recognized by the organization in January 2001 when he became the third player in club history to have his uniform number (#21) retired, joining Hawks legends Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson.
Familiar to area sports fans from his collegiate days at the University of Georgia, Wilkins entered the 1982 NBA Draft after his junior season with the Bulldogs. He ended his Georgia career as the school's all-time scoring leader with averages of 21.6 points to go along with his 7.5 rebounds. A three-time All-SEC performer who also took home the Most Valuable Player award from the 1981 Southeastern Conference tournament, he was selected as the third overall pick in the first round by the Utah Jazz.
Hawks officials valued his talents enough to send two players (John Drew and Freeman Williams) and cash to the Utah Jazz on September 2, 1982 for his draft rights, and the end result was beneficial for both parties. As a result, Wilkins was able to continue his career in front of familiar faces, and Atlanta had its first superstar since Pete Maravich.
Instrumental in the team's success in the mid-to-late '80s, Wilkins electrified Atlanta sports fans as the club recorded 50-win seasons in four straight seasons from 1985-86 to 1988-89. He averaged 29.1 points over that period, and in the 1988 All-Star Game he ripped the nets for 29 points in 30 minutes of action.
A playoff participant in eight of his 12 seasons with the Hawks, his finest hour came in during the 1988 postseason when Atlanta narrowly missed reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Boston Celtics eked out a two-point victory in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Wilkins averaged 31.2 points in 12 playoff contests that year, and having participated in ten years of playoff competition, scored 25.4 points per game.
After missing only 18 of a possible 738 regular season games his first nine years, Wilkins' durability took a serious blow when he suffered a season-ending tear of Achilles tendon midway through the 1991-92 season. While it was unsure if he would return to his old high-flying self, Wilkins responded the next season by scoring 29.9 points per game to finish second only to Michael Jordan for the league scoring title.
He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1983 and was named to seven All-NBA teams, nine consecutive All-Star squads and was a two-time winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Championship.
On November 6, 1992 against the New York Knicks, a patented baseline jumper led to Wilkins becoming the 17th person in league history to join the 20,000-point club, and later that season (February 2, 1993 against Seattle) he supplanted Pettit as the franchise's all-time leading scorer. His stellar career in Atlanta came to an end on February 2, 1994 when the Hawks traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danny Manning. At the conclusion of the year, Wilkins decided to test the free agent market and signed with the Boston Celtics.
Discouraged with his performance in 1994-95, which resulted in career lows in scoring and field goal percentage, Wilkins joined Panathinaikos Athens of the Greek League the following season (1995-96). He was named MVP of the European Final Four after averaging 20.9 points and 7.0 rebounds and leading the team to the European Men's Championship.
Seeking a return to the States, Wilkins signed a free agent contract with San Antonio and provided more than the Spurs possibly imagined, leading the David Robinson-less Spurs in scoring with an 18.2 average and grabbing 6.4 rebounds.
He returned overseas for the 1997-98 campaign, signing with Italy's Teamsystem before rejoining the NBA for his final professional season (1998-99), as Wilkins saw action in 27 games for the Orlando Magic.
Extremely active with local and national charity endeavors, Wilkins has done work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy Association and American Lung Association.
Wilkins, 46, was born on January 12, 1960 in Paris, France. He and his wife Robin have two boys together, and he is also the proud parent of four daughters. He joined basketball’s immortals with his entry into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this past September 8, was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on April 3, 2004, and into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame’s inaugural class on June 10, 2005. |
