It’s funny how we never mention Dominique Wilkins when we discuss the greatest players of all time. It seems like, as it happened to many other players who never played for a big-market team, he’s kind of forgotten by most NBA fans and, more worryingly, analysts.
Truth to be told, Dominique Wilkins is one of the greatest and most underrated players of all time. His unprecedented athleticism and combination of explosiveness and skills made him a walking bucket throughout his entire career.
As a matter of fact, Dominique Wilkins is one of the few players to ever average 25+ points per game for nine seasons straight, joined by only LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Kevin Durant. That’s some elite company.
Wilkins was able to recover from devastating injuries throughout his career. He also left the NBA to play overseas and then came back as dominant as always, which is something we’ve rarely seen in the league, other than what happened with Michael Jordan.
Dominique Wilkins was the heart and soul of the Atlanta Hawks. Despite not having much of a supporting cast, he constantly led them to the playoffs and helped them reach multiple 50+ win seasons. Moreover, he even had a 47-point outburst in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs vs. the Boston Celtics.
Throughout his career, Dominique Wilkins averaged 24.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game on 46% from the floor. He also won the Scoring title in 1985-86 when he averaged a career-best 30.3 points.
The only time Wilkins averaged fewer than 17.5 points per game (his rookie season averages) was in his final year in the league with the Orlando Magic (5.0 points). However, he was already 39 years old and only made 27 appearances (2 starts for them).
So, the next time you think about the most underrated player in NBA history, perhaps you’ll want to bring up Dominique Wilkins’ name in the conversation.
