Dominique Wilkins prepared for the battle of his life. As he laced up his sneakers in the Atlanta Hawks’ locker room, his mind was on the Boston Celtics.
It was the final game of their 1988 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals. It had come down to Game 7 and the continuing scoring battle between Wilkins, the so-called “Human Highlight Film”, and the future Hall of Famer Larry Bird. And both were in a “zone.” Like two great gunslingers from the Old West, they matched each other shot for shot. Neither could miss as the game headed toward its exciting finish.
Wilkins pulled out every shot in his arsenal—slam dunks, short-range jumpers, transition baskets, baskets off offensive rebounds, tip-ins. And Bird answered them with an array of shots of his own.
Wilkins had developed his basketball skills on the tough playgrounds in Baltimore, Maryland. He learned the playground code: If you want to shoot the ball, you have to get your hands on it. “So I started going up and getting it,” Wilkins said. “I think it really helped. I was always playing with guys older than me.”1
When he moved to Washington, North Carolina, with his family, Wilkins led the local high school to two straight state championships. There was a big battle among colleges to get his services. The University of Georgia finally won.
In college, Wilkins was regarded as a “swooper”—a classic small forward who worked 12 to 15 feet from the basket. His vertical jump was a phenomenal 47 inches! Wilkins left Georgia for the pros in 1982 after his junior year.
Wilkins always loved high-pressure situations. He liked competing in the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star games. (He won two of them.) And he liked playing against the NBA’s best, such as Bird.
It was crunch time in their 1988 playoff battle. Game Seven—winner take all. The teams took turns taking the lead. Neither could open a lead of more than seven points. With 1:43 left, Boston led 112–105. Back came Wilkins. He hit a basket, then two free throws, to cut the Celtics’ lead to three points with 47 seconds remaining.
Boston still led 118–115 in the final seconds. Wilkins went to the foul line for two free throws. He made the first, then purposely missed the second hoping that a teammate could grab the rebound for a two-pointer to tie the game. No such luck—The Celtics rebounded and held on for a 118–116 decision. Boston had won despite an heroic effort by Wilkins, who outscored Bird 47–34.
Four years later, Wilkins hit the lowest point of his career when he suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon. In the days after the surgery with the cast still on, he was doing ninety-minute workouts. When the cast came off, his workouts intensified through long months of rehabilitation. He was determined to come back. He did, with one of his best pro seasons.
“I’ve always been a scorer,” Wilkins said, “but it took some time before I knew that being a more complete player was more important.” He was honored by several sports publications as the NBA Comeback Player of the Year in 1992–93.2
