DOMINIQUE WILKINS - 101 Greats of European Basketball
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An American<br />
from Paris<br />
In 1951, the movie “An American in Paris” was<br />
named Best Picture by the Academy <strong>of</strong> Motion Picture<br />
Arts and Sciences. The famed musical cleaned<br />
up with six Academy Awards as the combination<br />
<strong>of</strong> the dancing <strong>of</strong> stars Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron<br />
and the music composed by George Gershwin,<br />
worded by older brother Ira and orchestrated by<br />
Saul Chaplin, conquered the world. Nine years later,<br />
a true American was born in Paris and his personal<br />
history has always been related to the French capital.<br />
Jacques Dominique Wilkins was born in Paris on January<br />
12, 1960, and later reached one <strong>of</strong> his greatest<br />
triumphs in Paris. It was there, on April 11, 1996, that<br />
Dominique Wilkins had one <strong>of</strong> the most memorable<br />
days in his brilliant career: he became a EuroLeague<br />
champion.<br />
Wilkins had been a nine-time all-star, was voted to<br />
the All-NBA team seven times, won a pair <strong>of</strong> slam dunk<br />
contests, and was the league’s top scorer in 1986 with<br />
30.3 points per game. Despite his brilliance, Wilkins’s<br />
Atlanta Hawks never managed to win the title. He would<br />
have to leave the NBA and join Panathinaikos Athens<br />
in Greece to lift his first club trophy. But let’s not get<br />
ahead <strong>of</strong> ourselves.<br />
Spectacular dunks<br />
Dominique Wilkins was born in Paris because his<br />
father, a member <strong>of</strong> the United States Air Force, was<br />
working in the French capital. I am guessing that his two<br />
very French names have something to do with that fact,<br />
too. However, when it was time to go to school, Dominique’s<br />
family was already back in America, in the small<br />
coastal town <strong>of</strong> Washington, North Carolina. There, a<br />
young Wilkins led his high school team to back-to-back<br />
state titles in 1978 and 1979. From there he moved on<br />
to play college basketball at the University <strong>of</strong> Georgia,<br />
which ironically enough is located in the city <strong>of</strong> Athens.<br />
Wilkins became a star for the Bulldogs and was named<br />
the 1981 South Eastern Conference player <strong>of</strong> the year.<br />
Three years at Georgia were enough for Wilkins<br />
to prove his worth and readiness for the next level. In<br />
the 1982 NBA draft, he was selected with the number<br />
3 overall pick, behind James Worthy and Terry Cummings.<br />
Wilkins was drafted by the Utah Jazz, but in<br />
what would turn out to be a one-sided deal, his rights<br />
were acquired by Atlanta in exchange for John Drew,<br />
Freeman Williams and cash.<br />
Thus, began a brilliant NBA career. When he retired,<br />
Wilkins had played in 1,074 games, scored 26,668<br />
points (24.8 ppg.) and pulled down 7,169 rebounds (6.7<br />
rpg.). His best season came in 1985-86 when Wilkins<br />
led all NBA scorers with 30.3 points per game. He<br />
scored a lot <strong>of</strong> points and did so in spectacular fashion.<br />
His enormous physical power allowed him to execute<br />
unbelievable plays, including thrilling dunks. Accordingly,<br />
he was dubbed The Human Highlight Film. At the<br />
1985 and 1990 all-star games, Wilkins beat the great<br />
Michael Jordan in the dunk contest with his 360-degree<br />
slam. It was simply unforgettable.<br />
At the 1994 World Championships in Toronto, Canada,<br />
a 34-year-old Wilkins won the gold medal with the<br />
Team USA along with Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller,<br />
Joe Dumars, Alonzo Mourning, Kevin Johnson and<br />
Mark Price. Wilkins, with a total <strong>101</strong> points (12.6 ppg.)<br />
<strong>101</strong> greats <strong>of</strong> european basketball<br />
Dominique Wilkins<br />
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