DOMINIQUE WILKINS - 101 Greats of European Basketball
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On January 13, 2001, Wilkins saw his jersey No. 21<br />
(in Europe he played with that number reversed, 12)<br />
was retired in Atlanta. Only Bob Petit and Lou Hudson<br />
before Wilkins had received that honor at the Georgia<br />
Dome. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial<br />
<strong>Basketball</strong> Hall <strong>of</strong> Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts,<br />
in 2006.<br />
Dominique Wilkins wasn’t even the winningest<br />
American player in <strong>European</strong> basketball, not the best<br />
American player to ever play in Europe, but I would say<br />
that, together with Bob McAdoo, he was the biggest<br />
NBA star to ever play here.<br />
Dominique Wilkins, an American from Paris.<br />
In the Italian League, he averaged 17.8 points and 7.3<br />
rebounds while in the Euroleague he averaged 17.9<br />
points and 7.0 rebounds, but his club’s archrival, Kinder<br />
Bologna, put an end to the team’s <strong>European</strong> dream this<br />
time.<br />
In the EuroLeague quarterfinals, Kinder eliminated<br />
TeamSystem 2-0 and then in the Italian League final<br />
series, Kinder succeeded 3-2 after an unbelievable fifth<br />
game. If April 11 <strong>of</strong> 1996 was the happiest day Wilkins<br />
experienced in Europe, May 31, 1998, was one to stick<br />
in his memory forever for the opposite reasons. With<br />
13 seconds to go, his team was 4 points ahead, 72-68,<br />
and the title was almost secure. But then one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most famous plays in <strong>European</strong> basketball took place:<br />
Predrag Danilovic hit a three with an additional free<br />
throw from a foul committed by... Dominique Wilkins.<br />
Danilovic scored the free throw, David Rivers turned<br />
the ball over on the last <strong>of</strong>fensive play for TeamSystem,<br />
and Kinder won it all in overtime. It wasn’t the happiest<br />
<strong>of</strong> endings to a brilliant career.<br />
Dominique Wilkins<br />
<strong>101</strong> greats <strong>of</strong> european basketball<br />
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