Dominique Wilkins has been recognized, at last.
On Oct. 21, 2021, the NBA announced its final installment of the NBA 75 team, a list of the league’s 75 greatest players ever in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. Wilkins, widely regarded as the greatest player in Atlanta Hawks’ history and a bona fide superstar during one of the NBA’s golden eras in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was a part of the final installment.
The reason Wilkins’ inclusion on the team is notable is because when the league announced its top 50 greatest players in 1996, he was perhaps the biggest omission.
“It took me a while to get over it,” Wilkins said on “Inside The NBA” on Oct. 20. “I was shocked that I didn’t make it. At the time I retired, I was seventh in the league in scoring in history. I was shocked and it took me a lot to digest and move on, but being a part of an elite group is always special, man. I’m thrilled and excited to be a part of an elite group, but it would’ve been nice if I would’ve been there 20-something years ago.”
Wilkins and the TNT crew, which featured Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson, laughed at Wilkins’ comment.
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