From the University of Georgia, averaging 21.6 points and 7.1 rebounds, the Jazz chose Jacques Dominique Wilkins in third position in the first round of the 1982 Draft. However, the Utah franchise trades the player to the Hawks to kick off the career of our first legend.
In Atlanta he played from 1982, being chosen for the best quintet of rookies, until 1994, averaging more than 20 points per game during the eleven seasons he was in the team, seeing his record expanded above 30 in 85-86 for finish as top scorer of the course.
We also saw the delicate confrontation with his former teammates when he left for Los Angeles to serve in the Clippers. In that meeting he scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the fans who had seen his game during the previous eleven years.
But if we have remembered the extraordinary athlete, it is for the five dunk contests in which he participated in the All Star Game. His spectacular 365º turns, and the very powerful tomahawk, won two awards for the best matador beating stars like Julius Erving, Michael Jordan or the young Scottie Pippen.
His last hoop dunks and eddies won the accolade in 1985 and 1990, earning him the nickname "Human Highlight Reel."
Wilkins starred in 1988, alongside Jordan, in what is considered the greatest performance in history with an epic dunk contest that, finally, ended up in the hands of the 23rd Bulls after seeing our legend do the same two years before in another unpublished ending.
Member of the Dream Team II
The healthy rivalry would continue for years in the regular season pending to see who would be the top scorer of each of them until in 91-92, the nine-time All Star, suffered an Achilles tendon injury, when he averaged 28.4 points per meeting, preventing being selected for the historic Dream Team.
However, in 1994 he did go to the basketball world championship with the United States where he hung the gold medal after being the top scorer in the final.
A year later he packed his bags to try his luck in Europe under the Panathinaikos. With the Athens team he won the Greek Cup and, the same year, the Euroleague against Barcelona and was elected MVP of the Final.
The Frenchman, a nationalized American, ended his career in 1999 with the Orlando Magic with 26,668 points and 7169 rebounds in the NBA, in 2001 he saw the Atlanta Hawks withdraw their number 21 and in 2006 he entered the Hall with the rest of the legends of Fame.
