Strong Sauce: Jacques Dominique Wilkins: More than Just a Highlight Film

  • Friday, March 6, 2015
  • Michael Lawson
Mike Lawson
Mike Lawson

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1980’s came with certain certainties…you could count on getting stuck in traffic…which seemed strange, and frustrating, to all the older and grown folks. You could count on Hosea Williams feeding people at Thanksgiving…which seemed like something we could all be proud of…you could count on schizophrenic springs…and very hot summers. You could also count on the Braves being bad…although, you loved them. You could count on the Falcons being bad…and really bad at NFL Draft picks…although, you loved them.

You could always count on the Atlanta Hawks being good enough to make the NBA playoffs…and you loved them…but, you could also count on them losing soon, once there. Yet, in the midst of this sweltering miasma of mediocrity… you could always…always…count on Dominique Wilkins doing everything he could to make you proud. If it is possible for a consensus Hall of Famer to be underrated, he is that man. This is an unabashed, and sentimental, column for why he is underrated in the mind of this child of the 80’s.

The Atlanta Hawks of the 1980’s was a very good team. They played with heart and soul…and for many, were the heart and soul of the city. A franchise that had seen some great players…Bob Pettit, Pete Maravich, Lou Hudson…had never really found an identity, and subsequently, had never really found a fan base. Enter Dominique Wilkins in 1982, and the entire arch of a franchise changed. Wilkins, having played at the University of Georgia…leading them to an NCAA Final Four appearance, was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1982…but, even now, that marriage just doesn’t seem right…in the way that Babe Ruth in a Red Sox uniform…just doesn’t seem right. The Hawks got him a few months after the Draft, and he began to put his mark on the team…the city…and the NBA. In his first year, he averaged an impressive 17.5 points per game (PPG). After that, ‘Nique never averaged less than 20 PPG in an ATL uniform, and twice averaged more than 30 PPG for the season…one of those years garnering him the NBA scoring title (the other year there was this dude named Jordan killing it.). And that leads me to my point…Wilkins not only played hard…and grew with the city…he did it against the greatest players who have ever played the game.

Much like the city of Atlanta, the NBA, as a business and a brand, was just coming into its own. Yeah…there were greats before then…I’m not going to list them…but with the 80’s we got Magic, Bird, Ewing, Thomas, Drexler, Olajuwan, King, Barkley, Gervin…and there are others. And that’s the point…we still talk about them. ‘Nique accomplished what he did…against the best every night…night in…night out…and without much help. Jordan had Pippen…Magic had Worthy and Jabbar…Bird had Johnson and McHale…Thomas had Laimbeer and the refs…Barkley had…well…he had no one either…but you get my point. I loved those guys who played hard for the Atlanta Hawks back then, but it’s not like they are house hold names…Cliff Levingston, Kevin Willis, Antoine Carr, Reggie Theus, John…freaking…Koncak. My point is ‘Nique never complained…never rattled front office cages…he never was a prima donna…he just showed up…dropped 25…against the other team’s best defender…and helped us win….and made us legitimate.

Thursday night, the Atlanta Hawks unveiled a statue of ‘Nique, and I couldn’t be happier for him. At a time when the city of Atlanta was still figuring itself out, coming into its own, as it were, Jacques Dominique Wilkins showed us that going to work…giving 100%...and never whining when things didn’t go your way…was worth it…and will always be worth it. Yes…we love Dale Murphy…and always will. Yes…we love Hank Aaron…and always will. Yes…we love Chipper…and Smoltzy…and Maddog…and Glavine…and Deion…and Spud…and Rivers…we love all of them. But Jacques Dominique Wilkins is special…always was…and with this statute…always will be. For this kid of the 1980’s…who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia…’Nique still makes me smile…and isn’t that what childhood sports superheroes are supposed to do? I say yes.

W. Michael Lawson is an alumnus of Lee University and University of Richmond. Mr. Lawson currently hosts a weekly radio show “The Strong Sauce Hour” and Co-hosts a daily sports show “The Sports Drive” on 101.3 FM. You can follow him on twitter @thestrongsauce.

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