About The Atlanta Hawks And That Silly Statue

Recently there have been a couple of feel-good stories in the NBA. These are always great to see, and without doubt the biggest was seeing Craig Sager return to the sidelines for TNT after successfully dealing with cancer. Somewhat lost among that brilliant news however was the unveiling of a statue for club legend Dominique Wilkins by the Atlanta Hawks.

Also great to see, as it was a timely reminder to Hawks fans that, as good as this season has been, there was a time when ‘Nique was dragging them to the playoffs all by himself. When we break it down though, was a statue really justified in this instance?

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This is not an attack on a player who was brilliant for the game, far from it. No, this is more looking at the changing ways in which organizations honor former players. It seems that it is not enough anymore to retire a player’s jersey and have it hang in the rafters forever. Now these players need to be immortalized in statue form as well.

But if Wilkins qualifies in this regard, where exactly should the line be drawn?

For the record, I obviously have no problem with Michael Jordan having a statue. Ditto Jerry West and Magic Johnson; legends who not only transcended the game, but who also won individual awards, as well as championships (or in West’s case just the one title, but his struggle to get there is part of what adds to his myth).

Did Dominique Wilkins really do either of those things? When I think of Wilkins, the first thing that comes to mind are his duels with Jordan in the Slam Dunk contests of the late ’80s, not anything he actually did on the court as part of a team.

Mar 6, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former Atlanta Hawks player Dominique Wilkins (L) reacts with the artist who pained his picture after being honored at halftime of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Coming at it from another direction though, I think I can see where Atlanta is coming from, even if I don’t agree with it. The Hawks haven’t been blessed with the most decorated history of all the franchises in the league, although there are far worse out there.

So what Wilkins did for this team relative to what every other player did, clearly makes him not only their best ever player, but worthy of being immortalized as well. It’s not his fault he couldn’t propel the team to a title, and it certainly isn’t his fault he’s their best player ever. So I get that.

In fact if all smaller market teams did this (The Hawks are a funny one, although not in a particularly small market, it has always struggled to capture the imagination in Atlanta, although they are changing perceptions this season) one time, I’d probably be able to understand that as well.

The problem is though, they won’t. Take Kevin Garnett for example. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ best-ever player, he leads the team in most statistical categories.

He has recently returned to the team as well, coming full circle in trying to mentor their young players. There’s every chance he could one day own the team as well. But his 12 seasons there brought little postseason success.

That’s not how he should be remembered of course, just for the negatives, but it’s a fact that can’t be escaped. Garnett was an MVP while playing here, but he also didn’t win a title. He’s a legend for a team that doesn’t have many, and so for that reason he may one day get a statue himself.

But I don’t think what he did there (so far) is reason enough to justify erecting a life-sized model of the player outside the stadium. Kevin Durant is another example. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a small market with some great players at the moment.

It probably won’t always be this way, and 20 years down the line if all they managed was one title with Durant and Russell Westbrook, followed by a decade of bad basketball, should they then get their own statues outside the arena? It seems a bit excessive doesn’t it?

Returning to Atlanta though, despite the fact I disagree with the statue idea, I do think they planned the ceremony at a brilliant time. The Hawks are surging (Holding an 11 game lead in the Eastern Conference at time of writing) and honoring a legend will give them that extra push heading into the postseason. So from a PR standpoint, it was really well planned.

Oct 19, 2014; Harrison, NJ, USA; New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry (14) during a game against the Columbus Crew at Red Bull Arena. The Crew defeated the Red Bulls 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Statues aren’t a new trend either, there are five outside Staples Center after all, with the other three statues including a boxer and a hockey player. So it’s not confined to basketball. In soccer, Arsenal football club have three outside their stadium The Emirates in London.

One is of former New York Red Bulls player Thierry Henry (pictured above), the top scorer in club history. Fair enough. The second is of iconic club captain (Although some would argue not the most iconic) Tony Adams. A little bit of debate there.

The third meanwhile is of Dennis Bergkamp, a brilliant player who helped Arsenal win trophies. But there have been plenty of brilliant players who helped the team win trophies, so why not reward them as well? Wilkins is similar in this regard. Yes he was great for the team and great for the game, but he didn’t even help Atlanta win a title.

In fact, most of the team accolades won were with Greek outfit Panathinaikos. Should he get a statue there?

I may have used Wilkins as the scapegoat here, but this is a trend that needs to stop. If you didn’t know, Fulham football club had a statue outside of their stadium, Craven Cottage, of Michael Jackson. Yes, that Michael Jackson. Why?

Well because the owner liked Michael Jackson. It looked tacky and lasted two years before the next owner packed it off to a museum. That’s the worst example I can think of where needless statues popped up outside an arena/stadium.

In truth, there are few players who really deserve a statue of them outside an arena. The only player in the NBA who deserves one today is probably LeBron James. Even that is a murky one though as he played his best basketball and won titles in Miami with the Heat.

But surely the statue would have to be in Cleveland with the Cavaliers? If his career ended tomorrow though, maybe not, because he never won a title there. That may all change of course.

For those of you out there who maybe feel an Allen Iverson or Paul Pierce deserve a statue, yeah they might. But if they get one, then surely all the greats from these storied franchises should also get one too? That’s why I think it’s better to just retire the jersey and let that be that.

As a final example, I’d be of the opinion Kobe Bryant would deserve a statue, he did so much for the Lakers. But so did plenty of greats who also won rings, but I don’t see them being immortalized?

This piece was never meant to pick on Dominique Wilkins, but when I saw he was getting a statue, I felt somebody had to say something. Hawks fans will probably think I’m being bitter or something, and I accept that. I’m not a Hawks fan after all, so maybe I don’t get it? As an Orlando Magic fan though, I can’t think of a single player who deserves the trophy treatment.

Shaquille O’Neal maybe? I wouldn’t think so, he brought Orlando to the NBA Finals once but enjoyed his greatest success while part of another team. Actually that team was the Lakers, he won three titles there as the most dominant player in the league, will they give him a statue?

So when you really think about it and look at all the other greats who didn’t get statues, what makes what Wilkins did so special? His individual accolades were numerous, but so are Carmelo Anthony‘s. Are you going to tell me he’ll be honored either in Denver or New York when he’s done?

The era of putting statues everywhere needs to stop now before it gets out of control. I can see where Atlanta was coming from, but ultimately it’s a step too far for me. I hope any other teams thinking of doing something similar think long and hard about following suit.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

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