Utah Jazz: Dominique Wilkins discusses what could have been with Stockton, Malone
NBA great Dominique Wilkins recently discussed what could have been if he would have stayed with the Utah Jazz early on in his career, playing alongside John Stockton and Karl Malone.
Three of the NBA’s top talents taking the floor for the same team? Back in the late 1990s in the NBA, you often only see that happen during All-Star Games.
Well, that exact thing almost occurred in the mid-1980s for the Utah Jazz.
Three players who would end up going on to become three of the league’s all-time greats and now Hall-of-Famers, all of whom were drafted by Utah within a four-year span, nearly played together in Salt Lake City.
That’s right, I’m talking about Dominique Wilkins, John Stockton and Karl Malone. All on one team.
Oh, what could have been.
In a recent interview with Deseret News, Wilkins took a look back and discussed what he thought could have taken place in Utah with him, Stockton and Malone.
Wilkins, a small forward who went on to play 17 years in the NBA, was drafted by the Jazz with the No. 3 pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. But after spending about two months with the organization prior to the start of the 1982-83 season, Wilkins wanted out of Utah, which sparked the Jazz to trade him to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Freeman Williams, John Drew and $1 million in cash.
"“Well, they wanted me to play power forward and I wasn’t playing power forward. I was a small forward,” Wilkins said in his interview with Deseret News. “Power forwards in them days was some big, physical and I’m not going to say what else and I didn’t want no part of that.”"
Without Wilkins, who quickly began to succeed in Atlanta, the Jazz shifted their focus to the future. In 1984, they drafted Stockton, a point guard out of Gonzaga, with the 16th pick in the 1984 NBA Draft.
A year later, Utah selected a big man to complement Stockton. With the 13th pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, Utah took Malone, a power forward out of Louisiana Tech.
Stockton and Malone went on to be one of the more famous duos in the NBA throughout their careers. They went on to lead the Jazz to the playoffs every year they were together, reaching the NBA Finals twice, falling to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in both appearances.
But with Wilkins, that duo turned trio could have done some damage in the league, something Wilkins admitted in his interview he thinks about often.
"“Playing with Stockton and Malone, we probably could’ve won a few championships,” Wilkins told Deseret News. “Not probably, we would’ve, but again, things happen in life for a reason, and you’ve got to take what cards are dealt, but coming to Atlanta was a blessing for me, and I’ve never left.”"
Regardless of whether they all ended up playing together or not, all three Hall-of-Famers went on to have incredible careers.
Wilkins ended up being a nine-time All-Star and sits 13th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,668 career points.
Stockton went on to become a 10-time All-Star and is first on the all-time assists list (15,806 career assists) and steals list (3,265 career steals).
Malone finished his career as a 14-time All-Star, a two-time league MVP and ranks second all-time in scoring (36,928 career points), seventh in rebounds (14,968 career rebounds) and 10th in steals (2,085 career steals).
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But what could have been if the three began playing together in the mid-1980s in Utah? That’s a scary thought.