NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 24. Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins came into the 1990s already a full-fledged star and a former NBA scoring champion with the Atlanta Hawks and he just kept rolling into the new decade.
He was a five-time All-Star for the Hawks in the 1990s and earned two All-NBA nods while finishing fifth in the NBA voting in 1992-93, one season after tearing his Achilles tendon and missing 40 games.
Nique was fifth in the NBA in points in 1989-90 and 1990-91 and fourth in 1992-93 and second in scoring average in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
In February 1994, the veteran was traded with a first-round pick in 1994 to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danny Manning.
In parts of five seasons with Atlanta in the decade, Wilkins averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, three assists and 1.3 steals in 36.8 minutes per game, shooting .467/.337/.828.
He finished out the 1993-94 season with the Clippers, earning another All-NBA selection and finishing fourth in the league in scoring average before signing as an unrestricted free agent with the Boston Celtics in July 1994.
He played in 25 games for the Clips, averaging 29.1 points, seven rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 37.9 minutes per game on .453/.247/.835 shooting.
Unhappy with the rebuilding process in Boston, Wilkins bolted for Europe, playing the 1995-96 season in Greece. In his lone season with the Celtics, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting .424/.388/.782.
Wilkins returned to the NBA in October 1996, signing with the San Antonio Spurs. Again, he played just one year before returning to Europe, this time Italy for the 1997-98 campaign. With the Spurs, Wilkins averaged 18.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, shooting .417/.293/.803.
After the NBA lockout, Wilkins came back to the NBA a final time as a free agent with the Orlando Magic in February 1999. A part-time player now, Wilkins averaged five points and 2.6 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game while shooting .379/.263/.690.
Waived by Orlando in June 1999, Wilkins opted to retire.
He was seventh in the decade with an average of 23.5 points per game.
Wilkins is 12th in NBA history with 26,668 points and 14th with an average of 24.8 points per game.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.