NBA: Who are the greatest NBA players to fall short in the playoffs?

Make the Conference Finals: Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins is a Georgia legend. While playing for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, he averaged 21 points a game and won SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. More importantly, he built up his reputation as an explosive scorer. Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, in his rookie season, he was a top scorer on a playoff team that got eliminated by Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics.

This would be the start of a one-sided rivalry. He was projected as a rival to Bird, but his Hawks never made it very far and were missing the playoffs outright with him averaging 27 points. ‘Nique gained the nickname “The Human Highlight Film” for his earth-shattering dunks both in-game and at dunk contests. As a result, his reputation outsized his actual results.

His most famous series was in the second round in 1988 at the tail end of the Celtics dynasty. After dropping the first two games, the Hawks bounced back winning the next three including a 40-point explosion from Wilkins. In Game 7, a duel that later became iconic, both he and Bird went at each other scoring 47 and 35 points respectively. This would be the closest he came to making it to the Conference Finals.