Dominique was as explosive and athletic as any forward to ever play in the NBA and was a top 5 scorer throughout his career, proven when he captured the NBA scoring title during the 1985-86 season with 30.3 ppg. His battles with MJ were legendary, as this upload clearly shows. Both men could not be stopped.
@MadMatt41 I completely agree. Even Jordan said in his video "Michael Jordan's playground" that Dominique Wilkins was the only player that could really give him a challenge from an individual standpoint. He never said that about any other player ever. And yes Jordan, Bird and Magic said that Dominique was definitely among the 50 greatest player ever.
@Johnny H Yes it's more than 10 (about 20) but Jordan still won the scoring matchup. In their regular season battles: Wilkins: 29,8ppg/6,8rpg/2,8apg/1,4stl/0,6bpg/47,8% Jordan: 31,6ppg/7,1rpg/6,2apg/2,6stl/0,9bpg/52% In their playoffs battle: Wilkins: 30ppg/5,3rpg/3apg/1stl/0,3bpg/42,7% Jordan: 34,3ppg/6,7rpg/4,3apg/1,7stl/1,7bpg/52,6% And Dominique Wilkins had the exact same injuries than Kobe (also at an advanced age: 2 years old) but still came back the following season to average 30 and being the second best scorer of the league right behind Jordan. He also was the last player to be scoring champion in the 1985-86 season before Michael Jordan went on to win that title 7x in a row.
I'm a Chicago fan born n raised n chitown But nique was my fav. Sometimes teams mess up ya legacy. If nique had 1 chip they'd rank him higher. Mj had allot on his 90's team.
no player in NBA history combined ferocious power, body control , and swag on dunks the way dominique Wilkins did....also the sheer quantity of quality dunks noone touches dominique...he never had a consistent all star to play with.. Kevin Willis was the closest he had to a copilot ...he was good, but injury prone and inconsistent. Wilkins always offset Jordan scoring wise head to head, but there was no pippin to pick up the slack ..he kept the hawks around 50 wins a season by himself for all intensive purposes...he was a scoring machine and he played hard every game..I got to see him live several times as a kid in New york during the 80s...when the hawks came to the garden I used to beg my father to take me to see him...he always lived up to the name human highlight film
Dominique is one of my alltime favorite players ever... his explosiveness and his athleticism is unbelievable... and watch his fundamentelas: his board shots looks so damn smooth.... and honestly, after watching the game where he scored >50 and mj just >30 points it was so obvious that Dominique was one of the most dominant players ever when he was in his beast mode.... unstoppable
Here are a few examples of how much better the defense was in that era. People often talk about handchecking rules or the fact that the paint were so much more densely concentrated. It's true but what people don't always realize is that the quality of the defense itself were far superior. Here are some examples in this game: @0:23, Dominique is completely late. In today's nba, that dunk would NEVER have been challenged, and DEFINITELY NOT BY THE GUY WHO IS GUARDING THE INBOUND PASS. Not only that Dominique Wilkins (who is supposed to be a weak defensive player in that era) is really trying to interfere/steal the inboud pass (notice that it's only the beginning of the game, not the last play of a close game) but even if he's late to contest MJ, he still tries to block Jordan's dunk. Great defense, better offense. @1:33, great rainbow shot by Wilkins despite the extented arm of Pippen. It reminded me of a shot Lebron made in the face of T.Mac when Lebron was a rookie. @1:50, @1:55, @3:48, triple team on Jordan. It's just a regular season game in november, at the beginning of the season. @4:35, 24 seconds violation. That would happen much more frequently in that era (you just don't see it in today's nba despite having only 8 seconds). You could even see some 10 seconds violation sometimes. In other words, the player could not cross the half-court, despite having 10 seconds to do so, because of the defensive pressure. There were some incredible shots/plays by both Jordan and Wilkins throughout this game. Thanks for the upload !
Megadrive - defenses could play more aggressively full court back then, before 95-96. Full court hand checking was allowed which is why the early Bulls teams trapped aggressively full court having long, rangy, athletic guys like MJ, Pip and Grant. They caused mayhem and many 24 sec violations. Back then, shoving a forearm in a guys chest driving the lane was allowed. Today, guys don't even try to defend in the half court out of fear of the ubiquitous foul call. Today's defense doesn't even come close simply because so little is allowed and yet of you don't understand the game, this isn't visibly to your average fan. Kids just look for a guy in your face on the perimeter in every highlight play and think it's bad defense if they don't see that while failing to recognize that guys let everybody run right past them today. IMO, players back then were much more fundamentally sound especially in terms of the team game and how to play. Making smart passes and plays weren't constantly praised by broadcasters because everyone was trained well in team play. Today's guys might be slightly more athletic overall in terms of the entire league (actually, it's just that most guys lift more today instead of practicing non stop), but too many just don't have good basketball sense in terms of the team game. Too many are just one on one players and don't even understand basic things like clock management. It's why we have so many combo guards today that can't play the point guard position as they have such poor floor general skills and lack of team skills - but these same players are also inferior Shooting Guards that can only play with the ball in their hands. Their off the ball movement is weak again due to lack of team fundamentals.
MJ & Dominique played each other 45 times in their careers.....MJ averaged 31.6 PPG and was 27-18 and Dominique averaged 29.8 PPG, and of course was 18-27.They ALWAYS put on a show when they played each other!Maybe one of the most underrated rivalries in NBA history!!!
I believe Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins are 1 and 2 best small forward ever before beginning talking about anybody else. And yes, Dominique Wilkins must be the most underrated player ever.
Dominique Wilkins was literally the only player that could match YOUNG MJ in scoring and athletic greatness. Everytime those 2 took the court in the late 80's-early 90's, one thing you were almost guaranteed to get, is a show! incredible battles those 2 had.
Nique vs MJ. WGN or TBS. I remember waiting all day for the game to start. The leagues two best dunkers, best offensive players, typically ranked 1-2 in scoring. It was always a shoot out.
Look how tall Dominique is. Everyone they compare Jordan with is wayy taller. Jordan is 6'5 his glide makes him seem taller. Him and Charles Barkley are almost even in height. It's not easy shooting or dunking over these long arm guys. His jumping ability and his air flight makes him untouched
I believe you inferred too much dude. In common sense Jordan is if not one of the best perimeter defenders in NBA history and of course I meant he was all over the ball handler. If he was able to force a turnover by that kind of defense pressure, how on earth would I say 'it's horrifying because it's bad' dude...
Dominique is scorching Scottie. Personally, I think Scottie was a little overrated, defensively, covering man to man. Scottie was better at weak side help defense.
No, they were better than vince carter. Vince Carter is more of a showman in terms of dunking. But against tough defense, he absolutely not as this level. The proof is you will rarely see a Vince Carter dunk in a playoffs game even in his own era. And the level of the defense were much better in their era.
Glizzy600 The paint was much more clogging back then compared to today's games. That's why you see Lebron doing the dunks and driving to the baskest with ease. If Jordan could play today's games, he would be unstoppable.
Glizzy600 The most important thing is there is no much space and room for players doing those drives in Jordan era, cause the paint was much more densely concentrated. The contact is even less in today games, so the two factors affect that it's more difficult to penetrate to the basket back then compared to now.
Dominique was as explosive and athletic as any forward to ever play in the NBA and was a top 5 scorer throughout his career, proven when he captured the NBA scoring title during the 1985-86 season with 30.3 ppg. His battles with MJ were legendary, as this upload clearly shows. Both men could not be stopped.
You don't see two superstar players in today's NBA play like Jordan and Wilkins did against each other's teams.!
Exactly 😏
Wilkins outscored jordan head to head more times than anyone else ever. Nique was a beast. Most underrated player in NBA History, in my opinion.
MadMatt41 how did he outplay him when MJ had the better stat line then did go at it when they played
Charlie Davis - I never said he outplayed him! Try reading my comment again champ.....
MadMatt41 How many times? Better be more than 10
@MadMatt41
I completely agree. Even Jordan said in his video "Michael Jordan's playground" that Dominique Wilkins was the only player that could really give him a challenge from an individual standpoint. He never said that about any other player ever. And yes Jordan, Bird and Magic said that Dominique was definitely among the 50 greatest player ever.
@Johnny H
Yes it's more than 10 (about 20) but Jordan still won the scoring matchup.
In their regular season battles:
Wilkins: 29,8ppg/6,8rpg/2,8apg/1,4stl/0,6bpg/47,8%
Jordan: 31,6ppg/7,1rpg/6,2apg/2,6stl/0,9bpg/52%
In their playoffs battle:
Wilkins: 30ppg/5,3rpg/3apg/1stl/0,3bpg/42,7%
Jordan: 34,3ppg/6,7rpg/4,3apg/1,7stl/1,7bpg/52,6%
And Dominique Wilkins had the exact same injuries than Kobe (also at an advanced age: 2 years old) but still came back the following season to average 30 and being the second best scorer of the league right behind Jordan. He also was the last player to be scoring champion in the 1985-86 season before Michael Jordan went on to win that title 7x in a row.
MJ's and Nique's battles were legendary
wilkins not being put in the top 50 players ever was a crime
kyclutch swerving he's not tho, especially since the players that came since he left
Steph Curry The G.O.A.T i sort of agree with u on that but its still close
In 1997, Jordan, Magic and Bird said exactly the same thing.
@@stephcurrytheg.o.a.t BS Dominique was easily top 50.
They shoulda left one the older cats off the list that wasnt really relative... Nique is spose to be on there not pippen
Nique most underrated player ever.
MJ23 His Airness Forever great job!!
Cosmic Ninja Thanks man
The GOAT against who should of been a top 20 player on that 50 greatest bogus list!
I'm a Chicago fan born n raised n chitown
But nique was my fav.
Sometimes teams mess up ya legacy.
If nique had 1 chip they'd rank him higher.
Mj had allot on his 90's team.
MJ was such an incredible passer, such unbelievable court awareness.
That's probably the most underrated part of his Game his unbelievable court vision.
no player in NBA history combined ferocious power, body control , and swag on dunks the way dominique Wilkins did....also the sheer quantity of quality dunks noone touches dominique...he never had a consistent all star to play with.. Kevin Willis was the closest he had to a copilot ...he was good, but injury prone and inconsistent. Wilkins always offset Jordan scoring wise head to head, but there was no pippin to pick up the slack ..he kept the hawks around 50 wins a season by himself for all intensive purposes...he was a scoring machine and he played hard every game..I got to see him live several times as a kid in New york during the 80s...when the hawks came to the garden I used to beg my father to take me to see him...he always lived up to the name human highlight film
Dominique is one of my alltime favorite players ever... his explosiveness and his athleticism is unbelievable... and watch his fundamentelas: his board shots looks so damn smooth.... and honestly, after watching the game where he scored >50 and mj just >30 points it was so obvious that Dominique was one of the most dominant players ever when he was in his beast mode.... unstoppable
Mj is the best greatest all the time ..to be honest brother MJ greatful
Here are a few examples of how much better the defense was in that era. People often talk about handchecking rules or the fact that the paint were so much more densely concentrated. It's true but what people don't always realize is that the quality of the defense itself were far superior. Here are some examples in this game:
@0:23, Dominique is completely late. In today's nba, that dunk would NEVER have been challenged, and DEFINITELY NOT BY THE GUY WHO IS GUARDING THE INBOUND PASS. Not only that Dominique Wilkins (who is supposed to be a weak defensive player in that era) is really trying to interfere/steal the inboud pass (notice that it's only the beginning of the game, not the last play of a close game) but even if he's late to contest MJ, he still tries to block Jordan's dunk. Great defense, better offense.
@1:33, great rainbow shot by Wilkins despite the extented arm of Pippen. It reminded me of a shot Lebron made in the face of T.Mac when Lebron was a rookie.
@1:50, @1:55, @3:48, triple team on Jordan. It's just a regular season game in november, at the beginning of the season.
@4:35, 24 seconds violation. That would happen much more frequently in that era (you just don't see it in today's nba despite having only 8 seconds). You could even see some 10 seconds violation sometimes. In other words, the player could not cross the half-court, despite having 10 seconds to do so, because of the defensive pressure.
There were some incredible shots/plays by both Jordan and Wilkins throughout this game. Thanks for the upload !
Megadrive - defenses could play more aggressively full court back then, before 95-96. Full court hand checking was allowed which is why the early Bulls teams trapped aggressively full court having long, rangy, athletic guys like MJ, Pip and Grant. They caused mayhem and many 24 sec violations. Back then, shoving a forearm in a guys chest driving the lane was allowed. Today, guys don't even try to defend in the half court out of fear of the ubiquitous foul call. Today's defense doesn't even come close simply because so little is allowed and yet of you don't understand the game, this isn't visibly to your average fan. Kids just look for a guy in your face on the perimeter in every highlight play and think it's bad defense if they don't see that while failing to recognize that guys let everybody run right past them today.
IMO, players back then were much more fundamentally sound especially in terms of the team game and how to play. Making smart passes and plays weren't constantly praised by broadcasters because everyone was trained well in team play. Today's guys might be slightly more athletic overall in terms of the entire league (actually, it's just that most guys lift more today instead of practicing non stop), but too many just don't have good basketball sense in terms of the team game. Too many are just one on one players and don't even understand basic things like clock management. It's why we have so many combo guards today that can't play the point guard position as they have such poor floor general skills and lack of team skills - but these same players are also inferior Shooting Guards that can only play with the ball in their hands. Their off the ball movement is weak again due to lack of team fundamentals.
I agree 👍🏼
@@boogieloo1831 🤦🏽♂️ True ✅
MJ & Dominique played each other 45 times in their careers.....MJ averaged 31.6 PPG and was 27-18 and Dominique averaged 29.8 PPG, and of course was 18-27.They ALWAYS put on a show when they played each other!Maybe one of the most underrated rivalries in NBA history!!!
Nique should have been on the dream team and in the top 50
2 dawgs going at it
8:56 wtf?!? classic goat outta no where dunk
I believe Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins are 1 and 2 best small forward ever before beginning talking about anybody else. And yes, Dominique Wilkins must be the most underrated player ever.
That is true
8:54 when he drives like that noone could stop him
Dominique Wilkins was literally the only player that could match YOUNG MJ in scoring and athletic greatness. Everytime those 2 took the court in the late 80's-early 90's, one thing you were almost guaranteed to get, is a show! incredible battles those 2 had.
Uhmmm........Clyde "The Glyde" Drexler!!!
@@benyah3390 Ah, Toche!
Nice, that you have all the high-res replays now! TY very much and keep it up-to-date best scene is the replay of MJ last shot (filmed) from the hoop!
Nique vs MJ. WGN or TBS. I remember waiting all day for the game to start. The leagues two best dunkers, best offensive players, typically ranked 1-2 in scoring. It was always a shoot out.
that Nique Jam at 1:25 was on the MJ/Nique match-up part of Playground
GREAT GAME
Brad Seller was one of the first 7 footers who were more comfortable taking 18 feet jumpers.
another rare one. I've seen some moves in "MJ's Playground" but different angles.
Dominique is so underrated it’s a travesty.
2:55 Easiest block ever.
7:35 this 3pt by Paxon was the ONLY 3pt make during this entire game. By either team.
Awesome
Nique and Shaq should have been on the dream team
2:10 quick spin move
Wilkins!!!
Look how tall Dominique is. Everyone they compare Jordan with is wayy taller. Jordan is 6'5 his glide makes him seem taller. Him and Charles Barkley are almost even in height. It's not easy shooting or dunking over these long arm guys. His jumping ability and his air flight makes him untouched
😯 True ✅
Mj is 6'6
@@ezirulez4eva175Listed at six six, but he was actually barely six five
🏀🏀💯💯
8:24 this type of travel happens several times a game now in the NBA.
Looked like Bill Cartwright did the throw-in dunk lol.
Didnt he out s ore Jerdon in chicago stadium too?
Even though MJ won MVP in 87-88 season, I still think 88-89 MJ>87-88 MJ in terms of overall ability.
Well, he should have been MVP in both seasons anyway.
Moses Malone took over at the end!
Paxson had that clutch gene. 7:37
Great upload. I have a question: how is it possible that the replays are in such a good quality?
9:04
Mike had terrible defenders on him.
Nique had bigs and all time defenders on him
4:26 this defense is horrifying to watch
Yep if you're opposite mj, its horrifying
MJ used to Whoop on Reggie Theus...
therealist811 he means jordan's obsessive defense lol
I believe you inferred too much dude. In common sense Jordan is if not one of the best perimeter defenders in NBA history and of course I meant he was all over the ball handler. If he was able to force a turnover by that kind of defense pressure, how on earth would I say 'it's horrifying because it's bad' dude...
It's better than today's defense
my 5th birthday
Damn, I feel old now. I was 15 then, and I'm coming up on my birthday in about two weeks.
😏 Where are all the ignorant young Jordan haters 😡😡 that claim a guy like Dominique Wilkins was a plumber 🤦🏽♂️
Dominique is scorching Scottie. Personally, I think Scottie was a little overrated, defensively, covering man to man. Scottie was better at weak side help defense.
Dom was better especial when he outscored Jerdon in the omni
jordan and wilkins 2 of the best dunkers ever
behind VC of course 😀
No, they were better than vince carter. Vince Carter is more of a showman in terms of dunking. But against tough defense, he absolutely not as this level. The proof is you will rarely see a Vince Carter dunk in a playoffs game even in his own era. And the level of the defense were much better in their era.
Plus
Vince didn't have competition in a game like Jordan and Wilkins did.
@@megadrive6573 Agreed.
Wrong ❌
VC is behind them.
Is this the defense Lebron would struggle with????
Glizzy600 You do realize that these are highlights?
Keywan Bernard yea but even when I review regular games there’s no way lebron would struggle against this defense
Glizzy600 The paint was much more clogging back then compared to today's games. That's why you see Lebron doing the dunks and driving to the baskest with ease. If Jordan could play today's games, he would be unstoppable.
23 MJ u mean to tell me lebron couldn’t do what he does now against this cause it’s clogged for sure but its still little contact
Glizzy600 The most important thing is there is no much space and room for players doing those drives in Jordan era, cause the paint was much more densely concentrated. The contact is even less in today games, so the two factors affect that it's more difficult to penetrate to the basket back then compared to now.
Wilkins got the ugliest style ever....he just look good on some dunks