Dominique Wilkins

Growing up in Marietta, I often heard about the legendary Blue Devil and Supersonic career of a sharp shooter named Dale Ellis. I attended his basketball camps and once "beat him" at a game called bump. That was always fun.

But, Dominique Wilkins was my hero. He was a man, who rattled rims inside the Omni, the Boston Garden, and every NBA arena he walked into. Wilkins was the greatest athlete I have ever seen. As a kid, I would religiously watch the Hawks on our cable-less TV. The picture used to fade in and out at times. But, no matter how cloudy the reception became, Dominique was always visible. I can remember trying to emulate his dunks on my Nerf hoops. Unfortunately for those thin plastic rims, I often got so excited that I would destroy them, Darrell Dawkins style.

Dominique had what they call "once in a lifetime" talent. He was Babe Ruth to me. The Wilkins led Hawks may not have won an NBA title, but I'm thankful to have grown up watching #21 play the game.

Click on the title of this post, to view highlights of Dominique Wilkins.