Controversial ‘NBA Top 75′ is always being discussed in today’s NBA world. However, this NBA tradition started on October 29th of 1996. The then NBA Commissioner, David Stern announced the ’50 Greatest Players’ at a press conference in New York City. NBA greats like Wilt Chamberlain, Julius ?Dr. J? Erving, and Bill Russell were mentioned in this iconic list. However, a future NBA Hall of Famer was snubbed from the “NBA Top 50” list in 1996, despite being the 7th All-time leading scorer in the NBA then.

In the year the NBA legend retired, the NBA came out with the ‘NBA Top 50 List’ which did not mention his name.

NBA Hall of Famer on being snubbed from NBA top 50 All-Time

Seven-time All-Star, Dominique Wilkins explained on VLAD TV, “When I came back to the NBA, I played for the San Antonio Spurs during Coach Popovich’s debut season as a coach. It was cool but I knew after that year probably I was gonna retire soon.“. He mentioned, “I ended up playing another season for Orlando Magic but at that point I didn’t enjoy it at the level I once did. At that point it wasn’t about winning, it was about nurturing and pacifying the young guys coming into the league.”

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In a recent interview, Dominique Wilkins opened up about how he felt when he got snubbed from the NBA Top 50. He said, “It was a joke.“. The Hall of Famer further added, “Because at that time, I was 7th All-time leading scorer in history.”

With a sigh, the NBA legend says, “But you know, Life’s comes full circle…you know.. Top 75.“. He further said, “It doesn’t really matter at this point because you know, you’re part of the greatest 75 players who ever played.“. The seven-time NBA All-Star had a peculiar NBA journey as he left the league abruptly once to go play overseas.

Dominique Wilkins on why he left the NBA

After the former NBA star spent a year playing overseas basketball in Greece. After his stint with the Boston Celtics in the 1994-1995 NBA season, Dominique Wilkins was a free agent. He decided to sign with ‘Panathinaikos B.C.’ in Greece and went on to win the Europe League in 1996. He even won the ‘EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player’ Award.

Dominique Wilkins made a quick return to the NBA after his success in Europe. He said that he was unhappy with his salary in the NBA when he left the NBA. The former NBA star also felt dissatisfied with the roles he was being given in the NBA teams. Despite the turbulent times towards the end of his NBA career, Dominique Wilkins was a player of incredible caliber and got drafted into the San Antonio Spurs in 1996.

He was a two-time winner of the NBA dunk contest. His first was in 1984, in Denver. Wilkins finished third, behind Larry Nance and Julius Erving. However, in 1985, he beat the great Michael Jordan in the finals of the NBA dunk contest. Apart from that, the NBA Hall of Famer is currently ranked 15th in the ‘NBA Leading Scorers of All-Time’.

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What are your thoughts on Dominique Wilkins’ snub from the ‘NBA Top 50’? Let us know in the comments below!