NBA legend Michael Jordan has had rivalries with multiple fellow NBA legends who played during his time in the league. His rivalry with Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Gary Payton, and Clyde Drexler are well known. However, Jordan’s rivalry with Dominique Wilkins is not spoken about enough in the current generation. It is mostly because of the lack of face-offs between the two in important games.

Despite being in the same conference, the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls faced each other only once in the playoffs when MJ and Nique were playing. However, that did not stop them from going for “each other’s throats”.

Dominique Wilkins on playing against Michael Jordan

Dominique Wilkins is arguably the best dunker of his generation. He recently joined The Players’ Tribune for the Knuckleheads Podcast. During the show, the Atlanta Hawks legend talked about a variety of things including his career, his unreal athleticism, etc. He also answered questions about NBA legend Michael Jordan during the sit-down. In one instance, the host asked about his rivalry with Jordan and Nique replied it was fun to play against the Chicago Bulls legend.

Wilkins said, “Jordan was a giant back then, and even bigger now. He was a giant man but he was fun to play against. And we had thrilling rivalries but we were trying to go at each other’s throats. With Mike, if you lost a game against him, you can still hold your head up high knowing you gave everything because they had great team and he was the engine that made them run.”

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The two-time Slam Dunk contest winner also added that there is no one like MJ. Also, it has to be noted that he definitely gave everything whenever he faced Jordan and the Bulls. The Hawks and the Bulls faced each other in the first round of playoffs in 1993. The Bulls swept the Hawks; however, Wilkins held his own. The nine-time NBA All-Star averaged 30 points but was unable to lead his to the win. Furthermore, in 45 games against the six-time champion throughout his career, Wilkins averaged 29.8 points per game.

Wilkins vs. Jordan

Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins had a very similar start to their lives in the NBA. They were both third picks for their respective teams and hit the ground running. Their rivalry in the Slam Dunk Contest was legendary, to say the least. Even though Jordan was the better player and won almost everything, Wilkins was not far off. But he arguably does not get enough credit for his performances.

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In his career, he averaged over 30 points in two seasons and more than 28 points in four other seasons. He was also in the running for the NBA MVP race in multiple seasons. However, he was not able to win the award. Furthermore, the lack of support around Wilkins made it harder to challenge for titles.