Jacques Dominique Wilkins was born January 12, 1960, in Paris, France because his father was stationed on a military base. The family would move around before settling on Washington, North Carolina.
In high school, Wilkins was part of two state championship teams. In fact, in one game he had 48 points, 27 rebounds, 9 dunks, and 8 blocks, and landed him in a spot in Sports Illustrated.
In 1979, he would attend the University of Georgia, where he would become a college legend. Wilkins averaged 21.6 points a game for his career at Georgia and was named SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1981. He left after his junior year to turn pro.
In the 1982 NBA draft he was selected third overall by the Utah Jazz. After cash flow problems within the Jazz organization, coupled with Wilkins' reluctance to play in Utah, the Jazz traded him several months later to the Atlanta Hawks.
In Atlanta Wilkins would become a Hall of Fame player, earning the nickname "The Human Highlight Film" for his dunks. The Hawks won over 50 games four times in the 80s, and Wilkins won a scoring title in 1985-86 when he averaged 30.3 points per game.
During his 16-year NBA career, Wilkins was a 9-time NBA All-Star and averaged 24.8 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. Before retiring in 1999, Wilkins had short stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, Panathinaikos Athens, Fortitudo Bologna, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Orlando Magic.
Wilkins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. He currently is working on his other passion: wine. He recently released his Wilkins Private Reserve label.
Here's to you Dominique Wilkins. Happy birthday.
