The outspoken franchise legend and Hall-of-Famer has much to say.
The leading scorer in Atlanta Hawks franchise history, Dominique Wilkins, is uniquely qualified to speak on the current state of basketball and the NBA throughout the years. The nine-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA player and Hall of Fame inductee now partners with Bob Rathbun to call Atlanta Hawks games on telecasts.
But ‘Nique is still very adept at telling stories from his playing days in the 80s and 90s. He does just that in an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast hosted by Stephen Jackson — one-time Hawk — and Matt Barnes.
Atlanta native Anthony Edwards recently stirred up some controversy by downplaying the skill level in past eras of NBA basketball. The direct quote from earlier:
They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. Michael Jordan was the only one that really had skill. So, that’s why when they saw Kobe Bryant, they were like, ‘oh my God.’ But now everybody has skill.
‘Nique was asked about level of play back in the era Edwards referred to, and he responded in part by saying:
You know, we give all eras their respect, because we had to learn from somebody. So we learned from the guys before us. So, we always appreciate basketball. But the one thing we will say: it’s their time. We’ve had our time.
But I hate when they try to s**t on us to prove their point. They don’t have to do that, because great is great. I don’t care what era you’re in. Don’t use past eras to elevate yourself. I’m never going to say I’m better than Wilt Chamberlain or [Bill] Russell, I was just with Oscar Robertson earlier. We appreciated you guys, ‘cause we learned from y’all. Anytime I get the chance to talk to the guys before me, I’m like a kid in a candy store. It’s a pleasure for me.
But more specifically about Edwards later in the appearance, he had nothing but love for his fellow alum, saying:
Oh yeah, that’s my guy. I was like a mentor to him when he was coming up. It’s great to see the level of success he’s achieved.
He was a kid who lost his family, so he moved around to different places. And I understand how he felt and what he went through, because I went through that. So, to see how he persevered through all those disappointments and became what he is now, it’s a testament to his will and his determination to be successful and to show them that ‘hey I can do this.’
‘Nique also dished on Dejounte Murray and that two-season era for his Hawks, remarking:
I love Dejounte Murray. He was good for us, but sometimes things just don’t work. I thought we had the most dynamic backcourt in the league, but sometimes it don’t work that way. Trae [Young] is a guy with a big personality on the team, and he’s a guy that’s your leader. That’s a guy that’s going to hopefully get you to the next level.
Wilkins then had to push back on what seemed like criticism of the most recent number one overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, responding, “he’s young, man. 19? He’s skilled. You’ve got to be able to give him time. He’s going to be just fine. Believe me, he’s going to be just fine.”
He also gave the audience a glimse into Pete Maravich, a college basketball phenom who was drafted by the Hawks in 1971:
Pistol Pete was before his time, and he was a brother too. I think he’s a mixture of some guys. You look at some of the stuff Kyrie [Irving] does. Maravich was doing that way back then. And Pete Maravich was 6’5, 6’6 playing point. He was tall! His court vision was unmatched, the stuff he could do with the ball.
Wilkins also talks about his international play with Team USA, the past dunk contests, and much more in. Check out the whole episode below.