Q&A: Dominique Wilkins

Courtesy of Slam

LAM: I’d be remiss if I didn’t start this interview by getting your thoughts about Earl Lloyd. What did he mean to you?

Dominique Wilkins: He meant a lot to all of us. He was the first African American player in the NBA. I knew Earl very well. He was a super nice individual. It saddens us all. Earl Lloyd is what we are today as African American players. He really paved the way for what we are as players. We have no idea what he went through. We gotta be mindful and thankful of that. Young guys in this game need to go back and look at the history of this game. The league started before Dr. J and Spencer Haywood. You had guys who paved the way for them, and they [in turn] paved the way for us.

SLAM: On a more positive note, you’re in the midst of quite a big week. When I think about all the great players this game has seen, I can’t name many with statues.

DW: This will be the eighth statue. And to be among them, I cannot tell you how that makes me feel. To be immortalized that way is an amazing, amazing feeling.

SLAM: Does this complete Dominique Wilkins’ basketball journey?

DW: No question about it. It’s what a lot of young people strive to be. You strive to be something great. That’s why history, embracing the history, is so important for young players. It’s so important to give them goals and give them someone to look up to. You gotta embrace history.

SLAM: Beyond the 26,000-plus points, what is your proudest NBA accomplishment?

DW: You know what, I think it was me playing against the greatest to ever play. All the personal accolades are great, but playing against the greatest players to ever play this game—in one era! That will never be duplicated.

SLAM: Who were some of the teammates who influenced you the most?

DW: From an NBA standpoint, the guys who taught me a lot early on were Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins and Lou Hudson. Even though I didn’t play with Lou Hudson—he was gone before I got into the League—he gave me a lot of positive information to help my game. Guys like Tree Rollins and Dan Roundfield embraced me as the leader of this team after my first couple of years [in the NBA]. We had some great leaders, some guys who weren’t afraid to tell me what I was doing wrong and things I needed to work on. You need that type of reinforcement to make you better as a player. Once I became a leader of the team, I had guys like Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis and Randy Wittman, who I think the world of. We cherished each other. We loved each other. We pulled for each other.

SLAM: What’s the toughest part about being a broadcaster?

DW: The traveling. Broadcasting is easy. I’m just talking about what I already know. The rigorous schedule and traveling to all these different cities around the country [is taxing]. It feels like you’re playing again.

SLAM: Speaking as someone who has a ringside seat with this team, does it bother you that they still aren’t getting the national magazine covers and ESPN-televised games?

DW: I’m proud of our guys. Our guys have basically shut everybody up. The people who think this is a fluke—they’re mistaken. This is no fluke. These guys can play. You hear this, “Well, they don’t have a superstar.” We do have stars: Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Al Horford. They’re stars in my opinion. You cannot win on this level without guys who aren’t stars. What’s the definition of your superstar? Guys who do high-wire acts and ohhh and ahhh the crowd? That doesn’t make you a superstar. It’s the efficiency and consistency within a player that makes him a star.

SLAM: Do you think the Hawks’ performance will have an effect around the League, where it’ll be less about building around big-name stars?

DW: You have to understand that this team has created its own identity. Everybody can’t do that. [Atlanta] has the right mixture of players that work together.

SLAM: Beyond the play on the floor, I’m also seeing some positive changes among Atlanta fans. What are your thoughts on the overall feel of the city these days?

DW: The city has rallied behind this team in lieu of the negative publicity (surrounding last summer’s Danny Ferry controversy) this team has gotten. Fans have rallied around these guys. They supported them and that’s all you can ask for. Sometimes bad things pull people together. Sometimes it takes bad stuff for great things to happen.

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Q&A: Dominique Wilkins

Courtesy of Michael Rand

Q You formed the Diabetes Dream Team to help adults who are living with type-2 diabetes. What are your strategies for managing the disease?

A It’s very simple: the strategy is make sure you have the proper diet change, medication and exercise — those three things working together. You have to create a plan for yourself and have a weekly focus. You have to be willing to accept diabetes, and then you can try to prevent it from getting worse.

Q Was it a challenge for you initially, or did you adapt pretty quickly?

A The only reason it was a challenge is that I went through a depression over having diabetes. But it’s one of those things. If you play a game and get beat, you have to live to fight another day.

Q How do we fix the NBA Slam Dunk contest — and can it ever be like it was when you and Michael Jordan were going head to head?

A Well, it’s never going to be like me and MJ [laughs]. But I think it can get back to that excitement if all the best athletes get in it. For whatever reason, they don’t. I think [players] are afraid of losing. Guys feel now that their brand is more important so they’re afraid to do it, for whatever reason.

Q You made a substantial living playing in the NBA, but salaries now are five to 10 times what you made during your career — and this new TV contract figures to drive them even higher. Can you fathom the money that’s now involved in the league?

A I told my mother, “I’m very upset with you. You could have waited 10 or 15 years before you had me.” For real. It’s nuts. But hey, it shows you how the league has prospered not just nationally but internationally. It’s a wonderful thing.

Q Timberwolves rookie Andrew Wiggins has been compared to you. How much have you seen of his game, and do you agree with the comparisons?

A I’ve seen him play, and he’s an athletic young man. He’s not quite as big as I am, but he has the potential to be a great player in this league if he continues to grow and get better. The thing I tell young guys all the time is they need to work on the things they’re most uncomfortable with because that’s going to make you a better player. Most people see highlights of me and see high-wire slam dunks. But it’s very hard to score over 26,000 points on dunks. I was a creative scorer, and I learned to score in many different ways.

Q Are the Cavaliers the team to beat this year?

A They’ll be in the top two or three, that’s for sure. The thing is if they can coexist with those superstars they have on that team now, and how quickly they build chemistry is going to be the difference.

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