Dominique Wilkins

During the 1985-86 season, Wilkins led the NBA in scoring with an average of 30.3 points per game. During the Hawks' playoff series against Detroit, he set records with an amazing 50 points, 19 field goals, and 15 free throws. He also made his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game. The following season, Wilkins was named NBA Player of the Week after he scored his 10,000th point in the league. He finished second in scoring in the NBA for the 1986-87 season with an average of 29 points per game. He also returned to the All-Star Game for the second year in a row. With strong scoring from Wilkins, the Hawks recorded 50 wins or more for four straight seasons-from 1985-86 to 1988-89. In 1988 he turned in a dazzling performance during his third All-Star Game, scoring 29 points in 30 minutes of action. He went on to score an average of 31.2 points per game in the postseason. One of Wilkins's most memorable moments as an athlete came in the Eastern Conference semifinals, when he and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics engaged in a point-for-point, basket-for-basket duel in the seventh game of the series. Sadly for the Hawks, the Celtics prevailed, crushing Atlanta's hopes of making it into the Eastern Conference finals.

Wilkins was again selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game during the 1988-89 season. For the season as a whole, he ranked seventh in NBA scoring, averaging 26.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Twice during the season, he scored 41 points during a single game. During the 1989-90 season, Wilkins was selected to play in his fifth All-Star Game and also won his second slam dunk contest. He ranked fifth in NBA scoring with an average of 26.7 points per game and led the Hawks in steals with a total of 126.