Michael Jordan has something belonging to Dominique Wilkins — the 1988 Slam Dunk title.
The former Atlanta Hawks star still holds a grudge after a controversial ending to the showdown.
The 1988 dunk contest is no doubt one of the most thrilling spectacles in All-Star history but the result still sparks debate.
It was held in Chicago and Jordan — the jewel in the crown of the hometown Bulls — was given a perfect score of 50 for an iconic dunk to seal victory.
Jordan’s free-throw line flight saw him cock the ball back before jamming it through the rim.
“I was nervous, the only time in the contest I was nervous,” he later revealed. “I knew I needed something really spectacular to win. I was searching the crowd for something to do.
“Then, I saw the man who started it all, Julius Erving. He indicated to me I should go the length of the floor and take off from the free-throw line.”
Wilkins’ previous dunk — a two-handed windmill — was scored just 45 to hand Jordan an opening.
“I said, ‘I got it.’ Because I thought my last dunk was my best dunk. I knew my last dunk that I’m going to get a 50,” the former Hawk said.
“It was just a two-hand windmill off two feet. And I brought it from my knees. It ain’t too many guys who can do that.”
Other players participating were shouting ‘fifty’ after watching him take flight, according to former Portland Trail Blazers star Jerome Kersey.
“He was so high off the ground, with such power and grace, that all the players on the bench were saying, ‘Fifty’, his first two dunks of the finals were 50s,” Kersey told Sports Illustrated.
GettyJordan slams one down[/caption]
GettyWilkins was a phenomenal athlete[/caption]
“But for some reason they gave him 45 on the last one. It was like, ‘Are you kidding? How can that be?’
“We just looked at one another on the bench and ducked our heads. The expression on Nique’s face was, ‘What do I have to do here?’”
The Human Highlight Film was furious with judges as Jordan missed his first dunk yet was still given top marks.
“He did the same dunk twice, and missed, and still got a 50,” protested Nique. “It was great but don’t get me going.”
Wilkins and Jordan have spoken about the incident many times in the past and at the 2022 NBA All-Star weekend the two legendary dunkers talked one-on-one.
According to Wilkins, Jordan admitted that he should’ve won that contest.
“Last year was the first time we did. I saw Michael and his wife at the hotel at the All-Star Weekend,” Wilkins shared in his 2023 appearance on The Knuckleheads podcast.
“I walk over to say hello to him and his wife, and as I go over he says, ‘Yeah, Nique, you won the dunk contest.”
Ultimately, going up against Jordan in Chicago, Wilkins didn’t stand a chance.
The judges were never going to let the six-time NBA champion lose on his own court.
With that dunk contest, Jordan became the first player to win the competition back-to-back — just don’t get Wilkins started on that piece of NBA trivia.
