Durant played very well after the Achilles tendon rupture, beyond people's understanding, and 30 years ago, there was also a player who performed well after the Achilles tendon rupture, still a first-class star in the league, this player is nicknamed "human film essence" Dominique Wilkins, Wilkins is particularly athletic before the injury, often contributes to a very explosive dunk on the court, his nickname is also derived, and after the big injury, Wilkins transformed, the style of play is not so explosive, the style of play has changed, but on the performance, Wilkins is still very good, averaging 29 points per game, and is still the main player in the team later in his career, this article will talk about Dominic Wilkins.
Historical level dunks, top scorers
Wilkins is 2.01 meters tall, is a front guard swing man, he is strong, body fat is very low, Wilkins body muscles are very powerful, especially Wilkins's leg muscles and core muscles, which is really very rare. Wilkins's ability to bounce is very strong, flying to the basket is a trivial matter for Wilkins, and Wilkins's speed is very fast, in the blink of an eye, Wilkins has already flown to the basket. Because of the strength of the core muscle group, Wilkins' posture in the air is also very graceful, and he can complete a large range of movements, and it does not make the inspector feel laborious.
Wilkins was so good at dunking on the court that he also competed in the dunk contest and won the dunk king, Wilkins is a historic dunkman. Wilkins' dunks are brilliant, but they're hard to sum up in one word, and the nickname "Essence of Human Cinema" is so fitting.
Wilkins's style of play is wide open, no delicate rhythm, no fancy dribbling, the use of talent, Wilkins on the strong side of the lethality is very large, near the free throw line, Wilkins got the ball, then can dribble twice after the ball, to the basket to kill, if the opponent single defense, Wilkins can go to the basket, if someone assists, Wilkins can see the timing, squeeze through the gap between the two to assist in defense, complete the layup, when Wilkins enters this position, then the defense will fail half. The key to defending Wilkins is to keep him away from the basket, let him dribble more, and not give him room to impact, but it is easy to say, facing Wilkins, a talented monster, there are not many times he can defend.
Before the Achilles tendon rupture, Wilkins' playing style is very dependent on talent, and after the Achilles tendon rupture, Wilkins's talent is not as good as before, mainly the explosive power is not as good as before, Wilkins changed the way of playing, from killing the basket, to the outside jump shot, most of the breakthrough-based players to transform the shooting-based players are not very successful, but Wilkins is an exception, he transformed very successfully, not only shot very accurately, but also, the running position is also good, with this jump shot, Wilkins has also played good ball in the NBA for many seasons. Wilkins was a dunkman, but also a scorer, a leader, and in 12 seasons with the Hawks, Wilkins left a lot of wonderful moments.
Against Bird, the pinnacle of his 13-year NBA career
In the 1982 NBA Draft, the Jazz selected Wilkins with the third sign, the Jazz very much hoped that Wilkins could join the team, but Wilkins did not like the Jazz, no matter what the Jazz said, Wilkins just did not sign, the Jazz saw this very helpless, can only put the newly selected Wilkins on the shelf. In the end, the Hawks exchanged John Drew, Freeman Williams, and some cash for Wilkins, who joined the Hawks.
NBA debut, Wilkins played very well, cut 23 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, but unfortunately the Eagles lost, the third game of the NBA career, Wilkins cut 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, which was the first 30+ in Wilkins' NBA career, and throughout his NBA career, Wilkins cut 63 times 30+. Wilkins has been very good in his rookie season, not only showing his strong talent, but also performing well on the court, which is rare, many players are talented, but the performance is worse, and it needs to be cultivated.
After the rookie season, Wilkins averaged 17.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 steal per game, shot 49.3% from the field, performed well, and was selected to the best rookie team, if there is any shortcoming in Wilkins' rookie season performance, that is, the penalty is inaccurate, the shooting rate is only 68.2%, which is also a common weakness of many impactful players, but Wilkins changed this in the future game. After the regular season, the Hawks qualified to play the playoffs, but to be honest, the Hawks entered the playoffs, that is, waiting to be eliminated by others, facing the Celtics they had no ability to fight back, and the only thing the Hawks could see on this playoff trip was what Wilkins could play.
The first game of the series, also Wilkins playoff debut, he played 38 minutes, contributed 21 points and 6 rebounds, performed well, the second game, the Celtics gave Wilkins a little defensive intensity, Wilkins was not allowed, 18 shots 6, contributed 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, the third game, Wilkins played 26 minutes, under the Celtics defense, he shot 1 of 6, contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, this performance was very bad, Wilkins did not appear again after the game, The Hawks were eliminated by the Celtics. Wilkins, still a rookie, faced the old hot Celtics and could not break through the opponent's defense.
In the 83-84 season, Wilkins officially became the "Eagle King", the former "Eagle King" but Lawndfield became the second boss, after becoming the big boss, Wilkins's play space is larger, the performance is naturally more exciting, Wilkins improved himself in the game, the ability is getting stronger and stronger, the end of the regular season, Wilkins averaged 21.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals 1.1 blocks, shooting 47.9%, free throw shooting rate of 77%, Wilkins's free throws can not be said to be inaccurate, Within an acceptable range.
At the end of the regular season, the Hawks were once again given the opportunity to play the playoffs, this is the first time Wilkins has led a team to play the playoffs, for Wilkins, it was a big test, last year he played badly, this year, how will he perform? In the first round of the playoffs, the Eagles vs Bucks, the strength gap between the two teams is not large, but the Eagles are obviously the team that is at the bottom, the first two games of the series, the Eagles lost to the opponent by a big score, and if they lost one more game, the Eagles went home, and the season ended like this.
In the third game of the series, Wilkins stood up, he contributed 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, helped the Hawks win a victory, and continued the series, the fourth game of the series, Wilkins felt bad, but the defense was very hard, contributing 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, helping the Hawks win by 2 points, Wilkins led the Hawks to beat the series into a life and death game.
In the game of life and death, Wilkins felt cold, 19 shots into 6, although playing very hard, but the Bucks played well, the Eagles lost to the Bucks, Wilkins contributed 12 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals. Although he was still eliminated in the first round, Wilkins in the second grade still exploded his own energy in adversity, not a twin, what he needed was to accumulate game experience, make himself play better in the playoffs, and lead the team at key moments.
84-85 season, Wilkins averaged 23.3 shots per game, the Hawks' offense was driven by Wilkins, this result was not required by Wilkins, but the Hawks really did not have a strong scoring point, in addition to Wilkins, other offensive talents are really more general, this season, the Hawks other players performed average, Wilkins contributed 27.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists 1.7 steals, shooting 45.1%, free throw shooting rate of 80.6%, Wilkins practiced his free throws, and for more than a decade, Wilkins didn't shoot any less than 80 percent of his free throws until late in his career.
Wilkins has played well this season, but the Hawks have been kept out of the playoffs, the first time Wilkins has missed the playoffs since entering the NBA. In the 85-86 season, Wilkins let go of the play, he showed all his talent, let the opponent feel how terrible he was, and Wilkins teammates also tried to contribute, in the defensive line, Dow Griffith performed the best, he contributed 11.5 points, 8.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game, this Dow Griffith is the current 76 head coach.
At the end of the season, Wilkins averaged 30.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game, the performance was very exciting, in the season of all-stars, Wilkins came off the bench, in the scoring list, Wilkins ranked first, became the scoring king, in the selection of the best team, Wilkins was selected for a team, this regular season, Wilkins harvested full. Wilkins led the Hawks into the playoffs this time. In the first round of the playoffs, the Hawks faced the Pistons, and in the first game of the series, Wilkins did not feel good, but what he was smarter than before was that he would use the kill to make free throws, he made 10 of 10 free throws, and cut 28 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist to help the Hawks win the Pistons.
In the second game, Wilkins felt hot, was the best player in the game, he shot 28 times, hit 19 goals, shot 12 of 15 from the free throws, cut 50 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, helped the Hawks win by 12 points, this game The Hawks can win, really all driven by Wilkins, the other people's state is really not good. In the third game, the Pistons counterattacked, Wilkins was not in good shape, the Hawks lost the game, and in the fourth game, Wilkins did not let the opportunity to end the series slip away from his hands, he cut 38 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, led the team to a small victory of 1 point, ended the series with a big score of 3-1, and advanced to the second round.
The Hawks' opponent in the second round was the Celtics, and Wilkins was eliminated for the first time because of the Celtics, and for Wilkins, it was also a battle for revenge. The Hawks are much stronger than in previous years, but at this time the Celtics are the Celtics at their peak, the Celtics who rule the East, compete with the Lakers for the championship, and win the championship, it is completely impossible to win the Celtics, it may be that Wilkins played better, stood and left the court, and Wilkins really did it. After losing two games in a row, Wilkins broke out, cut 38 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, took the Hawks 4 points to lose, the fourth game, Wilkins contributed 37 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and finally helped the Hawks win a game, but in the fifth game, Wilkins had no feel, the Hawks faced the full-power Celtics to disarm early, and the Hawks ended the series with a fiasco.
This was Wilkins' second defeat to the Celtics, and from then on, the Celtics became an insurmountable mountain for Wilkins. In the 87-88 season, Wilkins averaged 30.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the regular season, bringing the Eagles into the playoffs, after beating the Bucks, the Eagles and Celtics met again, this is Wilkins' third time to face the Celtics, the first two times, Wilkins performance is not good, this time, he played the peak performance, trying to win.
In the fourth game of the series, Wilkins slashed 40 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, helping the Hawks win the game and equalize, and in the fifth game of the series, Wilkins scored 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, helping the Hawks get the match point.
Wilkins faced the Celtics for the first time, but the overall strength of the Hawks and Celtics was still not at the same level, the Celtics were experienced, they began to fight back in a desperate situation, and Wilkins began to stage a personal performance that will be remembered in history.
In the fifth game, Wilkins cut 35 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, the Hawks lost by 2 points, the big score was equalized, and in the sixth game, Wilkins felt hot, he did not make free throws, he attacked the basket, Wilkins played well on the side, and the Celtics side was united, everyone played to resist the Eagles' offense, the Celtics persevered until the fourth quarter, waiting until their master Bird stood out. Wilkins and Bird played against each other in the fourth quarter, but Wilkins, who fought a game, was not physically strong enough, could not fight Byrd, Bird took 20 points in a single quarter to take away the game, Wilkins cut 47 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the air.
Wilkins tried his best, Wilkins and Bird this time, are very famous in NBA history, and this battle can also be said to be the peak of Wilkins' NBA career. Since then, Wilkins has never played against the Celtics in the playoffs, and Wilkins lost all three games against the Celtics in the playoffs. Wilkins was outstanding from the 88–89 season to the second half of the 91–92 season, and he was trying to lead the team forward, but on 28 January 1992, Wilkins broke his Achilles tendon during the game and was carried off the pitch.
After Wilkins broke his tendon, many people said that Wilkins was finished and he couldn't play well when he returned to the field. These people said this, not to deliberately look down on Wilkins, but at that level of medical treatment, the Achilles tendon rupture wound is really too serious.
There are too many players who leave the game quickly because of a ruptured Achilles tendon, and even in this day and age, Achilles tendon rupture is a serious injury, and many players have experienced a sharp decline due to Achilles tendon rupture.
Wilkins heard questions about him, and he turned those questions into motivation, he trained hard, he trained his jump shots, he trained his running position, and he looked forward to going back to the field and punching those guys in the face. In the 1992-93 season, Wilkins returned from injury, and at the end of the season, Wilkins averaged 29.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1 steal per game, shooting 38% from three-point range, averaging 1 shot per game.
Wilkins transformed into a shooting-oriented player, which extended his career, 96-97 season, already 37-year-old Wilkins joined the Spurs, originally he was doing the auxiliary, who knew that the Spurs suddenly suffered an injury, Wilkins became the main force, the 37-year-old averaged 30 minutes per game, averaging 18.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, and performed well.
The 98-99 season was Wilkins' last season in the NBA, when he was 39 years old, he really couldn't play, the performance was not good, and at the end of the season, Wilkins announced his retirement, ending his NBA career. Wilkins has been in the NBA for 13 years, once selected as the top scorer, 9 times selected as an All-Star, 7 times selected to the Best Team, once a first team, four times second team, Wilkins is definitely a superstar in the NBA.
Write at the end
Wilkins is a very strong player, as can be seen from his induction into the Hall of Fame, but because he is not far in the playoffs, he is despised, but people do not recognize that his teammates are not strong enough, as Barkley put it, "He is the most underrated superstar in the league, he does not get enough praise." For many years, he carried the Eagles on his back and never got enough help from his teammates like other stars like Jordan and "The Magician." ”
If Wilkins were paired with more capable players, I'm sure he'd play better. Wilkins is 61 years old and wishes him good health and a good old age.