"He said 'Yeah, yeah, you won'": Dominique Wilkins on Michael Jordan conceding 1988 Dunk Contest, Kevin Durant's Achilles tear and more (Exclusive)

Nearly four years after counseling Kevin Durant on how to recover from a torn Achilles tendon, Dominique Wilkins has after that admired from afar on how he mirrored his path.

After snapping his right Achilles on Jan. 28. 1992 at 32 years old, Wilkins returned the next season with the Atlanta Hawks) and actually exceeded his career averages (29.9 points per game in 1992-93). After Durant tore his right Achilles tendon with the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Durant topped his career scoring average (27.3) in 2 ½ seasons with Brooklyn (29.8) before joining the Phoenix Suns before last season’s trade deadline.

“Nothing is surprising when it comes to his game,” Wilkins told Sportskeeda. “He brings it. He is a tough, tough cover. Even at this point in his career, you have to double him. You can’t play him single coverage. He’s that good.”

Wilkins spoke to Sportskeeda about numerous topics, including mentoring Durant and Warriors guard Klay Thompson on their respective Achilles injuries. Wilkins also relived his games with Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, shared his favorite dunks and opined on being on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team after being excluded on the 50th Anniversary team.

Dominique Wilkins full interview

Editor’s note: The following 1-on-1 interview has been condensed and edited.

What has it meant to you over the years that so many players, including Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, have sought your advice on returning from an Achilles injury?

Wilkins:

“It’s really been a pleasure and an honor. There are some really great players playing the game that have had a misfortune with Achilles. As people, we have a responsibility to give help wherever we can. It’s not about the sport. It’s about being a good person. If you can help a person recover from a devastating injury, you have the responsibility to give some of that knowledge and some of that information to those people.”

What was your feedback to Durant after he had his Achilles injury [in the 2019 NBA Finals]?

Wilkins:

“You have to be patient. You don’t want to rush it. That injury is so sensitive. So you have to be willing to have some patience. At the same time, the work you put in will determine what you get out of it. He’s done a wonderful job with working hard to get back to where he was. It took him a while. It happens for anybody who deals with this injury. But to see him back and doing his thing is incredible. I’m a fan of basketball. I like to see the great players out there playing.”

What’s jumped out to you with how Durant has played since then?

Wilkins:

“Nothing is surprising when it comes to his game. He brings it. He is a tough, tough cover. Even at this point in his career, you have to double him. You can’t play him single coverage. He’s that good.”

How do you see him building off of that this upcoming season with Bradley Beal in the mix?

Wilkins:

“What they’re trying to do is like what a lot of teams do when they’ve got new players implemented to their system. It’s all about how quickly they can find some chemistry. That’s the key. It’s about making sacrifices and how much sacrifices you’re willing to make, especially when you’re trying to win a championship. What are we willing to sacrifice to get there?”

I know we chatted before about how you helped Klay after he injured his Achilles. But since then, how have you seen him handle everything since his return?

Wilkins:

“Klay and I have had extensive interactions about his Achilles, more than anybody that I’ve talked to. It’s a special friendship we have. He’s a guy that loves the game. He worked hard to get back to playing the game that he loves. He’s had some setbacks just like other guys. But he has hung in there and has stayed with it. I thought he had a good season last year. It’s good to see him playing back at a level since he left it.”

Considering the various ups and downs he went through last season, how does Klay build off of that for this season?

Wilkins:

“He now has another year where it’s further behind him. He’s healthy. Now he just wants to maintain that. How he maintains that is doing his work in the offseason to prepare for the regular season. Klay has done that. As hard as he has worked to get back, he hasn’t relented at all with maintaining that.”

Klay told me that you two shared a common bond about lamenting him not making the NBA’s Top 75 Anniversary team and you were mentioning how ridiculous it was you didn’t make the Top 50 list [in 1996]. What do you remember about those exchanges?

Wilkins:

(laughs). “Yeah, I feel him. The craziest thing is when you hear your peers and guys you played against say, ‘He’s not in the top 50. He’s in the top 25!’ When I’ve heard people say that, that means more to me than anything else. My peers know what I did. The same thing with Klay Thompson. In my opinion, he should be Top 75.”

What have been your feelings been about being in the NBA’s Top 75 list, but also knowing you should’ve been on the original list, too?

Wilkins:

“At this point in my life, I try not to look that far back and worry about stuff like that. I just try to worry about the present. The people that really know basketball, the real basketball players that played this game, they know. They know what I meant to the game. They know what I brought to the game. They know what Klay brought to the game. So, I don’t worry about the past anymore. I’m really thrilled and honored to be a part of the NBA’s top 75 team. To have all of those guys together in Cleveland [during 2022 All-Star weekend] was breathtaking.

I rest my hat on that. I don’t go back too much on that stuff. They already know. When people do their list with the rankings, you have to rank what an individual did as a far as carrying his team. A lot of times, it’s not about if you won a championship or not. There are a lot of guys who haven’t won a championship. Unfortunately, there is only one team that wins it every year. Does that diminish your greatness? No, it doesn’t.”

What were the highlights of being part of All-Star weekend for the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team?

Wilkins:

“Just to be there with the guys before me and with the current guys that are still playing. It was an amazing experience. I can’t tell you the emotions not just with myself, but all of us had in that room before we went on the court. You could feel the electricity in the room. That is bigger than anything else you could ever imagine. The greatest thing was interacting with Dr. J [Julius Erving] and Rick Barry as well the conversations I had with LeBron [James], Carmelo [Anthony] and all of these guys. We are a small family. The conversations and emotions in that room were amazing. You had 75 brothers all in one room [laughs]. We were all connected. No one can ever take that from us.”

Can you give any peek behind the curtain on what conversations stood out?

Wilkins:

“A couple of us talked about how it was surreal to be recognized like this. To be considered one of the greatest small forwards in this game, that was a conversation I was having with LeBron and Carmelo. Carmelo and I stood in a circle and he was like, ‘Man, this is surreal! We’re the greatest ever!’ You could feel the emotion coming from him. It was outstanding.”

How much did they talk to you about your dunks and any stories behind that?

Wilkins:

“We never talked about that stuff. Our conversations were about how great it is to be a part of this. I can’t tell you the emotions that we all had in that room.”

Well, I can’t help but feel interested talking to you about your dunks. What’s your favorite one, whether it was in the Dunk Contest or in a game?

Wilkins:

“My favorite dunks were in the game. The Dunk Contest was for the fans. So was the game. But the difference is you’re doing it in competition, in traffic and through contact. The dunks I enjoyed the most is when I go up on a big guy. That was my favorite, man. You’re doing it when no one expects that you can do it. To catch a big guy back on the break, in the lane or catch it off the rim, those were my favorite types of dunks because sometimes it could change the complexity of a game.”

Do you have a favorite dunk against a certain big guy?

Wilkins:

“There was one. God bless him. He’s gone now. But there was one against Bob Lanier. It was against Milwaukee. I went to the middle and the defense shifted to me. I went baseline and I jumped. I was sideways. He covered the basket. The funny thing was he was coming up and I was coming down. I caught him as he was coming down. That’s how we won that game.

What do you remember about your dunk on Larry Bird?

Wilkins:

“I was angry. He was having a good game. I was on the break. I don’t remember exactly. But it was so much fun playing against Larry. The Celtics-Hawks games were legendary. Some of the best games that I had were against Boston. Some of the best games that he had were against us. It was a pleasure playing against him.”

What trash talk did he say to you perhaps during his career-high 60-point game [in 1985] or in the [1988] playoffs?

Wilkins:

“He may have talked trash to me in my first game. But we never really talked trash to each other. There was respect. We never talked like that to one another. That’s the show of respect he had for me. But you knew he was coming, that’s for sure.”

Doc Rivers said in an interview that Bird tried to intimidate you by calling and making his shots.

Wilkins:

“I never worried about that. On the other end, you have to guard me, too [laughs]. I didn’t worry about that.”

How did that compare to going up against Michael Jordan?

Wilkins:

“You had different players that had different types of energy when you played against them. Of course, Jordan is at the top of that list. I didn’t realize until recently that he and I averaged over 30 [points] a game against one another for our career. Someone brought that to my attention. That told you about the intensity that we both played with.”

What was the back-and-forth like between you and MJ in the Dunk Contests in ’85 and ’88?

Wilkins:

“Michael and I wanted to know who the best was. Simple as that. No matter who won, the fans got their money’s worth [laughs]. The fact that people are still talking about it more than 30 years later lets you know that those were the greatest Dunk contests ever. People still talk about, ‘You know you won!’ or ‘Michael beat you’! I hear that every day, to this day!”

I read that Jordan conceded that you should’ve won the Dunk Contest in ’88….

Wilkins:

“He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, you won.’ I just said, ‘How are you doing, Mike? Are you feeling good today?’ I forgot about it. That’s Michael and I and the respect we show each other. The thing is Michael and I have never talked about the dunk contest after that ever. Not once. It was an unspoken thing. We all knew what we brought. We didn’t have to talk about it. He only talked about it because we’re old men now. It’s just conversation.”

In your interview with Ahmad [Rashad] last year, Doc Rivers said he thinks Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Brown have some similarities in you. What’s your take on that?

Wilkins:

“There are some similarities in parts of their game. You see how explosive Anthony Edwards is. He reminds me of a ‘young me.’ I really love this kid. Of course, he went to Georgia so I got to have his back [laughs]. Most importantly, he has an explosive game. He can do so many things other than just dunk. He can score on the offense side. Jaylen Brown, as far as size and ability, there are some similarities there.”

You selected yourself as No. 1 in the All-Star NBA 75 draft is etched into our memory. Could you explain the self-belief and why you didn’t pick Kobe [Bryant], MJ or anyone else?

Wilkins:

“That was just a fun skit. [Charles] Barkley said, ‘You know you’re on the Top 75!’ I said, ‘That’s not the point, Charles.’ [laughs]. That’s not the point. It was just fun to do and to get people talking. People said, ‘You picked yourself!’ and I said, ‘Why not?!’ I was being funny. You can’t go wrong with whatever way you go. There are a lot of great players. We were having fun with that.’

In that spirit, you also gave Jerry West a hard time in a later segment for drafting James Worthy over you.

Wilkins:

“That could’ve ended up wither way. It worked out for LA, no matter which way it went. James Worthy is someone I had a lot of respect for coming out of North Carolina. We both had great careers starting from high school in North Carolina. I wasn’t upset at all because I went to a place I wanted to go to as well, and that’s Atlanta.”

The point you made about being at peace and not reflecting on the past, how did that mindset compare to the mindset you had when you were actually playing?

Wilkins:

“You don’t think that way when you’re a competitor because you’re actually competing now. We’re not competing anymore, so it really doesn’t matter. But when you’re a competitor and you’re out there in your prime and playing against the best players, those things will bother you. But it forces you and pushes you to play even harder.”

How much did that play into your successful return after your Achilles injury?

Wilkins:

“It did. Nobody in the history of the game came back as fast as I did. I had a complete tear. But I came back in under a year and averaged just under 30 points a game when I came back. Nobody has done that to this point.”

It’s difficult enough to return from an Achilles injury. But you’re the lone player to have played even better during your return. What did it take for that to happen?

Wilkins:

“It took me working out twice a day, every day for nine months. That’s the kind of work I put in to get back. Then, mentally I had to block it out and not overcompensate for that injury. It wasn’t easy. It was not easy. It was hard. Some days, I doubted myself. I sometimes thought, ‘Man, am I going to be able to come back from this?’ I just stuck with it.”

Beyond your successful comeback story with overcoming an Achilles injury, your dunks and your on-court accomplishments, what else about your career still sticks with you?

Wilkins:

“I truly loved this game so much that I would’ve played it for nothing. That’s how much I loved the game. Fortunately, we get benefits for playing the game, and we should. But with my love of the game, I felt like I needed to play every night at all costs. Or else I would feel like I left my teammates down if I didn’t play. It was a mentality. That’s how a lot of guys were. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Jordan felt that way. Magic [Johnson] and Bird all felt that way. A lot of the guys before me, that’s where I got the toughness and attitude from those guys. I learned from quite a few guys. Maurice Lucas, when he was at Portland, used to help me train when I was at the University of Georgia. So did Pete Maravich. I had those guys working out with me during the summer. No one ever knew it. But I learned a lot from those guys.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.

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