50 Greatest NBA Players ever - 41 to 50 on our Best NBA Players list

#47 Dominique Wilkins

New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks

Career averages: 24.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks per game

Shooting splits: 46.1% from the field, 31.9% on 3-pointers, 81.1% on free throws

Career accolades: 9-time All-Star (1986-1994), All-NBA First Team (1986), 4-time All-NBA Second Teamer (1987, 1991, 1993, 1994), 2-time All-NBA Third Teamer (1989, 1994), 2-time Slam Dunk Champion (1985, 1990), Euroleague champion (1996), Greece champion (1996)

Records: All-time leading scorer in Atlanta Hawks history with 23292 points (26.4 ppg), 23 consecutive made free throws in a single game

The Human Highlight Reel and His Airness had quite similar careers if we base our opinion on only the first 6 years of their careers. Unfortunately for Nique, he never had the good fortune of playing in a well-run franchise with enough talent to make a deep playoff run.

Among the greatest scorers of all time, Dominique ranks 13th all-time in points per game average. During his prime, the Hawks compiled a run of 4 consecutive 50-plus win seasons, although they faltered within two rounds of the playoffs due to facing superior teams like the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and later on, the Bulls and the Knicks.

Nique's enduring legacy will be that of the only superstar basketball player to stage a comeback from an Achilles injury, doing so after it ended his 1991-92 campaign. He made 2 All-Star game appearances after that injury and averaged 29.9 points per game in his comeback season with a field goal percentage of 46.8%.

Despite the Hawks leading their Conference standings at 36-18, they traded their franchise star to the Los Angeles Clippers at the All-Star break deadline following 11 and a half seasons of Dominique's brilliance.

After the 1994-95 season, Greek basketball club Panathinaikos fielded a $7 million contract to Wilkins in exchange for playing in the Euroleague. A trophy-starved Wilkins signed the deal and won 2 much-deserved championships (domestic league and Euroleague) with the Greek outfit.

He returned to the NBA for a final run with the San Antonio Spurs in the 1996-97 season, during which they lost franchise star David Robinson to injury until the end of the season. Sick of the losing, Wilkins retired once, before staging a comeback in the 98-99 season with the Orlando Magic before getting out of the game for good.

Wilkins currently serves as the vice president for the Atlanta Hawks and is their resident Godfather on all things basketball.