Dominique Wilkins attended the University of Georgia and was selected third overall in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.  However, Dominique never played for the Jazz, as he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks where he would spend the first 11 seasons of his Hall-Of-Fame career.  Wilkins was named an All-Star in nine consecutive seasons from 1986-1994 and led the NBA in scoring in 1985-86 with an average of 30.3 points per game.  Many young basketball fans know Dominique from his days appearing in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Wilkins was a two-time winner of the Dunk contest, winning it in 1985 and 1990.  He is one of only four men to win the competition on multiple occasions, along with Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson and Nate Robinson.

Here are some of Wilkins greatest dunks.

Notable Birthdays

Kevin Mitchell, MLB – Born January 13th 1962 (age 50) in San Diego, California

James Posey, NBA – Born January 13th 1977 (age 35) in Cleveland, Ohio

Ronny Turiaf, NBA – Born January 13th 1983 (age 29) in Le Robert, Martinique

At the time of his retirement, Wilkens was the all-time leader in both wins and losses as a head coach in the NBA with 1,332 wins and 1,155 losses.  He has since been surpassed by Don Nelson, who currently sits at 1,335 wins.  Despite all of his regular season success, Wilkens only led one team to a championship, the 1978-79 Seattle Supersonics.  In 1998 Lenny joined John Wooden and Bill Sharman as the only men to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

Along with being a coach in the NBA, Wilkens also coached the United States Men’s basketball team in the Olympics.  He was an assistant coach on the 1992 U.S. Men’s Dream Team and the head coach of the 1996 team, earning a gold medal on both occasions.

Here is a tribute to Lenny Wilkens.

Notable Birthdays

James Farrior, NFL – Born January 6th 1975 (age 37) in Petersburg, Virginia

Gilbert Arenas, NBA – Born January 6th 1982 (age 30) in Tampa, Florida

A.J. Hawk, NFL – Born January 6th 1984 (age 28) in Kettering, Ohio

“Pistol Pete” Maravich attended Louisiana State University and is one of the greatest players in men’s NCAA Division I history. Although his dream was to play for West Virginia, his father was the varsity coach at LSU and when he offered his son a spot on the team, Pete could not refuse. In his first ever game at LSU, Maravich would record a triple-double consisting of 50 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. His 44.2 points per game in college is a record that still stands today and may never be broken. The Atlanta Hawks selected Maravich with the third overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft.

Pete Maravich enjoyed a Hall-of-Fame career while playing 10 years in the NBA. He was named an all-star five times, led the NBA in scoring in 1976-77 with 31.1 points per game and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

Here are 10 great plays from Maravich’s career.

Notable Birthdays

Ray Crockett, NFL – Born January 5th 1967 (age 45) in Dallas, Texas

Joe Juneau, NHL – Born January 5th 1968 (age 44) in Pont-Rouge, Quebec

Warrick Dunn, NFL – Born January 5th 1975 (age 37) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Hawks wasted no time stealing home-court advantage from the Chicago Bulls, thanks in large part to the hot hand of Joe Johnson.  The Hawks’ guard was on fire, hitting all five of his three-point attempts and 12 of his 18 field goal attempts, en route to a 34 point performance.  Johnson would also add four rebounds, three assists and three steals, leading his team to a crucial 103-95 Game 1 victory over the Bulls.

Not only does the win give the Hawks home-court advantage, but it should also give them a boost in confidence early in the series.  They now know that not only can they beat the Bulls, but they can do so at the United Center.  However, if they hope to have continued success against the Eastern Conference’s top team, they are going to need more big games from Joe Johnson, who earns our “Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, May 2, 2011.

The Heat had won 10 of their past 12 heading into the game and had leap-frogged the Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference.  They secured that spot in the standing thanks in large part to LeBron’s 34 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.  The Heat would receive a scare from the Hawks bench late in the game, but they would eventually hold on for the 98-90 win.

With the win, the Heat locked up a first round playoff match-up with the Philadelphia 76ers.  They dominated Philly during the regular season, winning all three games between the two teams, but that doesn’t mean anything this time around.  If they would like to have similar success against the 76ers, they are going to need more performances like the one they received last night from LeBron James.  For now he earns “The Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, April 11, 2011.

The Atlanta Hawks’ players weren’t the only ones putting up a strong fight at Philips Arena last night.  Hall of Famer and Hawks color analyst Dominique Wilkins was also doing some fighting of his own, although his opponent would be ex-referee Rashan S. Michel, rather than the Orlando Magic.

Michel stuck around following the Hawks’ 85-82 victory so that he could confront Wilkins regarding his custom clothing shop, which he claims was still owed $12,500 for suits purchased by Wilkins several years ago.  Dominique was on the court providing a post-game analysis when Michel came down from the stands and began yelling at him.  Wilkins attempted to avoid the confrontation, but he and a security guard were eventually assaulted by Michel, who received a black-eye from “The Human Highlight Reel” before being arrested and taken to jail.

Michel was charged with two counts of simple battery, both misdemeanor charges.  He was released Tuesday morning on $1000 bond and has since claimed that Wilkins struck him first, and that he intends to sue both the Atlanta Hawks and Dominique.

Here is a look at what we believe to be the later portion of the confrontation, when Michel receives that black eye he is sporting in his mugshot above.  Just so you know, that arrow is pointing at Wilkins.

Hat Tip – [TMZ]

The Hawks’ all-star forward was an absolute beast, recording 31 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals on the night.  His incredible performance helped the Hawks erase a 17-point halftime lead as he hit six of his 13 field-goals in a third quarter that saw the Hawks outscore the Bulls 25-13.  That would get them back into the game, and a strong fourth quarter would help Atlanta seal the 83-80 victory.

Horford has been having himself quite the season as  both his points and assists per game averages have increased rather significantly.  His 31 points last night gave him a new career-high, and it also helped him earn “The Stat Line of the Night” for Wednesday, March 2, 2011.

The high-flying forward for the Hawks had they type of all-around performance that many have come to expect from him, as he recorded 27 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Smith did most of his damage in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the field in the frame as the Hawks outscored the Pistons 41-27 following the break, en route to the 94-79 victory.

When most people talk about the battle for supremacy in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the main players always seem to be the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic.  Left out of the mix is the Atlanta Hawks, however, one quick look at the standings shows that they deserve to be in that conversation.  Last night’s win has them in a tie for fourth with the Magic, three games back of the Bulls, five behind the Heat and 5.5 back of the Celtics for first.  While a spot within the top four of the Conference standings might shock most, it is where the Hawks currently stand, thanks to Smith’s performance, which is worthy of our “Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, February 14, 2011.

Twenty-five years later, Webb is working as an NBA D-League exec, and while the 47-year-old may not be able to throw down one of those 180-degree reverse double-pump slams, he can still elevate enough to perform a dunk.  That is a rather remarkable feat for any 5’7 individual, but it is all the more impressive when that individual is approaching the age of fifty.

Here is Spud showing up some of his D-League players.

Oh Taiwan…

Why am I not surprised to see an Atlanta Celtics jersey in the capital of knock-off merchandise.  Who the hell are the Atlanta Celtics anyways?  I guess this is just some smart marketing by the Taiwanese.  After all, what is the point in limiting yourself to the fans of only one team, when you can merge two teams together in one jersey and double your target population.