With statue, Wilkins becomes part of landscape of Atlanta

“This will never be forgotten,” Wilkins said during the program. “This is so important to my family. This is so important to me. More important, it’s so important to the city of Atlanta. That is who this is for. It’s not just for me. It’s for the city of Atlanta.”

The statue will be placed near the second A in the ATLANTA sculpture outside Philips Arena.

Before the statue was unveiled, a list of speakers spoke, including co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, former Hawks coach Mike Fratello, former Hawks player Kevin Willis, Basketball Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Clyde Drexler and Hawks broadcasters Bob Rathbun and Steve Holman.

“This statue stands for so much more than your accomplishments on the court and all the great human highlights and all the great dunks,” Silver said. “It’s a symbol of the fabric of the community that you’ve become and all that you’ve accomplished.”

In addition to the statue, the city has renamed a section of Centennial Olympic Park Drive from Marietta Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive as Dominique Wilkins Lane. Work crews were erected signs near the arena hours before the ceremony.

In attendance were family, friends, former coaches and teammates, other NBA greats such as Dikembe Mutombo, Bernard King and Karl Malone. The current Hawks team, coaching and support staff were also in attendance.

There were also several video tributes to Wilkins, including one from Larry Bird who jokingly said of the statue, “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t made of you in a defensive stance.”

Wilkins said he was proud of the statue and that it stood for the history of the Hawks.

“It stands for change in this city and this franchise and it stands for history,” Wilkins said. “I’ve watched over the years where you try to eradicate history or change culture. You don’t change culture. You don’t erase history. You embrace history. If you try to change history, history will fight back. Through time, that has been the case. We have to embrace that, embrace that rich history that we have here. What this statue says is we have that history here now and that we do play basketball in Atlanta.”

Wilkins was introduced by Erving, who also introduced him when Wilkins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

There were plenty of stories. Drexler shared one about a game between Wilkins’ Hawks and Drexler’s Trail Blazers. Portland’s coach impressed upon his team no play was over with Wilkins on the court. Sure enough, after missing the first shot of the game, Wilkins soared in and slammed his own rebound. A quick timeout was called to castigate the team.

“Hey, Coach, cut it out,” Drexler said he responsed. “Nobody let that happen. There is nothing you can do about that.

“That was Dominique, night in and night out. People talk about him playing in somebody’s shadow. Are you kidding me? What shadow? He was one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen.”

Wilkins serves as the Hawks’ vice president of basketball and as a special advisor to CEO Steve Koonin. He continues to work as the team’s television analyst and helps with a number of charities.

Wilkins finished his career with 26,668 points and is the 12th all-time leading scorer in NBA history. He spent 11-plus seasons with the Hawks and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

Wilkins has become more than just his nickname: The Human Highlight Reel.

“The awards and records speak for themselves,” Fratello said. “That is why we are all here today. But beyond that, this is a young man who truly loved his family, loved his fans, loved his teammates and loved the game of basketball. …

“Many years later, I appreciate you now so much more for what you did for the Atlanta Hawks and the city of Atlanta than I ever realized back then. This is an honor that is certainly well deserved.”