Atlanta Hawks to unveil Dominique Wilkins statue in 2015

With all the bad news surrounding the Atlanta Hawks, the team has finally come across some good news–the organization plans on unveiling a statue of Hall of Fame forward Dominique Wilkins.

Since moving to Atlanta, the Hawks history hasn’t been littered with success like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, but Dominique Wilkins’ arrival made them relevant–and competitive–for the first time.

Traded to the Hawks from the Utah Jazz for John Drew and Freeman Williams following the draft, ‘Nique’s dominance began. From 1983 to 1992, the small forward averaged 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. In that span, Wilkins led the Hawks to the playoffs seven times.

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Outside of his Hawks play, Nique became a superstar around the league known for his thunderous dunks, garnering the nickname ‘The Human Highlight–Wilkins won the NBA Dunk Contest in 1985, 1990. Another key moment in Nique’s career is the Game 7 duel with Larry Bird in the 1988 when Wilkins scored 47 points (14 in the fourth) to Birds’ 34 points (20 in the fourth).

Wilkins is the franchise leaders in games played, minutes played, points, and is tied first in points per game.

During the press conference in which the statue was revealed, Wilkins wouldn’t give details about the statue’s build, but stated it’d be beautiful.