“Go Back to Bill Russell”: True to His Goat Claim, Dominique Wilkins Justified Michael Jordan’s Consistency with 11 Title Winning Celtics Legend

Dominique Wilkins has always appreciated his rival and fellow colleague from his era, Michael Jordan’s greatness. Jordan undoubtedly has been the most influential figure in the NBA to take the league to a global level. In his recent appearance on VladTV, Wilkins compared Michael Jordan’s consistency in the league to that of 11-title-winning Celtics legend, Bill Russell.

Much of Michael Jordan’s consistency comes from his ultra-competitive nature while playing his games. Jordan always had a thirst for winning every match he played. And this thirst propelled him towards outperforming every athlete on the court in a game. Perhaps, we can attribute much of MJ’s successes to his zeal and passion to become the best in his field, which he very well did.

Dominique Wilkins explained how Michael Jordan’s greatness and consistency compare to that of Celtics legend Bill Russell

Dominique Wilkins has always been a vocal proponent of supporting Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate. Though both Nique and Jordan were averaging 30 points a game during their era, Wilkins showed immense praise and appreciation towards his formidable rival while speaking to DJ Vlad. Comparing MJ’s competitiveness and consistency to Bill Russell, Dominique Wilkins said,

“He can compete at everything. I don’t care what it is. I mean it could be on the golf course, anywhere, you know, drinking a glass of water, it don’t matter. Who could drink it the fastest, he’s going to bet on it. He’s so competitive that way. But, that’s what makes him so great, because his willingness to not accept losing. And there’s only few, very few in this in game to ever to do that. You gotta go back to Bill Russell, when you think about guys who are consistent like that, which people don’t often mention how great a winner he was. It comes from guys like that.” 

Indeed, Jordan’s consistency throughout could be compared to Bill Russell’s 11-chip winning campaign. Jordan won three consecutive titles, twice in a row. Even after coming back from retirement, His Airness never lost touch with his basketball prowess and led the Bulls for another three-peat run after 1993. This is exactly how Jordan finds his comparison to Bill Russell, for being consistent throughout.

Dominique Wilkins criticized today’s All-Stars for shying away from the Slam Dunk contest

Back in the day, the epic Slam Dunk contests between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were the best highlights from the All-Star weekends. Their epic face-off in 1988, where MJ overwhelmed Wilkins with his dunk is one that several NBA fans cherish to this day.

Currently, there is a lack of All-Stars participating in these contests than before. Several great dunkers in the league, including LeBron James and Ja Morant, refrain from participating in these contests. Calling these stars out, Wilkins remarked,

“I think the problem is I don’t think anyone want to know who the best is…. We wanted to know who the best was. When Mike [Michael Jordan] and I went head up, we wanted to know who the best was. It really wasn’t about us, it was about the fans… A lot of times I think they feel like it’s going to mess with their legacy, and it’s not.”

As Wilkins might have hinted from his comments, the current All-Stars are not embracing the great traditions of the league. By participating in these contests, Wilkins believes these stars can further cement their legacy, like he and MJ in their era.

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• Dominique Wilkins
• Michael Jordan