“Michael Jordan Was a Phenomenon”: Dominique Wilkins Once Explained Why It Was Easy for Him to Give MJ His Flowers

Michael Jordan’s greatness has been spoken about ad nauseum since the moment ‘His Airness’ first stepped foot onto basketball hardwood. However, few have ever verbalized this subject as elegantly as the Human Highlight Film, Dominique Wilkins. The nine-time All-Star spoke about his rivalry with MJ on the All The Smoke podcast last year, but what he said about Jordan as a competitor still rings true today.

“If you ain’t ever faced him, you don’t understand,” said Wilkins at the time. To further accentuate his point, Wilkins referred to Jordan as an almost god-like figure. A player that Nique found easy to give his flowers to. “I played against some of the most hard-nosed talented players in this game. He was a phenomenon,” he added.

Wilkins wasn’t done. He recalled every time he would share the court with MJ the six-time champion’s eyes glowed red. “His eyes were blood-shot red every game like he was possessed,” Nique explained. When he saw that he knew that “Jesus is coming.” It wasn’t always just competition though. “He and I…we had so much respect.”

Dominique Wilkins explains why it’s so easy for him to give Jordan his props:

“If you ain’t ever faced him, you don’t understand…He was a phenomenon…his eyes was blood-shot red, every game, looked like he was possessed..” pic.twitter.com/DOGzjfitRC

— JordanMuse (@JordanMuse_) March 24, 2025

Funnily enough, it wasn’t even in the NBA when Wilkins first realized that the greatest athlete in the world walked the earth. The now 65-year-old legend shared a story of a college matchup between his Georgia Bulldogs and the North Carolina Tar Heels during his junior year. He remembered going back and forth with James Worthy in a tight game. Or at least it was tight, until the fourth quarter.

“The game was back and forth. The whole game…close,” recalled Wilkins. Worthy was having a hell of a game. I was having a hell of a game. The last two minutes of the game a young kid named Michael Jordan took over. By himself.” To top it all off, Jordan was only in his freshman year when he showed his dominance.

Wilkins once dropped 57 points against Jordan and the Bulls in a 28-point blowout

True fans of ball remember that Wilkins was no spring chicken himself. Nique earned his Human Highlight Film moniker for a reason and proved that one night in 1986 against MJ and his Chicago Bulls.

“I was a little hot that game, and so was he, Wilkins told Vlad TV.  “He had 42 in that same game. We had, what, 98 points between us in that game by two guys, so we were going at it. I didn’t even play the last eight minutes of the game; that’s how hot I was.”

That wasn’t just a one-off performance by Wilkins either. Playing against MJ always brought the best out of him as he averaged 29.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 45 games against him.

He spoke on this later in his chat. “You won’t see anybody who scores consistently throughout the game the way Mike did every night. It wasn’t just in that game, every night was like that,” he stated.

Wilkins was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2006. His stats may not match up to some of the all-time greats, but Wilkins’s name rightfully deserved to be etched next to theirs in the basketball cathedral.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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