The 1988 Slam Dunk Contest is widely remembered for the showdown between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins. Decades later, as Jordan takes home the trophy, fans are still debating who should have won the dazzling dunk performance. For Wilkins, he thought he should have won that game.
As both Wilkins and Jordan have gone through different lives since retirement, Human Highlights Video shared with Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina that they don’t talk about the dunk contest, preferring to respect each other.
This time, Jordan tried to talk about it, but Wilkins quickly dismissed it.
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“He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, you win.’ I just said, ‘How are you, Mike? Are you feeling good today? I forgot. That’s the respect that Michael and I and we show each other, “Wilkins said.
Both basketball stars were part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, and since they’re now in their 60s, they don’t really attach much importance to what happened in 1988.
“The thing is Michael and I have never talked about the dunk contest since. Not once. It’s a no-brainer. We both know what we bring to the table. We don’t have to talk about it. He talks about it. Just because we’re old people now. It’s just conversation,” Wilkins said.
Dominique Wilkins is surprised his matchup with Michael Jordan is still talked about today
It’s been 35 years since Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins’ historic dunk contest showdown in 1988, and fans are still trying to look back at how the two players attempted to use the One’s own creativity prevails over the other’s.
The lifelong debate over who should have won that game no longer bothers Wilkins, but surprisingly the issue is still debated decades later.
“Michael and I want to know who’s the best. It’s that simple. No matter who wins, the fans get their money’s worth (laughs),” Wilkins said. “The fact that people are still talking about it over 30 years later makes you know that was the greatest dunk contest of all time. People still talk about, ‘You know you won!’ or ‘Michael beat you’! I hear that every day To this day, to this day!”
Both players are two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions. Michael Jordan won the trophy in 1987 and 1988, while Dominique Wilkins won it in 1985 and 1990.