- It's judgment time.
It's February 6th, 1988.
NBA All-Star Weekend at Chicago Stadium,
where the home crowd is going bananas
for Michael Jordan's final dunk of the competition.
The stylish, gliding, one-handed flush.
Now, the onus is on the judges.
That dunk needs a near-perfect score
for MJ to win this contest
over fellow finalist Dominique Wilkins.
Before the judges make their ruling,
we need to understand what has already happened,
in this contest, in prior contests,
and in this sparkling head-to-head rivalry.
We gotta rewind.
(glistening music cue)
So, Jordan needs a high score on this last dunk,
at least a 49, to win this contest
against Dominique Wilkins.
Whatever the outcome, it'll be one more data point
in a friendly, admiring rivalry that's got
a decent amount of history already.
Dominique went to high school in North Carolina,
but broke hearts by committing to
the University of Georgia in 1979.
A couple years later, a fellow Carolina high schooler
stayed local, accepting a scholarship at UNC.
The age difference here is narrow enough
that these two met once in college, in February of 1982.
The big story was the battle between Wilkins
and his senior Tar Heel counterpart James Worthy,
but the freshman UNC guard made his presence felt.
Here he is getting 'Nique in the air
with a pretty sweet pump fake.
That spring, Jordan helped UNC win the NCAA tournament.
Wilkins was drafted by the Utah Jazz,
but became an Atlanta Hawk soon thereafter,
and spent a couple years improving as a scorer
for a team that still couldn't make
much noise in the playoffs.
In 1984, Michael joined Dominique in the pros
and found himself in a comparable situation.
Jordan was an instant star, but it took some time
for the rest of his team to catch up,
especially when eastern stalwarts like the Pistons
and Celtics were at their playoff best.
While their supporting cast developed,
these two built a fantastic head-to-head rivalry
that reached a new level last season.
In December of '86, Wilkins dropped 57 points
in a blow-out victory over MJ's Bulls.
His final field goal of the night
would've gotten a decent score in tonight's contest.
Jordan had 41 points of his own,
and (beep) crammed on Tree Rollins.
The two gushed over one another after the game,
and in fact, during the game, exchanging the occasional
"Great move," or, "Great steal," or "Nice dunk."
In a rematch toward the end of that season,
Jordan returned the favor with a night of multiple feats.
This bucket capped off a league record run
of 23 straight points by himself,
and but Jordan over 3,000 points on the season,
a feat previously unique to Wilt Chamberlain.
Wilkins, though, hit this last-second jumper
to put Atlanta up three.
Jordan had 61 points, but just missed
a long-range buzzer beater to tie the game.
This highlights the distinction we talked about before.
Jordan is the superior of these two marvelous players,
but his Bulls posted a losing record,
and got swept in the first round of the '87 playoffs.
In Jordan's three full seasons,
the Bulls have won a playoff game.
One game.
Wilkins isn't quite Michael, but his Hawks
finished last season with 57 wins,
and made it to the second round again.
Atlanta's had more time to build around their star
with younger complimentary players,
like Big Man Kevin Willis, and point guard Doc Rivers,
who his play in his first all-star game tomorrow,
joining Wilkins and Hawks head coach Mike Fratello.
Jordan has lacked true costars, cycled through head coaches,
and never enjoyed real team success.
But that might be changing.
Chicago's not far behind Atlanta
in the standings this season.
The Bulls are two and two against the Hawks,
a development Michael predicted.
"Dominique always had more help."
Now Michael's got help.
Jordan's got Doug Collins,
his first head coach of more than one season.
Charles Oakley is really coming into his own
as a force at power forward.
And two first year players, Scottie Pippen
and Horace Grant, look ready to take on bigger roles soon.
And Jordan himself remains the league's top scorer,
with Wilkins a distant second.
This might finally be a winning squad.
Michael's team might soon surpass Dominique's.
But that's basketball.
We're not here to play basketball,
we're here to play dunks.
Good news, this is just as much a dunking rivalry
as it is a basketball rivalry.
Wilkins participated in the first NBA Dunk Contest
in 1984, alongside former ABA slamming legends
like Larry Nance, and contest winner Julius Erving.
At the 1985 contest in Indianapolis,
a rookie MJ entered the chat.
He and Dominique ended up in the final together.
Jordan's best dunk in that round
was this cradling reverse, which got a 49.
Wilkins bounced the ball off the floor
and the backboard to reverse home a 50-pointer.
Then he ended the thing with
his signature two-hand windmill.
Although comparing this degree of force
to something as passive a windmill feels insufficient.
That thrilling '85 final demanded a rematch,
but that was easier said than done.
Jordan's broken foot kept him out of the contest
in '86, but Wilkins had his hands full anyway
because of his own teammate.
5'7" Spud Webb, who pulled off the upset
with a pair of 50s in the final round.
In '87, Dominique missed the contest
because of general soreness, bummer.
His brother, Gerald Wilkins,
wasn't bringing quite the same heat.
Portland's Jerome Kersey gave Jordan a decent challenge,
but MJ took it home by closing the semi-final
and final rounds with basically the same dunk.
He got a 50 both times.
That brings us to tonight.
Finally, both Wilkins and Jordan are in the contest,
and they've got a tough act to follow.
Earlier today, Larry Bird won his third straight
three-point shootout, canning the final shot
while proclaiming himself number one.
Awesome.
Well, more good news.
MJ and 'Nique have stood out from the bunch tonight.
Some of that is relative.
The field is only seven dunkers, because
Cleveland's Ron Harper was a last-minute injury scratch.
And, the only other champ here, Spud Webb,
doesn't have quite the same bounce
just a year or so removed from major knee surgery.
Still dunking, though.
There have been some cool finishes from
the rest of the field, like Otis Smith's
high-up 360 tomahawk, which got a 47 from the judges,
and Clyde Drexler's backhanded 360, which got a 46.
But Jordan and Wilkins have headlined
each of the three rounds.
Jordan's very first dunk looked like an uncoiling spring.
It was gorgeous, and it immediately revealed
the tough job the judges have here in Chicago.
Our panel of Gale Sayers, Johnny Green,
Gail Goodrich, Tom Hawkins, and Randy Smith, gave MJ a 47.
Seems fine, but the crowd let 'em hear it.
- [Announcer] Laying it down, and the crowd responds.
(crowd booing loudly)
And only a 47, the crowd not real happy with that.
- [Seth] They only got grouchier when
Dominique's first dunk, this powerful reverse, got a 49.
- [Announcer] And really throws it down,
that's a good pop for Wilkins.
And a 49 for Dominique Wilkins to put him in first place.
- [Seth] Jordan finished his first round
with a slightly windmill-ier version
of the same dunk and got a 47,
more unrest from the rabble.
- [Announcer] The crowd has booed the 47.
- [Seth] And the booing continued after Wilkin's
best entry of the second round,
this massive one-handed windmill, got a 49.
This third and final round
has been Dominique's highest scoring.
He got a 50 for absolutely launching
to send one home off the glass.
He got another 50 for this huge baseline windmill.
Jordan hasn't quite kept up in the finals.
He got a 50 for another soaring reverse,
but his second dunk, which was fairly similar
to one of his first round dunks, got a 47,
just like it did the first time.
Thus, with one dunk left a piece,
the home town favorite trailed by three points.
In 'Nique earned better than a 47
on this final two-handed windmill, he'd be uncatchable.
He didn't.
- [Announcers] And the judges have awarded
Dominique Wilkins a 45.
That's incredible.
Could we call it a make good?
- [Seth] Yeah, the announcers were
a little suspicious of crowd influence.
- [Announcer] You don't think the crowd
had some influence on the judges on that last stutter.
- [Seth] They certainly recall how the Chicagoans
handled prior perceived slights to their local hero.
- [Announcer] These judges are going to need
the National Guard to get out of Chicago Stadium.
- So, you wonder how the crowd factors in
on the panel's judgment of MJ's final dunk right now.
And, how should they judge this, objectively?
Dunking from far out is not new.
At the very first NBA contest in '84,
Dr. J put one down from just inside the free throw line.
That was kind of his thing.
7'4" Ralph Sampson did the same,
and so did Edgar Jones with a long running start.
There have been many similar dunks since,
though Jordan is clearly the vanguard.
His foot was right on the line in '85, and it got him a 50.
He added a little pump and leg flair in '87
and got another 50.
In fact, he did that again tonight,
and these judges also gave it a 50.
Which brings us to this last one.
As he backed all the way up, measuring his steps,
the announcers wondered how he'd evolve the dunk
to get the 49 he needs to beat Wilkins,
or if he even needed to.
- [Announcers] If he can somehow do some sort of
spin on the way to the hoop, Rick,
I think that would almost insure it for him,
coming this far away.
All he needs to do is make it from the free throw line
like he did before, and he'll win.
- [Seth] But Jordan missed.
Thankfully, the rules allow him one replacement dunk,
and he used it to do, well,
precisely what we've seen from him before,
maybe even a bit closer in.
So what's it gonna be, judges?
This dunk contest is sort of a sideshow
to the on-court rivalry these men enjoy as players,
in which MJ's team might finally be catching up
to his individual superiority.
But there's mini rivalry in this forum too.
Wilkins holds an edge because of his show-stealing
performance in '85, but also because of Michael's absence
for the Spud Webb show in '86, and Dominique's
decision to drop out last season.
The last Wilkins dunk maybe got a little shortchanged.
The Jordan dunk currently up for judgment
has been done before, by him, and perhaps better,
but the judges know full well the reaction
that awaits if they deliver a 48 or less.
So let's see what they say.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Announcers] Michael Jordan's score... 50!
They gave it a 50, they gave Jordan a 50,
he defends his championship.
- 50, I wonder what the announcers think about that.
- [Announcer] Dominique Wilkins got the short end
of a very impressive dunk.
Consistent judging all day until
the last two dunks prior to this.
This is Chicago.
(laughter)