“He said ‘Yeah, you won’, and I said ‘Well, how you doin, Mike?’” – Dominique Wilkins on Michael Jordan grudgingly admitting he should have lost the 1988 Dunk Contest

The annual NBA Dunk Contest rarely goes on without any reference to the iconic slam fest between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988. Wilkins previously beat Jordan back in 1985 for the crown, so the showdown at Chicago Stadium was a long-awaited rematch between the two artistic high-flyers. MJ won the title in 1987 while the Atlanta Hawks star watched from the sidelines due to a bad back.

With anticipation building up, the 1988 Dunk Contest rivaled the hype of the actual All-Star Game. Fans certainly got their money’s worth that day, as Dominique Wilkins went about trying to dethrone Michael Jordan and prove that his win in ’85 was no fluke. To the surprise of thousands of fans, though, MJ got the judges’ nod to retain his title and even the personal series with Wilkins to 1-1.

Dominique Wilkins, during the NBA History show, recently shed new light on that controversial slam contest more than two decades ago:

“Dunking was fun for me. When Michael and I had that dunk contest in Chicago, it wasn’t about us. It was about the fans. We wanted to entertain the fans. And no matter who won, the fans got their money’s worth. Now, did I think I won? Yeah, of course! Funny thing. Michael, about a year ago…I went up to say hello to him, and before he even answered, he said ‘Yeah, you won.’ And I said, ‘well, how you doin, Mike?”

One can almost imagine the saltiness in Michael Jordan’s voice with the admission. The man considered by many to be the greatest to ever play basketball has a visceral hate for defeat. Losing to Wilkins in front of an adoring Chicago crowd must have bothered him throughout all those years.

Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins raised dunking to an art in the NBA

Julius Irving made the “dunk” synonymous with the NBA in his earlier dazzling aerial rim attacks back in the 70s. However, there’s no doubt that Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins made dunking the art form that it is today. The iconic dunkers of the 80s catapulted the slam to heights never before seen by the basketball world.

With uncanny flair, power and style, MJ and Wilkins regularly filled stadiums with their patented throwdowns. In fact, even their pre-game warm-ups were highly anticipated by fans, who were eager to see their amazing feats of athleticism.

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Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Jason Richardson and Shawn Kemp all got their inspiration from watching the in-game dunks of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins. Even today’s current core of slammers like Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Green all have immense respect for “His Airness” and “The Human Highlight Reel.”