Basketball fans had been waiting for the MJ / Dominique Wilkins rematch since 1985. Injuries had derailed the Dunk Contest meet-up in 1986 and ‘87, but in 88, Michael and the “Human Highlight Reel” put on a classic duel.
Jordan’s victory over Wilkins in 1988 in Chicago finished with a perfect 50-score dunk from the free-throw line for his third dunk to win the contest. However, the announcers did note that Wilkins was given abnormally low score for his breathtaking third dunk, a 45, allowing Jordan to win it by 2 with his perfect 50. To this day, the allegations of “home cooking” still float around surrounding the event – it was held on Jordan’s home court; one of the judges was former Chicago Bears star Gayle Sayers; and another judge, former NBA star Tom Hawkins, is a Chicago native – and is considered arguably the most controversial of the slam dunk competitions. With this victory, Jordan became the first player to win the dunk contest two years in a row.
Scores from the 1988 Dunk Contest:
FIRST Round:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 94 (47+47)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 96 (49+47)
Clyde Drexler (Portland): 88 (44+44)
Otis Smith (Golden State): 87 (40+47)
Jerome Kersey (Portland): 79 (41+38)
Greg Anderson (San Antonio): 76 (42+34)
Spud Webb (Atlanta): 52 (34+18)SEMIFINALS:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 145 (50+48+47)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 143 (49+47+47)
Clyde Drexler (Portland): 133 (45+42+46)
Otis Smith (Golden State): 109 (45+22+42)FINALS:
Michael Jordan(Chicago): 147 (50+47+50)
Dominique Wilkins (Atlanta): 145 (50+50+45)
Highlights from Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins 1988 Finals:
AthleticPoetics 