The NBA announced the last installment of the NBA 75 squad on Oct. 21, 2021, in honor of the league’s diamond anniversary. The NBA 75 team is a ranking of the league’s 75 finest players ever. The last edition featured Wilkins, widely regarded as the finest player in Atlanta Hawks history and a bona fide superstar during one of the NBA’s golden eras in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Wilkins’ participation on the team is remarkable given he was likely the biggest absence when the league named its top 50 greatest players in 1996.
“It took me a while to get over it,” Wilkins said on “Inside The NBA” on Oct. 20. “I was shocked that I didn’t make it. At the time I retired, I was seventh in the league in scoring in history. I was shocked and it took me a lot to digest and move on, but being a part of an elite group is always special, man. I’m thrilled and excited to be a part of an elite group, but it would’ve been nice if I would’ve been there 20-something years ago.”
Wilkins’ remark was met with laughter from the TNT crew, which included Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson.
