 The statue in 2023 | |
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| Location | State Farm Arena,Atlanta,Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°45′23.5″N84°23′46″W / 33.756528°N 84.39611°W /33.756528; -84.39611 |
| Designer | Brian Hanlon |
| Type | Statue |
| Material | Bronze Granite |
| Height | 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m) |
| Weight | 18,500 pounds (8,400 kg) |
| Dedicated date | March 2, 2015 |
| Inauguration date | March 3, 2015 |
| Dedicated to | Dominique Wilkins |
A statue ofDominique Wilkins stands outside the main entrance ofState Farm Arena inAtlanta, Georgia, United States. The monument was designed by sculptorBrian Hanlon and depicts Wilkins, a former basketball player who spent several seasons with theAtlanta Hawks of theNational Basketball Association, as he is about to perform aslam dunk. The statue was dedicated on March 2, 2015, during a private ceremony at the arena, which is the home venue for the Hawks. It was publicly installed outside the arena the following day.
Dominique Wilkins is a former professional basketball player who, from 1982 to 1994,[1] played for theAtlanta Hawks of theNational Basketball Association (NBA).[2] By the time his playing career had ended, Wilkins was a nine-timeNBA All-Star and had won the 1985 and 1990Slam Dunk Contests, earning him the nickname "The HumanHighlight Film".[1] He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and, according to sports journalist Mark Bradley ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he "is among the handful of greatest professional players this city has known, and he has no challengers as the all-time best Atlanta Hawk".[2] As of 2015, he was one of the NBA's all-time career scorers, in addition to being Atlanta's all-time scorer,[3] and was the vice president of the Hawks franchise.[2] Since 2001, his No. 21 has beenretired by the Hawks.[4]
The idea for a monument honoring Wilkins was developed by Atlanta civic leader Thomas Dortch and sculptorBrian Hanlon, who is the official sculptor for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[5] The Hawks organization became involved in the project around 2012.[5] Speaking about the statue, Hanlon stated that he wanted to honor Wilkins's contributions to both the team and to the city of Atlanta.[5] Hanlon completed the project in about seven months.[5]
In September 2014, the Hawks announced the statue would be unveiled the following year as part of the 15th anniversary celebrations forPhilips Arena, their home arena.[4] On March 2, 2015, the statue was unveiled in a private ceremony at the arena.[6][7] Guests in attendance included Wilkins,NBA CommissionerAdam Silver, the current Hawks players and coaches, and several former players from Wilkins's era, includingCharles Barkley,Clyde Drexler,Julius Erving,Bernard King,Karl Malone, andDikembe Mutombo.[3][6][7] Hanlon was unable to attend the ceremony due to a surgery.[5] Speeches in honor of Wilkins were made by several present, including Silver and Erving,[3] while former playerLarry Bird spoke via video message, poking fun at Wilkins abilities by saying, "Congratulations on that statue. I'm pretty sure it wasn't made with you in a defensive stance".[8] Also as part of the celebrations, a section of Centennial Olympic Park Drive fromMarietta Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive indowntown Atlanta was renamed Dominique Wilkins Lane.[6] A day after the dedication ceremony, the statue was officially unveiled to the public and erected outside the arena, near the main entrance.[6][7][9] With this, Wilkins became one of only eleven NBA players to have a statue honoring them erected at an NBA venue.[2]
The statue is made ofbronze and stands upon agranite pedestal.[7] It stands 13.5 feet (4.1 m) tall and weighs 18,500 pounds (8,400 kg).[5][8] According to Hanlon, he consulted with Wilkins on the overall design of the statue and eventually settled on what he called the "anticipation of the dunk", depicting Wilkins in the process of initiating a slam dunk.[7] Wilkins is wearingshort shorts and a pair ofReebok shoes and sports his signatureflattop hair style.[5] It is located near the main entrance of the Atlanta Hawks's venue,[5] which is now known as State Farm Arena.