Rivalries are quite common in the sports world. But that never meant any bitter feelings on the players’ end. It is worth mentioning how most of the time, rivalries and competitiveness have helped both parties shine brighter than others. Speaking of the same, Michael Jordan and former Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins are the pair that have a history of some great battles on the court. Recently in an interview, Wilkins uncovered a bit more about their face-offs.

Michael Jordan was best known for his competitive nature and trash-talking skills. Certainly, going up against him was as challenging as it was fascinating. Wilkins also shared the same spirit of competitiveness. However, does that have anything to do with their friendship off-court? Wilkins shared another great insight into their match-up.

Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins’ on-court rivalry

In a recent interview with Vlad TV, Wilkins opened up about playing against the Chicago Bulls, especially His Airness. During the late 80s, Wilkins and Jordan were big rivals. However, they held each other in high regard. Both were good friends and admired each other’s game. 

But while on court, they were just rivals battling against each other to win. During the interview, the host questioned the Human Highlight Film about his game against Jordan. Talking more about his rivalry and friendship with Jordan, the 9x NBA All-Star athlete detailed an honest opinion. 

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He said, “It wasn’t no friends on the floor we competed. It wasn’t about friends. We didn’t look at each other as friends. We were trying to take each other’s head off, we were friends when we left the court but on the court, we didn’t know each other. That’s just the way it was.”

The Atlanta Hawks icon was well aware of the killer mentality Jordan possessed and he always unleashed equal strength and skills to face the offensive prowess of MJ.

Michael Jordan’s battles with Dominique Wilkins

They played 45 games against each other in the regular season. Their matchup in the 1993 playoffs remains one of the most legendary out of all. 

The 63-year-old once even nutmegged the 6x NBA champion. During an informal pick-up game, the Bulls legend could not avoid getting nutmegged by Wilkins. While this was rather a playful take on the player’s part, their competitiveness was more prominent in the 1988 Dunk Contest. While MJ was certainly a powerful rival, Wilkins’ challenging spirit to beat him has never wavered, either.

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