10 Career-Defining Dominique Wilkins Cards – Instant PC
One of the most prolific scorers of the 1980s and 1990s, high-flying Dominique Wiklins was the face of the Atlanta Hawks for 12 seasons, earning nine All-Star selections and averaging 24.8 points per game during his Hall of Fame career.
All told, there are more than 4,000 Dominique Wilkins cards, according to the Beckett database.
So where does one begin putting together a Dominique Wilkins PC?
The following 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
1983-84 Star #263 Dominique Wilkins XRC
Wilkins averaged 21.6 points on 53 percent shooting in three seasons at Georgia before Utah selected him No. 3 overall in the 1982 NBA draft. However, after he refused to sign with the Jazz, he was traded to the Hawks two months later in exchange for John Drew, Freeman Williams and $1 million in one of the most lopsided deals in NBA history.
His first NBA licensed card was part of the 1983-84 Star set, which is deemed an XRC since it was not readily available in a traditional format. With a book value of $800 it is valued substantially higher than his Rookie Card that was part of the iconic 1986-87 Fleer set three years later.
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1986-87 Fleer #121 Dominique Wilkins RC
After averaging 17.5 points per game as a rookie, Wilkins quickly developed into one of the league’s top scoring threats, and by the time the 1985-86 season rolled around he won the NBA scoring title with 30.3 points per game to also earn his first of nine straight All-Star selections.
His career-best season came the year before Fleer got back into the basketball card game, and his only Rookie Card was featured alongside Michael Jordan and countless other stars in the 1986-87 Fleer set.
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1987-88 Fleer Stickers #7 Dominique Wilkins
One of the greatest players to never play in the NBA finals, Wilkins came closest during the 1987-88 season when the Hawks took the Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After averaging a career-high 30.7 points per game during the regular season that year, he poured in 31.3 points in seven games against Boston, but it wasn’t enough to upend Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish.
Stickers were found one-per-pack in the early Fleer Basketball releases, and their condition-sensitive nature has helped drive up their value over the years.
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1992-93 Stadium Club Beam Team #2 Dominique Wilkins
Wilkins played his final full season with the Hawks during the 1992-93 campaign, averaging 29.9 points per game before getting swept by the Bulls in the opening round of the playoffs. The following year, he was traded to the Clippers along with a first-round pick in exchange for Danny Manning.
As far as 1990s basketball insert sets are concerned, few are more recognizable and sought after than 1992-93 Stadium Club Beam Team. The Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal cards from that set both command hundreds of dollars, but the others are still readily available for $10-20 raw.
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1994-95 Flair #172 Dominique Wilkins USA
Wilkins was not part of the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics, but he did play for Team USA in the FIBA World Championship in 1994. He averaged 12.6 points per game during the team’s 8-0 run through the tournament, a total that trailed only Shaquille O’Neal (18.0 PPG) and Reggie Miller (17.1 PPG) on the roster.
There were a wide variety of Team USA cards scattered across 1994 products. The subset in 1994-95 Flair are some of the best looking of the bunch with a dual-photo front and a full-photo back.
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1994-95 Ultra Scoring Kings #10 Dominique Wilkins
Wilkins averaged 29.1 points in 25 games with the Clippers after he was traded during the 1993-94 season, but his stay in Los Angeles was short-lived as he departed in free agency that offseason.
As a result, he only appears on a handful of cards in a Clippers uniform, with the best of the bunch being his Ultra Scoring Kings insert. With its multi-colored foil background and over-the-top design, the card is quintessential ’90s.
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1994-95 Upper Deck #146 Dominique Wilkins
A free agent for the first time in his career at the age of 35, Wilkins signed a three-year deal with the rebuilding Celtics prior to the 1994-95 season. He averaged 17.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in his first season and Boston reached the playoffs, but they were bumped by the Magic in the first round.
His 1994-95 Upper Deck card features a great shot from his introductory press conference in Boston, and is a great choice to represent his brief time with the team.
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1997-98 SkyBox Premium Autographics #111 Dominique Wilkins
After just one year in Boston, Wilkins exercised a buyout clause in his contract and took his game overseas where he played for Panathinaikos in the Greek League. He won a EuroLeague title in 1996, but things eventually soured with his international team and he ended up back stateside playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
With David Robinson sidelined with an injury for much of the 1997-98 campaign, Wilkins led the team in scoring (18.2 PPG), but they won just 20 games. That dismal showing landed them the No. 1 pick, and they selected Tim Duncan, altering the course of the franchise.
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2006-07 Finest Refractors #43 Dominique Wilkins
In 2006, Wilkins was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He ranks among the NBA’s all-time leaders in points (26,668, 14th) and points per game (24.8, 14th), and he was inducted alongside Charles Barkley and Joe Dumars.
You can never go wrong with a Finest Refractors card, and he was included as a retired star in the 2006-07 set, making it a great option to highlight his induction year.
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2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic #89 Dominique Wilkins
Wilkins was arguably the most glaring omission from the NBA’s 50th anniversary team when it was unveiled in 1996, but that oversight was rectified in 2021 when he was included on the 75th anniversary team.
His 2021-22 Panini PhotoGenic card can be found for just a few bucks, but it’s one of the coolest looking cards produced of the all-time great in recent years, and it coincides perfectly with his inclusion among the 75 greatest to ever play the game.
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