"Just wish I could have been a part of that" - Dominique Wilkins recalls almost getting drafted by the Showtime Lakers

Yahoo

17-07-2025

"Just wish I could have been a part of that" - Dominique Wilkins recalls almost getting drafted by the Showtime Lakers originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Dominique Wilkins and James Worthy were among the top prospects in the 1982 NBA Draft. Wilkins was the slam-dunking phenom from the University of Georgia, while Worthy was the fast-breaking forward from the University of North Carolina.
Worthy ended up becoming the No.1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers while Wilkins was drafted two picks later. But during his recent appearance on the "Jaxxson Podcast", Wilkins revealed that the Lakers had a plan to get both him and Worthy to Los Angeles.
"That was close, it was. Actually, what was told to me that they were trying to get both Worthy and myself, and it worked out for both franchises cuz Worthy was a wonderful player I have a lot of respect for, and we both came out of North Carolina at the same time. But yeah, they almost had us both. Can you imagine that?" said Dominique.
Wilkins and Worthy on the same team with Magic Johnson?
Worthy ended up playing alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for a Los Angeles Lakers team dubbed "Showtime" because of their flashy style. Wilkins, known as
'The Human Highlight Film', for obvious reasons, would have been a perfect fit for that team because just imagine Magic running the break with Worthy on one side and Wilkins on the opposite side. But fate had other plans.
"Like I said, Worthy was a super player, so he could play both forwards, the power forward and the small forward. I didn't want nothing with power forwards. I'm a small forward, but it just came down to what your team needed, and Worthy worked out great for the Lakers and went on to win multiple championships. He was a major piece of that. And just wish I could have been a part of that early on, so much success early, that was the Lakers," he added.
The Showtime Lakers won five NBA championships during the 80s, with Worthy winning Finals MVP honors during their last rodeo in 1988. Wilkins never won an NBA championship but still ended up in the Hall of Fame alongside Worthy and the other Showtime Lakers greats.
Nique did not want to play in Utah
As to what actually happened on Draft night, Wilkins was selected by the Utah Jazz, but he ended up playing for the Atlanta Hawks, who also picked 10th overall in the Draft, taking Keith Edmonson. Nique explained the draft day trade.
"I didn't want to play in Utah at that time," continued Wilkins. "I was drafted by the Jazz. I said, "I'm not going to Utah." Then they said you gonna play power forward and Adrian Dantley small forward. And I said 'Well, you might as well trade me today because I'm not playing power forward.' And it came pretty quickly that this trade was going to happen. So they traded Freeman Williams and John Drew and a million dollars, at that time that was a ton of money, because the Utah franchise was struggling, so that really helped pay some of the salaries."
Wilkins averaged 26.4 points per game in 11 seasons in Atlanta, won two dunk contests, earned nine All-Star appearances, and 7 All-NBA selections. He played four more years for four different teams before calling it a career. He ended up in Springfield, too, and save for the championships and NBA 50 snub, everything worked out well for Dominique despite not playing for the Lakers.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.