Motivation Quote by Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins weighs talent against inevitability. He nods to Nate Robinsons freakish spring, then draws a line: he cannot picture Josh Smith losing. The emphasis is not on vertical inches alone but on the full grammar of a dunker, something Wilkins, the Human Highlight Film, embodied. To him, showmanship, power, fluidity, and authority matter as much as raw lift. A great dunk is not only how high you climb; it is how decisively you finish.

Naming Josh without a last name signals familiarity and lineage. Smith was an Atlanta Hawk like Wilkins, a fellow above-the-rim forward who won the 2005 contest and even honored Wilkins by donning his jersey during a windmill. This is part loyalty and part philosophy: a belief that a long, explosive wing who glides and hammers with force better represents the classic template of dunk dominance than a 5-foot-9 guard whose appeal leans on surprise and degree-of-difficulty optics.

There is also a quiet critique of judging trends. Smaller dunkers often get a built-in wow factor because any dunk looks more miraculous at their height. Wilkins implicitly resists that bias. He points to the completeness of Smiths aerial game: length, hang time, torque, and that signature violent finish that leaves no doubt. It is a vote for substance over novelty, for towering grace over optical illusion.

Context makes the line richer. Robinson would become a multi-time dunk champion, proving that spectacle and narrative can trump expectations. Yet Wilkins stance captures the psychology of competition and the confidence of an elder statesman endorsing his protege. He acknowledges the challengers strengths without ceding certainty. The message is competitive and protective at once: respect the fireworks, but trust the finisher who, in Wilkins eyes, owns the air with authority rather than borrowing it for a moment.