{"id":1946889,"date":"2026-05-21T09:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T06:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946889"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T06:30:27","slug":"dominique-wilkins-reconnects-with-fan-he-gave-shoes-to-42-years-ago-totally-blew-me-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1946889","title":{"rendered":"Dominique Wilkins reconnects with fan he gave shoes to 42 years ago: \u2018Totally blew me away\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This past Sunday, Dominique Wilkins was enjoying a late afternoon meal at 7Pie Pizzeria & Bar in Dahlonega, Georgia, about 65 miles from Atlanta. He noticed a man walking toward him. Wilkins didn\u2019t recognize the man, but it isn\u2019t uncommon for him to be approached by strangers. He\u2019s used to fans asking for an autograph or a selfie, even though his playing days have long been over as a 15-year player, a Hall of Famer with two dunk contest titles and a scoring crown.<\/p>\n

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The man had indeed been a fan \u2014 but for much longer than the 66-year-old Wilkins initially realized. The two actually crossed paths decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been waiting 40-something years to tell Dominique this story,\u201d said Steve Alexander, the man who walked up to Wilkins.<\/p>\n

Alexander, who lived about two miles away, received a text message from a friend at 7Pie. \u201cAt 7 pie and I think Dominique just sat down across the bar.\u201d Alexander immediately grabbed a pair of faded white and red Brooks sneakers \u2014 the signature Wilkins pair called the \u201cUnique\u201d \u2014 and put it in his trunk and set off for 7Pie. These were no ordinary retro sneakers; the pair had belonged to Wilkins in 1984. He signed them that year for Alexander, who was then just a 16-year-old hoop-head who dedicated a wall of his room to posters of Wilkins.<\/p>\n

Now, four decades later, Alexander finally had the chance to reconnect with his hero and ask if there was any chance he might remember the exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Dominique,\u201d Alexander said to Wilkins and his wife, Jedidia. \u201cAre y\u2019all in the middle of business or do you have time for a story?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love stories,\u201d Wilkins said, smiling. \u201cWhat you got?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on a second. I\u2019ve got props.\u201d Alexander walked out and went to his car. Wilkins was puzzled.<\/p>\n

\u201cProps?\u201d Wilkins said, wondering: What could he possibly be bringing?<\/em><\/p>\n

In came Alexander, clutching the worn pair of sneakers. Wilkins recognized them immediately, breaking into a giant smile. Those shoes. Those courts. Those battles. It all comes flooding back. He is so moved that he doesn\u2019t have the words. \u201cThat was a long time ago,\u201d Wilkins said later, reflecting on the encounter. He couldn\u2019t believe that this kind of interaction could happen at all\u2013let alone in a remote area like Dahlonega. \u201cHe brought so many memories back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n The original ad for the Uniques, as photographed by Alexander for his collection. (Photo courtesy of Steve Alexander)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Alexander began to tell Wilkins the tale: It was March 31, 1984. \u201cI stole Dominique\u2019s home phone number from my girlfriend\u2019s father\u2019s Rolodex,\u201d Alexander said. Her father was a photographer who took photos of NBA players. He wrote down the number on a small sticky note and dialed \u2014 because, back then, you could just \u2026 call NBA stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello?\u201d Wilkins said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHi. This is Steve. I\u2019m the kid in Indiana who always tries to get your shoes when you\u2019re here.\u201d Each time the Hawks came to Indianapolis to play the Pacers, Steve would scream for Wilkins with his arms out, hoping to catch a glimpse and a pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on the other line with my mom,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cLet me call you back in about 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He actually called back. Steve knew this was his one shot. \u201cDo you think you can give me your shoes after the next game? I\u2019m going to be in Atlanta for the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cMeet me in the third-floor parking garage at the Omni Hotel three hours before the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander laughed at the absurdity of it all \u2014 how this call would never happen in today\u2019s world. Not the call, not the meet-up. Back then, everything was so loose, so fun. Wilkins was so cool to take a teenager seriously, and make plans with him. That era of falling in love with hoops \u2014 and falling in love with Nique\u2019s dunks, a.k.a, the Human Highlight Film, soaring across his television every night \u2014 was a special time for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom, bless her heart, dropped me off after we drove from Indiana to Atlanta,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cTree Rollins walked in. Randy Wittman walked in. Doc Rivers. Like, the whole team. And then Dominique\u2019s car showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two finally met face to face. \u201cWhich ones do you want?\u201d Wilkins asked him.<\/p>\n

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\n Alexander as a younger man with his massive collection of shoes. (Photo courtesy of Steve Alexander)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe had a pair of Nylon Converse and a pair of leather All-Stars, with his name printed on the side,\u201d Alexander said, recalling the scene. He could have squealed; there were few players that had their own shoes back then. But he tried to play it cool: \u201cI want the leather ones, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkins signed a few other pieces of memorabilia for him, and the two agreed upon a spot for the sneakers after the game: behind the basket closest to the Hawks locker room. Sure enough, Wilkins made good on his promise. Wilkins came out with the sneakers in his hands and found Alexander, clearing a path for him to get through, as if he were Somebody. Wilkins signed one shoe in red ink.<\/p>\n

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It was the coolest feeling in the world. Alexander had bragging rights for life, or at least for that night. \u201cI had an entourage, like a hundred kids following me through the underground (tunnel),\u201d Alexander said. \u201cMy mom and I were a little scared that they were gonna jump us and take the shoes, but we made it into the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once they were in the clear, speeding away, Alexander raised his arms up, fist-pumping. I did it!<\/em> He thought to himself. I pulled off the impossible!<\/em> It was a joy he\u2019d remember for the rest of his life \u2014 enough to drive to the pizza parlor and talk about it again all these years later.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Dominique<\/p>\n
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\n Dominique Wilkins dreamed of having a son. That Jake Wilkins dunks like him is a bonus\n <\/div>\n
\n Jake Wilkins, or “Baby Highlight,” didn\u2019t have the traditional prodigy upbringing. Instead, he and his NBA legend father took a slower path.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt shows you how much more important it is than just playing a game of basketball, and how you can touch someone\u2019s life. That lasts a lifetime,\u201d Wilkins said, reflecting on Sunday\u2019s moment. \u201cIt just totally blew me away that this guy happened to live up in the mountains, and he had a pair of shoes that had been held onto for 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he wanted to do more than share his memories. Back at 7Pie, a question gnawed at Jedidia. \u201cWhy did you bring the shoes back? What was the reason?\u201d Jedidia asked that day. \u201cDo you want him to sign them again?\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander knows the value of a good story. Alexander went on to cover the NBA as a senior editor at Rotoworld for more than 20 years, known in his columns as \u201cDr. A\u201d like Dr. J. He is currently a fantasy hoops contributor for ESPN and SportsEthos. However, he didn\u2019t want to just tell the story to Wilkins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to tell him the story,\u201d Alexander said, \u201cbut I also wanted to know if he wanted them back.\u201d He said to Wilkins: \u201cI don\u2019t know if you have any of them left, and I thought this is something that you may want to hold onto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkins took a beat, floored by the kindness of this stranger. \u201cMan, you held onto these for all these years,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cI\u2019m not taking them back!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Wilkins shows off the kicks he was reunited with. (Photo courtesy of Jedidia Wilkins)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wilkins signed the other sneaker. This time he used black ink to contrast the previous red signature.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was heartwarming,\u201d Jedidia said. She shared the story to Instagram, and since, the post has gone viral. Alexander wanted to clarify how old he was and when the initial meeting happened, and the year that the meeting occurred, since he said a few of the initial stories about the encounter got those details incorrect.<\/p>\n

Both men are still thinking about the purity of the exchange, and the difference between today and that \u201880s era of hoops. How you didn\u2019t have to be wealthy \u2014 the son of someone who has courtside seats, for example \u2014 to get shoes from an NBA star, let alone get close enough to say hello. It is a much different world, one with security and red tape.An ecosystem in which players are wary to sign something like shoes or posters because someone can easily sell them for profit.<\/p>\n

What matters, no matter the era, Wilkins said, is what you can give to another person, even if it is something as simple as a pair of shoes. \u201cI believe in life that you treat people like you want to be treated,\u201d said Wilkins, a member of the NBA\u2019s 75th anniversary team. \u201cI see so many people that use their status and means to look down on people. I never believe in doing that because we all do something to bring us some type of peace and love and satisfaction. At times, people put themselves above you to think that they\u2019re better. And we\u2019re not better.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe thing is, it costs you nothing to be nice. It really don\u2019t cost anything. At the end of the day, we\u2019re supposed to be uplifting each other instead of tearing each other down, like I see so much in sports. We tend to forget the people that we idolized growing up, who gave us the reason to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a way, Alexander reminded him of the kind of legacy he wants to leave and the kind of person he wants to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s stories like this that you hang onto,\u201d Wilkins said, \u201cthat you remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past Sunday, Dominique Wilkins was enjoying a late afternoon meal at 7Pie Pizzeria & Bar in Dahlonega, Georgia, about 65 miles from Atlanta. He noticed a man walking toward him. Wilkins didn\u2019t recognize the man, but it isn\u2019t uncommon for him to be approached by strangers. He\u2019s used to fans asking for an autograph […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1946889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1946889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1946889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1946889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1946889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}