ATLANTA -- On March 5th, the greatest Hawk in franchise history, Dominique Wilkins, will be honored in a private ceremony with the unveiling of a larger-than-life size statue. The 13.5-foot-tall, 18,500-pound granite sculpture will feature Wilkins in one of his signature explosive poses. Created by Brian Hanlon, the official sculptor of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the statue will be available for the public to see firsthand, in-person on Friday, March 6th as it takes its place between the iconic Atlanta letters at Philips Arena.
Beginning on Sunday, March 1st, Hawks.com and FOX Sports regional network SportSouth will kick off ‘Nique Week’. Other local and national outlets of all mediums will pay homage to the “Human Highlight Film” in features stories and TV appearances throughout the week. Committed outlets include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta Voice, NBA.com, ESPN, FOX Sports 1, Grantland, Slam, and Rolling Out.
“Dominique Wilkins has represented the Hawks organization and city of Atlanta in a first-class manner for over three decades. He is synonymous with Atlanta sports greatness and this statue and week-long celebration is fitting for his contributions to Atlanta and his place as the greatest player in franchise history,” Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena CEO Steve Koonin said.
Award-winning, Atlanta-born-and-based author Charles Bethea will author an in-depth profile on the career of Dominique Wilkins exclusively for Hawks.com during the team website’s 21-day tribute to the legend leading up to the unveiling. Beginning on Feb. 13th, Hawks.com will count down the 21 most monumental moments of his career, releasing one moment per day leading up to the unveiling on March 5th.
In addition, SportSouth will unveil a special edition of the FOX Sports Fan Express with a tribute to Wilkins from Feb. 23rd through March 7th. Fan Express is a luxury coach that delivers a door-to-door VIP experience for Hawks fans to and from Philips Arena.
Thursday’s private unveiling will be for family, close friends, former teammates and NBA legends. Highlights from the private ceremony honoring Wilkins will be televised in a special hour-long presentation, Celebrating Nique, at 8p ET on SportSouth.
‘Nique Week’ will culminate with ‘Dominique Wilkins Night’ on Friday, March 6th as the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks match up against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30p. Fans should arrive early as there will be a state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind 3D tribute to Wilkins before tip-off. Throughout the game, special videos and highlights from Wilkins’ career will be aired and at halftime, the Hall of Famer will address the crowd. A commemorative T-shirt will also be given to all fans in attendance and there will be more surprises throughout the evening. The game will be televised exclusively on SportSouth; coverage will begin at 6p ET with an encore presentation of Celebrating Nique followed by the Hawks LIVE pregame show.
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