Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins once exposed Clippers owner Donald Sterling for fixing an NBA game just to make Robinson win the scoring title over O'Neal.
There are certain events in the NBA that feel like they've been lifted straight out of a storybook — moments so dramatic and intense that fans can't help but stay glued to their screens. Most fans cherish those as pure, real-time sporting thrills, but Dominique Wilkins once made a shocking revelation that shook that belief.
The Hawks legend suggested that even some of the league's biggest moments might not have been organic, and that powerful people played roles in affecting the outcome. He pointed out how the scoring title in 1994 was won by David Robinson only because former NBA commissioner David Stern simply did not want Shaquille O'Neal to get his hands on that honor.
During the '93-94 regular season, O'Neal and Robinson were locked in a tight fight for the scoring title. Heading into the final game, the title was all but settled, yet it was "Diesel" who clearly held the upper hand.
After Shaq scored 32 points against the New Jersey Nets, it seemed like he was certain to walk away with the title. But Robinson shocked everyone in the NBA world when he dropped a mammoth 71-point performance against the Clippers to overcome the odds and win the award.
According to Wilkins, that offensive explosion wasn't a coincidence. It was only made possible by Stern, who made it clear to the Clippers' stars and starters that their night was to end early only so that Robinson could take over and score as many points as he needed to win the scoring title.
"Last game of the season, I remember Sterling came along. Actually, our coach came along, and he said, 'Guys, don't be upset, but I've been told to take you out after the first five minutes of the game because Sterling wants to see David Robinson keep the scoring title in the West, he didn't want Shaquille O'Neal to have the scoring title in the East," Wilkins recalled. "If you're back watching the game, we didn't play after that."
Robinson finished the regular season with a scoring average of 29.8 points per game, while Shaq finished with 29.3.
What Wilkins said tracks, too — given that "Nique" was averaging 26.0 points per game, had he not been pulled from the game along with the other starters in the second half, there was no way Robinson would have clinched that award.
If moments like this were truly manipulated, as Wilkins suggested, it clouds Robinson's achievement. Rather than being remembered for extraordinary effort, it raises questions about whether the moment was even worth celebrating.