Remember Dominique Wilkins? The “Human Highlight Film’s” son is taking after his dad playing at Georgia
Jake Wilkins, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Dominique, is catching the eye with some spectacular plays in his freshman year in college basketball.
The head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs has praised Jake Wilkins’ “infectious motor”, after the son of former NBA star Dominique Wilkins helped the college-basketball team to a 3-0 start to the 2025-26 NCAA Division I season.
Jake Wilkins is in his freshman year at Georgia - a college where his father went down in history before moving on to a Hall of Fame career in the NBA.
From “Human Highlight Film” to “Baby Highlight”
In three seasons with the Bulldogs between 1979 and 1982, Dominique Wilkins established himself as the team’s highest ever points scorer (he has since been overtaken, dropping to No. 5 in the all-time ranking). He then joined the NBA as the third overall pick in the ‘82 draft.
During a 16-season NBA career, spent mostly with the Atlanta Hawks, he was a nine-time All-Star and, in 1986, was the league’s scoring champion.
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, the French-born forward was also included in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. He was named in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Dominique Wilkins’ entertaining style of play - particularly his capacity for spectacular slam dunks - earned him the nickname the “Human Highlight Film”. Now, Jake Wilkins is being dubbed “Baby Highlight”, having served up a number of eye-catching plays in his first three regular-season games for the Bulldogs.
Notably, the 19-year-old scored a memorable windmill alley-oop in Georgia’s most recent win, a 120-81 demolition of the Morehead State Eagles on Sunday:
“It’s still just two points”
While Jake Wilkins’ stunning alley-oop earned enthusiastic acclaim among Bulldogs fans and across the sports media, head coach Mike White says he’ll be talking to the teenager about the importance of balancing style with substance.
“I’ll remind Jake, I know our fans probably enjoy it, but it’s still just two points,” White told reporters postgame. “I’ll take a shot at him.”
“Awesome kid”
The coach also lauded the impact the forward has made in his opening games with the Bulldogs. “He’s an awesome kid to coach: locked in, positive energy, plays with joy. He’s just got an infectious motor,” White said.
He added: “[Wilkins] is a true freshman and [team-mate] Kareem Stagg’s a true freshman, and they’re getting better. They love to play, they love to compete. It’s nice to see it go in for him, because he works at it.”
Across his regular-season appearances for Georgia so far, Jake Wilkins has averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. Before beating Morehead State, Georgia claimed thumping wins over Bellermine (104-59) and Maryland Eastern Shore (94-29) in weeks one and two.
When is the Bulldogs’ next game?
In their fourth game of the 2025-26 regular season, the Bulldogs face arch rivals the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, who have also started 3-0.
The matchup - dubbed “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” - takes place on Friday, November 14, at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
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