Dominique Wilkins Writes New York Times Tribute To Former Teammate Dan Roundfield

Dominique Wilkins wrote a remembrance in the New York Times for former teammate Dan Roundfield, who died earlier this year in the course of saving his wife from drowning.

The interesting thing about Dominique Wilkins’ New York Times piece, however, is not only its touching content — though the writing is very moving — but how the words came to grace the Gray Lady’s pages — as Deadspin points out.

Dominique Wilkins was not contacted by the New York Times to write about Roundfield, and the piece is not one that focuses on celebrity or athlete deaths. Rather, the former Hawks player contributed a writing to a general people who had passed on this year compendium, writing of his teammate as a person and not a famous athlete.

Wilkins, using a picture of Roundfield on the court in their career heyday, says:

“When one looks at this image, they instinctively think of Dan the Atlanta Hawks player, the tenacious defender and the NBA All-Star. He was certainly all of those things, but for those of us who knew him, we look at this image and think of Dan the selfless leader, the husband, the father and the fearless teammate and friend.”

He continues:

“Dan lost his life this year at the age of 59 saving his wife of 37 years from drowning on the beaches of Aruba while on a family vacation. In his last moments, as he himself was fighting for his life, Dan fearlessly lived and died for his family, which is all he ever really wanted.”

You can find Dominique Wilkins’ New York Times post on Dan Roundfield over on the Times’ website.