At one point during his arguably underrated NBA career, Dominique Wilkins’ older brother Gerald made headlines for being called the Jordan Stopper.
That nickname was intriguing for obvious reasons and it didn’t take long before Michael Jordan himself learned about it.
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As expected, Jordan was eager to prove that there was no such thing as a Jordan Stopper and it would never exist. According to former Chicago Bulls big man Stacey King, he could tell what was on MJ’s mind right after reading about Wilkins on the way to Game 1 of the second-round duel between the Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Come game time, King said Jordan was extra fired up because of what he read earlier. He unsurprisingly dominated Gerald and put an end to the Jordan Stopper hype.
“Cleveland brought Gerald Wilkins in to be the Jordan stopper,” King once recalled.
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“He was doing a lot of talking the game before, how he had great success guarding MJ, that he didn’t need help, yada, yada. So, at shootaround, Jordan was reading the newspaper on the way to arena and he kept saying, ‘Jordan stopper? Yeah, we’ll see.’ He went out and torched him for like 40. And he kept talking during the game, ‘Where’s the Jordan stopper?'”
Gerald was warned by Dominique about Jordan
As it turns out, Dominique wasn’t in favor of the Jordan Stopper thing that Gerald was indulging with at the time. In fact, he even warned his brother about what could happen to him if he continues to poke the bear.
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“You know what, I called my brother when he said that,” Dominique once said. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘You don’t want to awaken a sleeping giant, are you crazy?’ He said, ‘Hey, he puts on his pants just like I do!’ I said, ‘If you’re a good defensive player, you don’t have to talk about a man.'”
Dominique himself had his fair share of on-court battles with Jordan. He knew well what Gerald was getting into by embracing his Jordan Stopper persona.
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Expectedly, Dominique was right.
In Game 1 of the Bulls vs. Cavaliers semis showdown, MJ dropped a game-high 43 points, outscoring Gerald who led the Cavs in points with 19.
On top of that, Jordan and the Bulls sent a message to Gerald and the Cavs by sweeping them that year.
Nobody has ever stopped prime Jordan
The Cavs learned it the hard way that Gerald was no Jordan Stopper at all.
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In fact, no player was really able to stop Jordan since he began winning NBA championships with the Bulls, especially in 1-on-1 matchups.
Initially, the idea that Jordan was unstoppable was taken by some as a subjective and exaggerated expression. However, after MJ constantly dominated the league and won in all of his six trips to the NBA Finals, it became more of a common knowledge in the sport.
As for Gerald, he went on to have another impressive season with the Cavs. However, his Jordan Stopper claim to fame eventually faded away after MJ and the Bulls swept the Cavs in the 1994 playoffs.
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Gerald suffered an injury in ’94 and missed an entire season. He managed to fully recover and played four more seasons in the league.
However, he was no longer the Jordan Stopper but more of just Dominique’s brother.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.