Wilkins exploded into the NBA's elite circle in 1985–86, winning the league scoring title with an average of 30.3 points per game. He was an NBA All-Star for the first time and was voted to the All-NBA First Team at the end of the season. He failed in his bid to repeat as NBA Slam-Dunk champion, his competition coming from an unlikely source. The Hawks had signed 5-foot-7 Anthony "Spud" Webb as a free agent prior to the season, and Webb dazzled the All-Star Saturday crowd in Dallas by soaring more than to the basket on each of his dunk attempts. Atlanta turned its fortunes around in dramatic fashion, winning 16 more games in the 1985–86 season to finish 50–32 for the year. Wilkins scored 57 points in one game and ranked among the Hawks' leaders in rebounding (7.9 rpg), steals (138), and free-throw percentage (.818). Atlanta beat the Detroit Pistons in four games in the first round of the playoffs, but the Hawks could not get past the eventual NBA-champion Boston Celtics, losing four games to one in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Wilkins averaged 28.6 points in the nine playoff games.