PG: Mookie Blaylock
Watching Mookie Blaylock play reminds one of what basketball was intended to look like. Blaylock played like the prototypical old school point guard. He passed first but was also a great shooter, finishing first in threes attempted and second in threes made . Defensively he is one of the best to ever play the PG position. Twice he led the NBA in steals, and he is the all time leader in Hawks history in steals. Blaylock is number 11 on the all time steals list, a testament to his constant terrorization of the opponents offense.
SG: Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson, known by many as ISO Joe, is as pure a scorer as they come. He has a killer pull up jumper, the ability to get to the rim, and he can act as a spot up catch and shoot player as well. Possibly no scorer has been overlooked more than Johnson. He is one of just 43 players in NBA history to eclipse 20,000 points, and he still has at least one more season to build on that number. Johnson was an all star in six of his seven seasons with Atlanta, and from his second season with the team and on he led the Hawks to the playoffs every season, a streak that reached ten years this past season. Because of Johnson's contributions to the longest stretch of success in Atlanta Hawks history, he earned a spot in the starting five.
SF: Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins is, without a doubt, the greatest Atlanta Hawk ever. He is also considered by many to be the greatest dunker ever, an even more impressive feat when taken into account that he played during the era of Michael Jordan. Wilkins is at the top of the list in just about every box score category there is. #1 in Hawks history in games, minutes, points, points per game, and points in a game (57, which he did twice.) He was a dynamic scorer who put just about everyone in the NBA on a poster. Because of all of this Wilkins is in the hall of fame, has his number retired by the Hawks, and recently got a statue of himself placed at the entrance of Philips Arena.
PF: Paul Millsap
Paul Millsap, Trillsap, the anchorman, the best Hawk since Dominique; whatever you know him as Paul Millsap did the same thing night after night in his four fantastic years in Atlanta: everything. Millsap was always one of the team leaders in just about every category, whether it be points, rebounds, or even assists, Millsap did it all for the Hawks. He was also a great defender, one of the best big men at getting steals in the league. Even as an all star all four years in a Hawks jersey, Millsap was extremely underappreciated around the country.
C: Dikembe Mutombo
Mutombo, famous for his finger-wagging celebration and gravelly, cookiemonster-esque voice, played five dominant years in a Hawks jersey. He was a four time all star in his five years in Atlanta, also leading the NBA in rebounding twice and finishing in the top five in blocks consistently. He is the all time Atlanta Hawks leader in blocks per game (3.2), rebound percentage (20%), and defensive rating (97.8). With the undersized Paul Millsap at power forward, the Hawks need a big, dominating force at center to grab rebounds at a great rate. Mutombo does that better than anyone else, plus he’ll join Mookie Blaylock and Paul Millsap to create a vicious, lockdown defense.
Backups:
PG: Doc Rivers
Doc Rivers is a pass first, pass second, pass third point guard. He averaged just 13 points in his 8 seasons playing for Atlanta, a time in which he also averaged 6.8 assists. Much like Blaylock, Rivers was a fantastic defender, averaging 2.1 steals per game, good for second all time in Atlanta Hawks history. He is also second in assists per game behind Blaylock, as well as 7th in all time win shares. A good veteran presence off the bench, Rivers will slow the game down and only make the smart plays necessary to winning games.
SG: Pete Maravich
“Pistol” Pete Maravich was one of the first flashy talents in the NBA. He was a great scorer and passer, averaging 23.4 points and 5.6 assists per game in his four seasons in Atlanta. His time on the Hawks was short, but his legacy remains, as he is still a household name in Atlanta and around the country, and his jersey was retired by the Hawks organization. His best season in a Hawks uniform was in 1973 when he averaged 27.7 points, 5.2 assists
SF: Lou Hudson
Hudson spent 9 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and two with the St. Louis Hawks. As an Atlanta Hawk, Hudson scored 23 points per game, good for 3rd all time. He always recorded at least 1.2 steals per game as well. Hudson was an offensive force, he could shoot, drive, and like many great scorers of the past he had a great hook and turn-around. Lou Hudson was the first star to play in Atlanta, and his jersey is in the rafters because of it.
PF: Kevin Willis
Kevin Willis played 10 seasons on the Hawks, all with Dominique Wilkins. In that time Willis made one all star game, during a season in which he scored 18.3 points and grabbed an incredible 15.5 rebounds per game. Beast would be a good way of describing Willis in just one word, as he was always looking to throw down a monster dunk or block his opponent out of the building. He also had a great post game, with a hook shot that was near unstoppable. Willis is the Hawks all time leader in defensive and offensive rebounds, fifth in points, and ninth in blocks. Willis is as tough as they come, and he's the type of underrated, scrappy player that Hawks fans love.
C: Al Horford
Al Horford was at the center (no pun intended) of the most successful run in Atlanta Hawks history. The 2007 draft is infamous for when the Blazers took Greg Oden directly before Kevin Durant. What is not remembered, however, is that the with the number three pick the Hawks nailed their selection, taking two time March Madness champion Al Horford out of Florida. He made the playoffs in every one of his nine seasons in Atlanta, including when he was arguably the best player during the 2014-15 campaign which saw the Hawks win 60 games. Horford was an all-star four times in a Hawks uniform, including probably his best season where he averaged a career high 18.6 points and 1.5 blocks per game. Horford is 5th in Hawks history in win shares and 8th in field goals and player efficiency rating.
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