Atlanta Hawks 2016-17 Season Review: Thabo Sefolosha
The Atlanta Hawks had a packed wing rotation during the 2016-17 season. How did their best defensive wing perform?
Thabo Sefolosha‘s time with the Atlanta Hawks has been difficult, to say the least. The Hawks acquired him in a sign and trade deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder during the summer of 2014. They expected him to be their starting small forward.
Things didn’t quite go as planned. Sefolosha lost his starting gig to DeMarre Carroll that season, largely due to Carroll’s emergence as a shooter when Sefolosha missed 23 games due to a calf strain. Sefolosha remained a valuable contributor off the bench, but his season would end prematurely.
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In April 2015, Sefolosha’s leg was broken by police after an altercation at a nightclub in New York City. He would miss the remainder of Atlanta’s 60-win season. Sefolosha would eventually settle a lawsuit with the NYPD for $4 million.
Sefolosha has spent the last two seasons trying to put the injury and the incident behind him. For a man that’s gone through so much over the last few seasons, Sefolosha has looked darn good on the basketball court.
Last season he bounced back to play in 75 games, starting 11 of them. This season, he was starting to look like the player he was before the injury. Sadly, other nagging injuries prevented him from playing a full season.
When he was on the court, Sefolosha still played outstanding defense and showed why the Hawks acquired him in the first place.