Ranking the Atlanta Hawks Best Draft Picks of the Last 25 Years
1. Al Horford
2007 NBA Draft Round 1, Pick 3
Forward/Center, 6’10”, 245 lbs, University of Florida
If the ping pong balls bounce just a tad bit more in the Hawks favor, we likely are looking at Kevin Durant here instead of Al Horford. Could Atlanta have won a championship during 9 years with Kevin Durant? We’ll never know. But they would have employed a MVP and 4 time scoring champion.
The Hawks did end up picking 3rd overall and selected Al Horford. They really maximized their position as the only player to follow of any significance was point guard Mike Conley at no. 4. There was another pick in the first round that they would like to have back, taking Acie Law at no. 11. Law played just a couple years for the Hawks, and soon after would find himself out of the league entirely. The depth of this particular draft was questionable in their defense. The only decent players they left on the table at 11 were basically just Wilson Chandler and Aaron Afflalo, both going late in the first round.
Al Horford came out of college winning back to back NCAA titles and was also named MVP of the SEC Tournament in 2007. He was a fabulous prospect and the Hawks made an excellent decision to draft him. He was instantly the Hawks starting center and went on to have an illustrious career for Atlanta. Had he been paired with a legitimate center so that he would’ve been able to play his more natural position of power forward, he may have been even more successful. Nevertheless, Al did well for himself during his 578 games, 574 of which were starts.
He is the most decorated Hawk player on this list getting named to the all rookie first team in 2007, the all NBA third team in 2011 and made four all-star teams. He has established himself as one of the top 25 players in the league. He has a unique set of skills as a big man, his mobility is top notch, does well in transition, is a superb passer and maybe the NBA’s most efficient jump shot maker from 15- 19 feet.
It is unfortunate that Horford is no longer a Hawk, he promises to be a nightmare as an opponent. With that said, Al was not without his pitfalls. It looks good for his career average of rebounds to be 8.9 per game, but the 785 rebounds he chalked up as a rookie was actually the best he ever did. In comparison, last year he only had 596. For a center, that’s rather alarming. If his ability to rebound the basketball declines much more, his worth could totally plummet.
Over the course of 9 seasons as a Hawk, Horford’s averages of 14.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks earned him a lot of praise from the fans. He was not the brick wall you would hope for as a rim protector, but he was solid. He had a few durability troubles during his tenure, missing all but 11 games during 11- 12, he also only played 29 games in the 2013- 14 campaign, missing all that time because of injury.
Despite a few blips on the radar, Al Horford was a great player for a very long time with the Hawks. He single handedly won them a playoff game in the second round of the playoffs vs. the Wizards, coming down with the offensive rebound and tipping it home as the buzzer sounded. There were another number of fond memories in his collection as a Hawk, but I will let you recall most of them on your own.
Next: Dennis Schroder The Next Reggie Jackson?
As one of the highest draft picks the Hawks ever had, Al left his mark. There ain’t going to be no more like him.