Ranking the best international players in Atlanta Hawks history
By Nile Goodwyn
Honorable Mentions
Rumeal Robinson (Jamaica)
The Hawks selected Robinson with the 10th pick of the 1990 Draft, and he played two seasons in Atlanta, averaging 13 points and 5.5 assists per game in his sophomore campaign. After his impressive second season, the Atlanta Hawks shipped him to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Mookie Blaylock, arguably the greatest point guard in Atlanta Hawks history.
Robinson played three more NBA seasons after leaving the Hawks, and NBA his career ended after a 1997 season in which he suited up for three different teams (Lakers, Suns, Trail Blazers).
Ersan Ilyasova (Turkey)
After only 26 games, Ilyasova’s 10.4 points per game ranks 7th among international Hawks. His 26 games played are tied for 23rd, and with such few games played, there is no way that Ilyosova can be considered an elite foreign Hawk. After a season as the projected starter for the woeful 2017=18 Atlanta Hawks, Illyosova will most likley be an top-5 international Hawk in team history.
Boris Diaw (France)
In his two first seasons, the Hawks coaching staff insisted on playing Diaw as a swingman, where he averaged only 4.6 points. After being traded in the deal that send Joe Johnson from the Suns to the Hawks, Diaw averaged a career-high 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds. If Diaw had been played power forward, the position he has almost exclusively played for the last thirteen seasons, he would have surely cracked the actual international ranking.