Atlanta Hawks: 15 best NBA Draft picks of all-time
By John Buhler
Power forward Alan Henderson came on to the Hawks a few years before they went into a decade-long swoon in the 2000s. However, we would win a significant award while spending his first nine years in the league with the team. The former Indiana Hoosiers big man would win NBA’s Most Improved Player honors during the 1997-98 NBA season.
Atlanta selected Henderson No. 16 overall in the 1995 NBA Draft out of Indiana. While it took a while for him to find himself in the NBA, Henderson would have his breakout season in 1997-98 at 25 years old. That Most Improved season for Henderson saw him average 14.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game.
Though Henderson would play with the Hawks through the 2002-03 NBA season, he would never match the on-court success of his impressive third year in the league. Henderson would be part of a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks involving teammate Jason Terry, Tony Delk and Antoine Walker.
Henderson would play three more NBA seasons with three different teams before retiring in 2007 as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. In his nine-year career with the Hawks, Henderson averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 24.0 minutes per contest. Being named Most Improved in 1997-98 definitely has Henderson cracking the top-15 on this all-time Hawks list.