Atlanta Hawks: The 7 Best Young Assets on the Team

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 16: Taurean Prince #12 and John Collins #20 of the USA team pose for a portrait prior to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game during All-Star Friday Night as part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend at the STAPLES Center on February 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images) /

7 of 8

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 09: John Collins (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. John Collins

The 19th pick of the 2017 Draft played much more like a lottery pick last season. Collins averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 24 minutes per game as a rookie landing him on the All-Rookie Second Team. He also led all Hawks with 5.4 win shares.

Entering his first full season as a starter, Hawks fans should be hopeful for improvement from the power forward. He’s a tremendous athlete but needs to channel that into a more controlled manner, and his post scoring isn’t going to be his M-O anytime soon.

Instead he makes his money being a tenacious rebounder and high-flying dunker. While he was snubbed from the dunk contest last season, he did provide a bevy of beautiful dunks. Collins’ jump shot isn’t consistent yet but definitely improved as the season went on, and he even added some threes down the stretch.

The potential is there for him to eventually be the best player from the young core the Hawks have assembled, and it’s exciting to see such great potential in a 20-year-old.

Home/Hawks News