The Atlanta Hawks don’t have a deep history of dunkers but at the top, there’s some of the best to ever do it. Here’s a look at the 15 best in franchise history.
The Atlanta Hawks haven’t been one of the winningest franchises in the NBA for nothing. Through 69 seasons, they’ve made appearances in 46 postseasons and won a championship back in the 1957-58 season as the St. Louis Hawks. Most of it has been due to the highlight reel lineup of dunkers to pass through the organization.
The Hawks haven’t had a large number of Slam Dunk Contest types of dunkers, but they’ve still managed to field a decent amount. Despite the changing face of the NBA to a 3-point friendly league, dunkers are still present. As evidenced by the first dunker on this list, flashy dunks are still a thing in the league today. Whether through pure power, alley-oops or otherwise, dunking is still a way of life in the NBA.
Dominique Wilkins is probably the first Hawks player to come to mind. Wilkins earned the nickname “The Human Highlight Film” for his above the rim mentality. There are plenty other dunkers, past, present and future that come to mind as well.
The smallest dunker to grace the stage for the Hawks was 5-foot-6 point guard Spud Webb. Webb took the NBA by storm when he won the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest. As luck would have it, he won over his teammate, Dominique Wilkins. Webb and Wilkins are just a few names to grace the list of top dunkers for the Hawks. Here’s a look at the 15 best dunkers in Hawks’ franchise history.
John Collins was only a rookie last year, but he starts the list off after a strong first season on the dunking front. Collins led the Hawks’ rotation last season with 107 dunks on 129 attempts. Dunks accounted for 26.6 percent of Collins’ shot attempts in his rookie season. Don’t expect that to change too much in year two.
Collins’ impressive athleticism was on full display in his rookie campaign. He was snubbed by the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest committee, but that should change after the rim-rattling assault he put on the rim in the Rising Stars Challenge.
He only scored 11 points but he wowed the crowd with dunks that only got better as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, you almost wanted to include Collins as a write-in in last year’s contest.
Collins led all players on the 2017-18 roster in dunks as a rookie. That’s not likely to change, as he enters another season under a new coaching regime. Keep an eye out for him as a Dunk Contest participant in the near future.