The 8 Best Players on the Atlanta Hawks Right Now

5 — Jeremy Lin

An argument could be made that Jeremy Lin should be lower than Dedmon, as Dedmon played in 62 games to Lin’s 1 in 2017-18.

Of course, it was a freak accident that downed Linsanity last season, so we’re giving him the benefit of the doubt.

No matter which way you slice it, the Atlanta Hawks upgraded their backcourt in myriad ways this offseason. Jettisoning Dennis Schröder in favor of a likely offensive upgrade in Trae Young while also upgrading the team’s defense at the one with Jeremy Lin, the Hawks’ point guard situation is vastly improved from one season ago.

Sure, Lin might take a while to round into form coming back from that patellar tendon injury. Even if he does not, he can still be an effective player for the Hawks with his steady ballhandling, solid defense and general veteran leadership on and off the court, making him a Top-5 player on the Atlanta Hawks at this moment.

4 — Vince Carter

Sure, Vince Carter might be the oldest player in the NBA right now (only former Atlanta Hawks great Jason Terry can approach VC in years), and while his high-flying antics of yesteryear might be a distant memory, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t immediately one of the Hawks best player for next year.

The Hawks had no real veteran presence last year on a team that was loaded with rookies, sophomores and two-way flyers.

That all changed when the team signed Carter to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal (a move that we lauded at the time, and still do). With 20 years of NBA experience, Carter has single-handedly scored 7000 points more than the rest of the Atlanta Hawks players combined.

If that doesn’t qualify him as one of the Atlanta Hawks best players right now, I don’t know what does.