Decade in Review: The 2016-2017 Atlanta Hawks
By Dallin Duffy
Looking back to the Atlanta Hawks’ 2016-2017 season.
The Atlanta Hawks were at a bit of a crossroads after the 2016 off-season.
Longtime franchise centerpieces Al Horford and Jeff Teague were not brought back, with Horford signing with Boston and Teague being shipped to Indiana via trade.
Midway through the season, Kyle Korver was also traded away, leaving just Paul Millsap and a few others from the 60-win season in ’14-’15.
To help supplement the losses, legend Dwight Howard was brought in to play center, while the team used two first round picks to bring in Taurean Prince and Deandre’ Bembry.
The starting five looking like this for most of the season:
PG – Dennis Schröder
SG – Thabo Sefolosha
SF – Kent Bazemore
PF – Paul Millsap
C – Dwight Howard
12th overall pick Taurean Prince slid into the starting five in favor of Sefolosha. The team was still talented, but notably less deep during their peak success.
They were streaky, up-and-down throughout the regular season, finishing the year 43-39, claiming the 5th seed in the East.
They drew a meeting with the Washington Wizards in the first round, pinning one of the best defensive teams against one of the best offensive teams in the league.
The latter ended up prevailing, with John Wall and Bradley Beal leading the Wiz to a 6-game series win.
Paul Millsap led the squad in scoring during the regular season, averaging 18.1 a game on a 44% clip.
Dwight Howard, in his one-year stint with led the team led them in rebounds (12.7), blocks (1.2), and field goal percentage (63%), starting 74 games.
Dennis Schröder, who was handed the keys after the team traded away Jeff Teague, averaged 6.3 assists and 17.9 points per game.
As a team, they took a step back offensively, especially after the trade of Kyle Korver to the Cavs. They were still among the best defensive forces in the league, netting the league’s 4th best defensive rating.
Next. New Year's resolutions for the Atlanta Hawks. dark
It was a fun year, and the last time the Hawks would make the playoffs in the decade.
Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard did not return the following year, firmly placing the Hawks in rebuild mode.