Atlanta Hawks: 3 most likely candidates to become the teams third star
By Nate Friesen
2. De’Andre Hunter
De’Andre Hunter is, in theory, the guy you would want to become the third star for this team. He is a 22-year-old rookie that was drafted 4th overall just last year. He is athletic, an elite defender, a great shooter, and is a proven winner in his time at Virginia. However, it’s still unclear how high Hunter’s ceiling truly is.
Hunter came in this season and played extremely well for a rookie. While he had his fair share of ups and downs, as all rookies do, Hunter was about as much as you could hope for from the first-year pro. And because of the fact that Hunter was so solid in his rookie season, it really begs the questions as to how much better he will be able to get.
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Now I’m not saying Hunter is a completely finished product, however, he definitely isn’t the highest upside rookie in the NBA. Averages of 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game with shooting splits of .410/.355/.764 don’t scream finished product (at least you hope not), so there is certainly a lot more Hunter can improve on. If he is able to continue playing defense and shoot the three at an extremely high level along with improving certain aspects of his game (i.e. his ability to attack the basket), Hunter could easily be the perfect third star alongside Young and Collins.