Atlanta Hawks: 4 biggest steals in team draft history
By Nate Friesen
4. John Collins
The Atlanta Hawks selected John Collins out of Wake Forest with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. John Collins has looked like a future All-Star in his first three seasons with the Hawks and if it wasn’t for a 25-game suspension at the beginning of the season, there was a real chance he could have made it this year.
In the 41 games Collins played for the Hawks this season, he averaged 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, all career-highs. Not only was he putting up incredible numbers, but he was also doing it with impressive efficiency. Collins had shooting splits of .583/.401/.800 this season which is super impressive for the third-year big man.
Related Story. 3 Best John Collins Performances This Season. light
Looking back now, the fact that Collins was taken 19th after guys like D.J. Wilson and T.J. Leaf seems indefensible. If this draft were to be re-drafted, John Collins would be a lock to be a top 10 pick and would potentially go in the top 5.
In fact, the FanSided NBA Network recently put together a 2017 Re-Draft and John Collins ended up going 7th. Feel free to check out the entire re-draft here.
All in all, John Collins is easily one of the biggest steals in Atlanta Hawks franchise history. Let’s just hope the Hawks are able to make the most of his time with the team.