2. John Drew
The Atlanta Hawks selected John Drew out of Gardner-Webb University with the 25th overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft. John Drew ended up making two All-Star games and one of the Atlanta Hawk greats.
In his eight seasons with the Hawks, Drew averaged 21.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. In addition to his impressive numbers, Drew put together some impressive shooting numbers shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 74.4 percent from the free-throw line. In addition, both of his All-Star game appearances came in his time with the Hawks.
I actually had John Drew on my All-Hawks Second-Team which you can see in the related story below.
Considering the fact that John Drew was taken 25th overall and had such a long, successful NBA career is incredibly impressive. Drew was drafted in an era with only 18 NBA teams so he was technically a second-round pick at the time. If this draft were to be re-drafted, similar to Doc Rivers, Drew would likely go in the lottery or even higher.
In the end, I put John Drew just a hair above Doc Rivers as the second biggest steal in Atlanta Hawks franchise history. Quite frankly, when you see who number one is, it can’t be argued that anyone is above him.