The Atlanta Hawks have certainly hit big on some picks in the team’s history, but today let’s look at the Hawks biggest misses in their draft history.
The Atlanta Hawks, like most NBA teams, have had their fair share of hits and misses in the NBA draft throughout the years. Just this past week we took a look at some of their biggest hits in the teams drafting history, but today, let’s take a took at the misses.
The Atlanta Hawks, as of late, have been quite successful in the draft which is good because they have been drafting near the top for the past few years. However, things haven’t always looked this good in terms of draft prospects panning out.
The early 2000s was filled with terrible drafts and terrible draft picks throughout the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks were no exception. Two of the Hawks four worst picks ever were picked in back-to-back years during this time, both were top 10 picks and both failed to live up to expectations.
Misses in the draft are bound to happen because it’s simply not a perfect science. Teams have always struggled when it comes to drafting and it’s something teams will continue to struggle with for the rest of time.
Unfortunately, the Atlanta Hawks have had many more than just four huge draft misses in their history, but today we’re just looking at the worst of the worst. Thus, late first-round picks and second-round picks are virtually out of the discussion. This list is reserved for guys that were touted as future All-Stars and never came close.
Without further ado, let’s get started with the fourth-biggest miss in Atlanta Hawks draft history.
4. Adam Keefe
The Atlanta Hawks selected Adam Keefe out of Stanford with the 10th overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. Keefe was a 6’9 power forward/center that simply never found his footing in his nine NBA seasons.
Of the nine seasons, Keefe played in the NBA, only the first two were with the Atlanta Hawks. During those first two seasons, he averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. These are just simply abysmal numbers for a top 10 pick in the draft. After just two seasons with the team, he was traded to the Utah Jazz.
What makes the Adam Keefe pick even worse is some of the big names that were taken in that draft. It was headlined by Hall of Fame centers Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning and the pick directly after Keefe was one of the greatest role players in NBA history… Robert Horry.
Adam Keefe was incredible during his senior year at Stanford where he averaged 25.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game so he justified a top ten selection in the NBA draft. Despite Keefe’s impressive numbers while in college at Stanford, it just never translated to the NBA. This resulted in a really unfortunate pick for the Atlanta Hawks.
3. Adreian Payne
The Atlanta Hawks selected Adreian Payne out of Michigan State with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Payne was a 6’10 power forward that had an incredible college career but unfortunately couldn’t find his footing in the NBA.
Adreian Payne played in just four NBA seasons and only played in three games with the Atlanta Hawks. For his NBA career, Payne averaged just 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Again, not the type of production you would like to see from your top draft pick. After just three games the Hawks had clearly seen enough because they quickly traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Unfortunately for Adreian Payne and the Atlanta Hawks, his draft selection was sandwiched in between a lot of really good NBA players. Guys like Zach Lavine, T.J. Warren, Jusuf Nurkić, Gary Harris and Clint Capela were all selected right around the same time as Payne.
As I mentioned, Adreian Payne was an amazing college player. In his senior season at Michigan State, he averaged 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Unfortunately for Payne and for the Atlanta Hawks, his skillset never translated to the NBA. Leaving Payne as one of the worst picks in Atlanta Hawks history.
2. Josh Childress
The Atlanta Hawks selected Josh Childress, another player out of Stanford, with the 6th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Childress was a 6’8 small forward who was drafted for his raw talent, however, he was never able to develop that talent into anything substantive.
Childress ended up playing in eight NBA seasons. His first and best four seasons all came with the Atlanta Hawks. During those four seasons, he averaged 11.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on .522/.360/.799 shooting splits. These are honestly solid numbers that would warrant a decent NBA career today, but considering he was selected sixth overall, it wasn’t nearly good enough.
Despite Childress’ decent numbers for the Hawks, the pick is made even worse by looking at some of the other players taken in that draft. Most notably, the pick directly after Childress was Luol Deng who turned out to be a multiple-time All-Star. And at pick number nine was Andre Iguodala who went on to have an incredibly succesful NBA career. Another tough blow for the Hawks.
Similar to his fellow Stanford alumni Adam Keefe, Josh Childress had an amazing final season at Stanford. He averaged 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game that season which is obviously why the Hawks felt comfortable taking him sixth overall.
While it wasn’t the end of the world that Josh Childress didn’t pan out, it was only compounded by an equally terrible selection just one year later.
1. Marvin Williams
Just one year after missing with their sixth overall pick by taking Josh Childress the Atlanta Hawks selected Marvin Williams out of the University of North Carolina with the 2nd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Williams, a 6’8 power forward, has had a pretty solid NBA career, however, he hasn’t justified being selected second overall.
Marvin Williams has now played 14 seasons in the NBA and may still be going. He began his career with the Atlanta Hawks where he played his first seven seasons. During those seasons, he averaged 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. These are really solid numbers… for a role player, however, not so great numbers for your second overall pick.
What makes the Marvin Williams pick even worse is some of the big names that were taken in that draft. It’s headlined by future Hall of Fame point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul that were taken with the third and fourth overall selections, directly after Marvin Williams.
Looking back now, part of the reason Marvin Williams went ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul was because he was younger and he had more team success in college. However, this was clearly a huge oversight on the Atlanta Hawks part.