Who Are The Atlanta Hawks Quotation Mark Legends?

Finding the best Atlanta Hawks who played for the team past their prime.

The Atlanta Hawks aren’t historically known as a team that signs a bunch of veterans in the twilight of their careers, but they do have a few quotation mark legends in their past.

What are quotation mark legends? Essentially, they’re players who are known for playing for one team or a few teams during their prime then goes on to play for another team for a short time.

They then become “legends” of that team, mostly as a joke, but sometimes they do put up solid numbers for their new teams. Examples of this would be Spurs “legend” Dominique Wilkins, Raptors “legend” Hakeem Olajuwon, and Wizards “legend” Michael Jordan.

Here we’ll be attempting to highlight the Atlanta Hawks best “legends” by filling out their third, second, and first-team quotation mark legends.

To narrow it down, I’ve only chosen players who played just one season (or less) with the team, eliminating worthy candidates like Vince Carter, Elton Brand, and Toni Kukoc who all played two seasons in Atlanta.

Without further ado, let’s unveil the Atlanta Hawks quotation mark legends, starting with the third-team:

Atlanta Hawks Quotation Mark Legends: Third-Team

PG: José Calderón

José Calderón carved out a solid NBA career as an undrafted international prospect, playing 14 seasons in the league for seven teams. In 2017, Calderón started the year with the lowly Lakers, eventually being waived for he could join a playoff team.

He reached an agreement to join the Warriors who were already heavy title favorites, but when Kevin Durant went down with an injury, Golden State decided they wanted to sure up their forward position instead and waived Calderón a day after signing him.

Two days later he signed with the Hawks and played the final 17 games of the season for the team. He served as Dennis Schröder‘s backup in the Hawks’ 2017 playoff run, averaging 12.5 minutes per game in the team’s first-round defeat to the Wizards.

In total, José Calderón played 23 games with the Hawks, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 assists.

SG: Devin Harris

At one point in the late 2000s, Devin Harris looked like a future star, making an All-Star team in ’09 by averaging 21.3 points per game with the Nets.

He was one of the headliners of the trade that sent him to Utah and Deron Williams to Brooklyn, but his play dropped off once he got to the Jazz. He was flipped to the Hawks in exchange for Marvin Wiliams in 2012.

Harris spent just one season with the Hawks, appearing in 58 games and starting 34. Unfortunately, he looked more like he did with the Jazz than he did as a Net, shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from three en route to averaging a mere 9.9 points per game in his lone season in Atlanta.

SF: Chandler Parsons

Chandler Parsons has been a punchline for so long that people forget just how good he was before injuries derailed his career. Parsons’ breakout seasons came in 2013 and 2014 when he averaged 15.5 then 16.6 points per game as a Rocket.

He then had two solid seasons in Dallas before signing his infamous mega-deal with the Grizzlies. Once in Memphis, frequent knee injuries kept him off the court for large chunks, and when he did play, he wasn’t great.

He was shipped to Atlanta in the deal that sent Solomon Hill and Miles Plumlee to Memphis, with Parsons playing just five games with the Hawks this season.

PF: Danny Manning

The return from the Clippers in the Dominique Wilkins trade, Danny Manning played just 26 games for the Hawks in 1994. The two-time All-Star had his moments in the team’s two-round playoff run, starting all 11 games and averaging 20.0 points per contest.

They eventually lost to Indiana in six despite Manning’s double-double in the final game and he signed with the Phoenix Suns that off-season.

C: Tiago Splitter

Hawks fans were excited for Tiago Splitter, who they acquired via trade from San Antonio after he proved himself to be a solid role player for the Spurs, even during the team’s 2014 championship run.

Splitter suddenly became incredibly injury prone when he joined the team, missing large chunks of both seasons as a Hawk, playing just 36 games across nearly two seasons with the team. When he did play, he was solid enough as a backup five.

Atlanta Hawks Quotation Mark Legends: Second Team

PG: Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin was a fan favorite of every team he played on, and his time with the Atlanta Hawks was no different. Although his on-court play was less than stellar, Lin worked as a backup to Trae Young during his rookie season, which Young has noted to be valuable.

Lin averaged 10.7 points and 3.5 assists per game as a Hawk, who joined the Raptors and won a ring after being bought out of his contract.

SG: Maurice Cheeks

Mo Cheeks overcame his size (6’1) to become one of the best defensive guards in NBA history. The 2018 Hall-of-Fame inductee and 5-time All-Defensive team selection is known as a Sixer, as he spent 11 years in Philly.

He jumped around a few other Locker rooms after leaving the 76ers, spending time with Knicks, Spurs, Nets, and Hawks. He played the penultimate season of his career in Atlanta, playing 56 games off the bench for the ’91-’92 team.

Cheeks played well in his short time with the Atlanta Hawks, bringing his usual defensive presence and patented steals, averaging 1.5 swipes in under 20 minutes per game.

SF: Jerry Stackhouse

One of the great journeymen of our generation, Jerry Stackhouse played for eight teams after being drafted with the third overall pick in 1995.

Although never finding a home longer than five seasons, Stackhouse was a two-time All-Star and a solid contributor for each team he played for. Like Cheeks, he played for the Hawks in his second-to-last season, playing 30 games for Atlanta as a 37-year-old in the ’11-’12 season.

Now the head coach of the Vanderbilt basketball team, Stackhouse averaged 3.6 points on 37 percent shooting for Atlanta.

PF: Tom Gugliotta

Tom Gugliotta had a solid career and worked as an ahead of his time stretch big. He made his lone All-Star appearance in 1997 with the T-Wolves, averaging over 20 points per game that season.

While he never reached that star level again, he was a very solid forward for quite some time, even into the 2000s.

He signed with the Celtics in the 2004 off-season and played decently but was sent to the Hawks in a trade that brought fellow power forward Antoine Walker (back) to the Celtics. He spent the final 27 games of his career with the lowly Hawks, who won just 13 games that entire ’04-’05 season.

C: Truck Robinson

Leonard “Truck” Robinson spent just a half of season with the Hawks, playing 36 games with the team in 1977 after being traded there from Washington mid-season.

He signed with the Jazz after that short stint in Atlanta, breaking out the next season by making an All-Star appearance and being named to the All-NBA first team. Truck remained one of the league’s most dominant big men for a few more seasons.

As a Hawk, he averaged 22.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game.

Atlanta Hawks Quotation Mark Legends: First-Team

PG: Sidney Moncrief

Hall-of-Famer and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Sidney Moncrief played ten years with the Bucks from 1979 to 1989 and then briefly retired. After sitting out a season, Moncrief played one more season in Atlanta as a bench piece.

In 72 appearances, Moncrief averaged a career-low 4.7 points per game but still shot a solid 48 percent from the field. He scored 23 points in the second-to-last game of his career, forcing a game five against the Pistons in the playoffs.

SG: Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady was arguably a top-five player in the league during his peak with the Magic and Rockets, but he failed to have the longevity of his cousin Vince Carter thanks to nagging injuries.

McGrady’s numbers began taking sharp declines after the 2008 season, with Houston shipping him to New York soon after. After a brief stint in Detroit, The 2017 Hall-of-Fame inductee signed with Atlanta, playing 52 games in what ended up being his final season, although he did appear in the playoffs the next season with San Antonio.

He posted career-lows across the board but was well-liked by fans in his short time with the Hawks. His best game with the team came in April, with McGrady pouring in a season-high 17 points off the bench in a win over his previous team, the Pistons.

SF: Carmelo Anthony

Had to make a bit of an exception here, as Carmelo Anthony is the only player on this list not to play at least one game with the Hawks. Instead, Anthony was briefly on the Hawks’ payroll thanks to the Dennis Schroder trade, with the team quickly buying out Anthony’s contract to make him a free agent.

That didn’t stop Hawks fans from turning Anthony into an Atlanta Hawks “legend” with many memes, fake tribute videos, and jersey mock-ups making light of the situation. The joke reached it’s peak when the Hawks made Anthony an official jersey:

In total, Carmelo spent five days on the Atlanta Hawks roster, creating memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Carmelo.

PF: Rasheed Wallace

Unlike Carmelo, Rasheed Wallace actually played in a game for the Hawks. One game. 

The Atlanta Hawks acquired Sheed from Portland in February 2004 and quickly changed their mind on him, flipping him to Detroit 10 days later. It ended up be a win-win move, as Wallace helped the Pistons win the ’04 Finals and the Hawks used the draft pick they got in return to draft Josh Smith.

In his single game with the Hawks, Rasheed played 42 minutes, recording 20 points and six rebounds in a loss to the Nets.

C: Dwight Howard

During their head-scratching 2016 off-season, the Hawks signed Dwight Howard while they were still trying to convince fellow center Al Horford to come back. He didn’t, making Howard the starting center for the Hawks for the ’16-’17 season.

While nowhere as effective as he was in Orlando or even Houston, the Atlanta native put up solid enough numbers with the Hawks, creating a great defensive frontcourt next to Paul Millsap. He averaged 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game while shooting 63 percent from the field, a career-high up to that point.

With the team headed in a different direction the following off-season, the Hawks dumped him to Charlotte.

What do you make of the Atlanta Hawks “legends”?