Looking at how the Atlanta Hawks have used the 6th overall pick in prior drafts.
The Atlanta Hawks were awarded the 6th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. It’s a pick they aren’t exactly familiar with, as the team has selected there just five times in franchise history.
Only two of those picks were for the Atlanta Hawks, with the other three picks being from way back when they were known as the St. Louis Hawks. Let’s dive into the players the Hawks have taken 6th overall.
1958 – Dave Gambee
Gambee, a power forward coming out of Oregon State, was taken sixth by St.Louis in 1958. The NBA was so small then, that that was actually the second-to-last pick of the first round.
As a player, Gambee bounced around the league, appearing in just 44 games for the Hawks. For the majority of his 12-year career, he was a member of the Syracuse Nationals, which were moved and renamed the Philadelphia 76ers during his tenure there.
His biggest accomplishment was helping the 1966-67 Sixers win the championship.
1960 – Lenny Wilkens
A much more familiar face, Wilkens was drafted in 1960 by St.Louis. He would go onto play for the St. Louis Hawks until 1968 and then returned to coach the team in Atlanta years later.
As a player, he made five All-Star teams with the Hawks and four more throughout the twilight his career. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1989.
As a coach, Wilkens began in Seattle and spent a hefty amount of time there and in Cleveland. He came to the ATL to coach the Atlanta Hawks in 1993. He moved on after the 1999-2000 season, winning 57 percent of his games of the course of his Atlanta Hawks career.
1965 – Jim Washington
After being taken 6th in ’65, Washington played just one year with St.Louis before heading to Chicago. There was a reunion of sorts later on, as Washington joined the Atlanta Hawks in 1971 and stayed until 1975.
2000 – DeMarr Johnson
A big jump here, as the Atlanta Hawks didn’t use the 6th overall pick again until 2000 when they took DeMarr Johnson. The notorious 2000 draft class turned out to be one of the weakest in NBA history, with only a few players turning into even respectable starters.
Johnson was not one of those few, although it’s hard to truly judge his career as he missed the entire 2002-2003 season with a neck injury. He spent two seasons in Atlanta, averaging 6.7 points per game.
2004 – Josh Childress
I don’t think many Hawks fans ever gave up on Childress, who certainly had potential. He may have had his best season as a rookie when he was selected to the All-Rookie team after averaging 10.1 points per game on decent efficiency.
It didn’t work out, but Childress was far from a capital-B bust.
Who should the Atlanta Hawks take with the 6th pick in 2020?