Best Atlanta Hawks of all-time – Trae Young (2018 – Present)
In just two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young has breathed new life into the franchise. Virtually every team move is viewed in the lens of how it impacts him.
Young became a household name during the NCAA tournament with Oklahoma pushing the school to the national basketball stage in his freshman year. After their loss, Young decided to forego his remaining three seasons and declare for the NBA Draft. The Hawks traded their pick in what is now known as the Luka Doncic swap and brought Trae Young to Atlanta in 2018.
Young immediately became a fan favorite in Atlanta, coining the nickname “Ice Trae” for his natural ability to score and shoot the basketball.
In his rookie season, Young averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 assists and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2019. He had a 49-point game in a 168 to 161 shootout against the Chicago Bulls that year. Young went 17-of-33 from the field and 6-of-13 from the 3-point line in the game to set his then career-high.
In his sophomore year, Young eclipsed that with a 50-point performance versus the Miami Heat that ended in a 129-124 win for the Hawks. Trae Young went 12-of-25 from the field and 8-of-15 from three to secure the win for the Hawks. He was named to his first All-Star Game in 2019, having averaged 29.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, which put him in the top 5 in both categories for the year.
Despite having only played in two NBA seasons thus far, Trae Young has already shown the type of player he’s capable of being for the Atlanta Hawks. Though they’ve yet to make the playoffs in his two seasons, the Atlanta Hawks look prepared to do so in his third year, after surrounding Young with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Danilo Gallinari, and Clint Capela. Young is the most prolific scoring point guard to play for the Hawks perhaps ever and will be a joy to watch, hopefully in Atlanta, for years to come.
Best Atlanta Hawks of all-time – Paul Millsap (2013-2016)
Paul Millsap spent the first seven years of his NBA career with the Utah Jazz who drafted him in 2006 with the 47th overall pick. Millsap really hit his stride though when he came to Atlanta in 2013 as a free agent. In his first season with the Atlanta Hawks, Paul Millsap averaged 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and was selected to his first of four straight All-Star Games as a member of the Hawks.
He made the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, making it to the conference finals in 2014-2015 to be swept by LeBron and the Cavaliers. Millsap wasn’t the flashiest of players but really shined in his time in Atlanta. He averaged 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in an Atlanta Hawks uniform, made the playoffs all four years, and was selected to four consecutive NBA All-Star games, which lands him at No. 7 on this 20 Greatest Atlanta Hawks of All-Time list.
Though he hasn’t reached All-Star status since his time in the Peach State, Paul Milsap is still proving himself to be of value with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in the NBA ‘bubble” helping to push the Nuggets to the conference finals before falling to the eventual LeBron James-led champion Los Angeles Lakers.