Atlanta Hawks: 3 legends for Sharife Cooper to study

Legends for Atlanta Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper to study No. 1) Tim Hardaway

Tim Hardaway, the father of Tim Hardaway jr. who is currently playing with the Dallas Mavericks was a superstar in his own right during his time. He was a five-time All-NBA selection and a five-time All-Star in his 13-year career.

Originally taken with the 14th pick in the 1989 NBA draft, Hardaway had to rely on his quickness and lateral movement as opposed to his size. Hardaway was only 6’0″ and 175 lbs which is even smaller than Cooper is now.

He still managed to average 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 35.3 minutes per game. Hardaway ended up a solid 3-point shooter, ending his career going at 35.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He was not a good shooter when he came into the league which is a similar story to Cooper.

Hardaway had one of the best crossovers in the game. He was able to put his full body into it which led the defense often going the wrong way as he was already making his way to the hop. If Cooper can add a move like this to his game, then he is going to be very hard to stop.