Atlanta Hawks: 5 worst NBA Draft lottery picks in team history

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 1: Selecting Adam Keefe looks worse in context

A nine-year career with seven trips to the postseason would be considered pretty solid. But, in the case of Adam Keefe and the Hawks, it represents an opportunity missed. Taken 10th overall out of Stanford in the 1992 draft, Keefe should have helped ease the transition from Kevin Willis but instead wound up a footnote in Hawks history.

He was a standout at Stanford, averaging 22.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game over his last three seasons with the Cardinal. As a senior, Keefe averaged 25.3 points and 12.2 boards.

Keefe also averaged 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals in his final collegiate season with averages of 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in his four years.

But the 6-foot-9 forward could only average 7.8 points and 5.5 boards at his peak which was not as a member of the Hawks. He’d spend the majority of his nine years with the Utah Jazz before finishing his playing career in Spain.

He only lasted two years in Atlanta, further adding to his case to be on this list, putting up a paltry 5.6-point, 4.4-rebound line.

In his first year abroad, Keefe averaged 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.0 steals. Not bad for a player most would consider a bust given his college career, draft pedigree, and subsequent performance in the NBA.

The worst part is Keefe’s draft class was littered with talent. Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning were the first two picks followed by Christian Laettner and Jim Jackson. Obviously out of the Hawks reach. But while most of the talent taken after Keefe were guards and wings, one spot later the Houston Rockets took Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry.

It’s part of why Keefe made our list of the worst draft picks overall in team history a while back. For however successful he wound up in his career, he was a wasted pick and missed opportunity.