Ranking The Top 5 Most Influential Atlanta Hawks of All Time
The Atlanta Hawks have existed as an organization for 74 years. In that time, they have had their fair share of influential players don the jersey.
When describing influence, what usually comes to mind?
Maybe impact on the team’s culture or the city itself. Or, perhaps, on other outside factors. Here we are basing our ranking on a combination of these factors, to find the most influential Atlanta Hawk of all time.
Paul Millsap became an All-Star in Atlanta
Forward Paul Millsap spent his prime years in the city of Atlanta, from 2013 to 2017. He was named an NBA All-Star in each of those seasons, scoring a career-high 18.1 points per game in his last season.
Those mid-2010s Hawks were vicious, as they were on top of the NBA with the best record back in 2014-2015. Millsap contributed to their fun, spread-out type of play and propelled them to several deep playoff runs. His ability to shoot from inside and well beyond the three-point line was well sought after in the league. Considering the rise of the Warriors dynasty, three-point shooting was a huge plus.
He joined the Denver Nuggets in 2017 on a 3-year deal totaling 90 million dollars.
Although his time in Atlanta was relatively short-lived, he, along with the rest of those 2010’s squads, put the foundation for the later success of this team, which is why he is well deserving of being included in this ranking.
Millsap expressed his gratitude for the city, albeit briefly, in an interview for NBA.com, just before his first game against the Hawks.
“I owe a lot to Atlanta, but I’m with Denver now and I’ve got to go out there and try to get a win for us.”
Most recently, at 36 years old, Millsap split the 2021-22 season between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers averaging 3.5 points and boards in a little over 11.0 minutes per game across 33 contests; 24 with the Nets; nine with the Sixers including one start.
The influence only grows from here as out next entrant spent nearly a decade in Atlanta.