The Atlanta Hawks franchise is one of the oldest in NBA history, having been around in the league for 74 years. In fact, when the 2023-24 season tips off, it will be the Hawks' 75th season in existence, marking their diamond anniversary. And in those 75 years, it's worth celebrating who the greatest players in franchise history are across its four stops in Illinois, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Atlanta.
Without further ado, here are the 10 greatest players in Hawks franchise history.
10. Pete Maravich
Pistol Pete Maravich was way ahead of his time. Maravich was launching jumpshots from the perimeter and playing with an unteachable playmaking flair. He loved to razzle and dazzle crowds with a display of pizzazz, all the while being a deadly scorer himself from everywhere on the basketball court.
However, Maravich only played four seasons for the Hawks franchise, which makes it difficult to put him any higher on this list. Even then, number 10 isn't bad for Pistol Pete, as he averaged 24.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists during those years. In addition to those impressive stats, he made the All-Star team twice and he made the All-NBA Second Team once during that span. Pete Maravich truly hit his stride following his move to the New Orleans Jazz, but it didn't take long until injuries forced him into an early retirement.
9. Mookie Blaylock
In almost every iteration of the Hawks' greatest players of all time list, Mookie Blaylock has been a glaring omission. But that stops here. One of the best defensive guards of his time, Blaylock is the Hawks' all-time leader in steals and he ranks second in assists, making the All-Defensive First Team twice and the All-Star team once during his time in Atlanta.
And it wasn't as if Blaylock's ability to amass these statistics didn't translate to winning. It says a lot that the Hawks missed the playoffs during the season prior to Blaylock's arrival and then missed the postseason for eight consecutive seasons following his departure.
During his stint with the team, Mookie Blaylock was the perfect floor general to put alongside Steve Smith, Dikembe Mutombo and Christian Laettner. Blaylock was a volume three-point shooter before it was cool, and although his surface-level efficiency numbers aren't the best, his production from deep helps compensate for that to some extent.
Blaylock deserves to get his flowers for a fruitful stint in Atlanta, and fans should make it a point to remember his contributions even though those came more than 25 years ago now.
8. Trae Young
Time truly does have a habit of passing by quickly, as Trae Young has already played in more seasons for the Hawks than Pete Maravich. Young, since entering the league in 2018, has been one of the best playmakers in the league, and his lethal floater and pull-up game, not to mention his understated ability to get to the foul line, allows him to get buckets with the best of them.
With the exception of his rookie season, Young has averaged 25.3 points per game or more through his career, and his assist numbers have gone up every season. In total, Young is averaging 25.5 points and 9.3 dimes per game, proving to be one of the best lead guards in the NBA today. He has also made the All-Star team twice and the All-NBA Third Team once, further adding to his solid resume despite not turning 25 years old until September.
The gripe with Trae Young is that he's a poor defender. Young gets targeted on almost every possession on defense, putting the Hawks in a vulnerable position. Until Young figures that part of the equation out, he'll have difficulties challenging for the distinction of being the Hawks' GOAT.
7. Joe Johnson
Dubbed “Iso Joe”, Joe Johnson had a long, fruitful career in the NBA thanks to his ability to get buckets from all three levels of the floor. His move to Atlanta in 2005 helped him break out, fashioning a nice career for himself as one of the more reliable scorers in the league for the next decade.
Johnson played for the Hawks from 2005 until 2012, making the playoffs four times during that span. The Hawks made it past the first round in all but one of those seasons, with Johnson acting as the team's first option on offense while being surrounded by quality players such as Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Jamal Crawford.
Joe Johnson ranks sixth on the all-time Hawks scoring list, and he was a six-time All-Star while with the team. He also made the All-NBA Third Team in 2010. That's not too shabby at all for the best player of the Hawks teams in the mid to late 2000s that is now known for running the treadmill of mediocrity and low-end playoff contention.
6. Al Horford
Before Al Horford became this 3-and-D rim protector we've come to know him as in the latter stages of his career, he was more of a midrange artist whose defensive contributions went under the radar. For quite some time, Horford took a backseat to the likes of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith — but in the end, he truly was the beating heart of those Hawks playoff teams of the late 2000s to the early 2010s.
Horford spent the first nine years of his career in Atlanta, and he was the best player for the Hawks team that won the most regular season games in its history (60). In addition to that, he also made the All-Star team four times and the All-NBA Third Team once as a Hawk, cementing his status as one of the greatest players in franchise history.
He may not have a statistical profile that jumps off the page, but Al Horford's impact goes beyond the box score.
5. Dikembe Mutombo
When ranking a team's greatest players of all time, taking into account the player's longevity as well as their peak is a difficult balancing act to manage. At the end of the day, when the margins are this razor-thin, longevity with the team almost always wins out — which is why Dikembe Mutombo fails to land even higher on this list.
Mutombo, as elite of a defensive player as he was with the Hawks, spent only 4.5 years of his career with the franchise. But those years were quality — Mutombo averaged 11.9 points, 12.6 boards, and 3.2 blocks per game in 343 games with the Hawks. However, what truly sets Mutombo apart is that he won the Defensive Player of the Year award once (twice if you count the 2000-01 season despite his midseason trade to the Philadelphia 76ers) to go along with two All-Defensive First team nods while with the team.
In addition to being rewarded for his defensive excellence, Dikembe Mutombo made the All-Star team thrice as a Hawk as well. It may not have been the longest tenure, but Mutombo certainly made his stay with the Hawks count.
4. Cliff Hagan
It's easy to forget legends of the game who played in the black and white era, and Cliff Hagan is one of them. But that doesn't mean that Hagan's legendary status should go overlooked. In fact, Hagan played a huge role for the team during their run to the championship in 1958, serving as the team's second-best player during that time.
In the end, Hagan ended up playing 10 seasons for the St. Louis Hawks, tallying 13,447 points (good for fourth-all time) and 2,242 assists (good for 10th). He made the All-Star team five times, and the All-NBA Second Team twice.
3. Lou Hudson
Lou Hudson always goes under the radar when talking about the all-time greats of the NBA, but in this list, the Hawks legend will get his much-deserved props. For 11 years, Hudson was a reliable perimeter scorer who averaged 22 points on 48.7 percent shooting from the field during his fruitful stint for the Hawks franchise. As a result, Hudson ranks third in the Hawks' all-time scoring leaderboard and third in all-time made field goals.
Hudson also made the All-Star team in six straight seasons, and he helped lead the Hawks to a few deep playoff runs in the late 1960s. The sweet-shooting guard could have been even greater had he played in an era with the three-point shot, as his silky touch from the field certainly would have translated to greater success from farther out.
2. Bob Pettit
It's a close call between Bob Pettit and Dominique Wilkins for the top spot on this list, but in the end, Pettit just loses out due to the less-than-stellar competition during his time. Sure, it may not be the most fair thing in the world to penalize him for playing in an era in which there were only eight teams in the NBA. But it's tough to rank him over Wilkins for that reason as the Human Highlight Reel excelled in a more loaded era in the league.
Nevertheless, Pettit still ranks highly, and it's not just because he won an NBA championship in 1958. He ranks second in the Hawks' all-time scoring list and first in the all-time rebounding list, making the All-Star team in all 11 years he played for the team.
1. Dominique Wilkins
Affectionately known as the Human Highlight Reel, Dominique Wilkins' dunking prowess alone belongs in the Hall of Fame. But Wilkins is more than just a dunker. He was one of the best scorers of his time, preferring to work off the high post and using his deep bag of moves to get buckets. His footwork was top-notch, and his touch from the midrange made him a difficult cover for almost everyone in the league.
To that end, Wilkins ended his career as the greatest player in franchise history even if he did not win a ring. He's the Hawks' all-time leading scorer with 23,292 points to his name, fourth in all-time rebounds, sixth in all-time assists, and second in all-time steals.
It may not be a stretch to say that Dominique Wilkins' Hawks, in a world where Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Isiah Thomas did not exist, could have gotten over the championship hump.
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