In the middle of the 2025 calendar year and with the 2025-26 season tipping off next month, now is as good a time as any to reflect back on the first 25 years of this century of Atlanta Hawks basketball. That’s why I’m tipping off a series that looks at the best Atlanta Hawks of the past 25 seasons (dating back to the 2000-01 season).
The Hawks have had a topsy-turvy ride in the past 25 years with two Eastern Conference Finals appearances mixed in with a handful of clear, bottom up rebuilds.
My main
criteria: first, team success matters. Putting up empty stats on teams that were doomed from the start doesn’t hold as much weight as being an important cog on a winning team — especially one that goes deep into the playoffs. Second, accolades matter. The Hawks haven’t had an MVP player since Bob Pettit back in the St. Louis days, but there have been some other major award winners that has garnered national praise. Third, longevity in a Hawks uniform absolutely matters.
Fourth, I am the judge, jury, and executioner of this list. There were no panels. There was no vote tally. What I say goes, and my opinion is clearly the only correct one.
I apologize in advance to anyone’s favorite Atlanta cult favorites. I’m only looking at on court contributions here.
So let’s jump into things with a few players that juuuust missed out on the top 25 list of Hawks of the past 25 seasons.
Honorable mention 1: Al Harrington (2004-06)
Harrington spent two productive seasons in Atlanta after beginning his career with the Indiana Pacers. In those two seasons, he put up 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field and 38% from three. He was a skilled scoring forward that went out and absolutely got buckets for teams that needed the scoring punch. He later played a role on the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors who knocked off the one-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007.
However, his Hawks tenure was as a leading man for a two-season span that saw the franchise go a flaccid 39-125 (.238). So for me, Harrington falls into the category as an empty-stats scorer and tank commander for some seriously dysfunctional mid-2000s Hawks teams. And that qualifies as a miss for this top 25 list.
Honorable mention 2: Josh Childress (2004-08)
Josh Childress and his afro were instantly a fan favorite upon being drafted sixth overall in 2004. He was a standout at Stanford and was expected to help jumpstart the Hawks’ ascent back to relevancy. Eventually, he settled into a sixth man role as a bench wing to bring energy, scoring, and size on the perimeter as the Hawks went from laughingstock to feisty Eastern Conference 8-seed in 2008.
After averaging 11.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on glimmering shooting averages across his first four seasons, ’J-Chill’ took a completely unexpected route in turning down restricted free agency for then the most lucrative overseas contract in history with Greek basketball side Olympiacos. Losing a core piece — to a non-NBA team especially so — was a gut punch for a Hawks team that just broke through to the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.
Honorable mention 3: Kirk Hinrich (2011-12, 2016)
When you saw Captain Kirk and his goggles hit the court for the Hawks, you knew you were going to get a steady-handed point guard who was a sharpshooter on offense and worked tirelessly defending guards at the point of attack. Hinrich came over in 2011 in a trade with the Washington Wizards for a package centered around Mike Bibby and Jordan Crawford. He helped the Hawks upset the 4-seed Orlando Magic in 2011, but he was unable to suit up in the next series against the Chicago Bulls (something that opened up minutes for a future All-Star and podcaster who will appear later in this series).
Honorable mention 4: Dwight Howard (2016-17)
Dwight Howard was recently enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame — and deservingly so. At his peak, he was a frightening physical specimen, perennial Defensive Player of the Year, and borderline MVP candidate during his illustrious career with the Orlando Magic.
After missing out on their chance to land the southwest Atlanta native in free agency in 2013, the Hawks managed to secure his services in 2016 with a three-year, $70.5 million contract — still one of the richest contracts ever handed out in unrestricted free agency for the franchise. But his one season with the Hawks was a major disappointment from the team’s point of view after losing Al Horford in free agency to the Celtics. The Hawks slid to 43-39 and a first-round playoff exit, and Howard showed major signs of slowing down due to age and the accumulated injury toll.
So, after one season averaging 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, the Hawks pivoted to rebuilding by sending Howard to Charlotte in a salary dump trade. It was an unfortunate divorce for a player who seemed generally thrilled to be playing in front of his hometown fans.
Honorable mention 5: Danilo Gallinari (2020-22)
‘Il Gallo’ was signed in the 2020 offseason — along with Bogdan Bogdanovic, Rajon Rondo, and Kris Dunn — in an effort to jumpstart the Hawks post-COVID interruption and contend with Trae Young at the helm. The veteran had been a productive player for the Knicks, Nuggets, Clippers and others, and his size and shooting in a bench role aimed to open up space for Young to operate.
The forward did just that, shooting 39% from three on 4.7 attempts per contest in his two-season stint here, and he became absolutely vital to a team that made an exciting charge into the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
Ring of honor mention: Dikembe Mutombo
The late, great Mutombo is one of this franchise’s best men, both on and off the court. The defensive stud was a Hawk for 4.5 seasons (1996-2001), making the All-Star Game in all of those years in which it was held. His jersey number 55 is one of just five players’ numbers that have been retired by the franchise. And he was a titan in the field of humanitarian work all the way until his passing last year.
But for this exercise, he only counted for 0.5 of those seasons from 2000 until he was traded at the 2001 trade deadline to the Philadelphia 76ers — too short to be on the list but mention is warranted, nonetheless.
Honorable honorable mention: Rasheed Wallace
For one glorious February 2004 game in Atlanta, ‘Sheed put on a show, dropping 20 points, six rebounds, and five blocks in 42 minutes after a three-way trade between the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, and Hawks fell through. He was moved on to the Pistons in a reworked deal the following day, and there he formed a crucial part of a championship core.
On a per-game basis, he has to be one of the most productive players in franchise history. I see no reason not to hang the jersey in State Farm Arena.
