Atlanta Hawks Top 20 All-Time Player Rankings: Top 5 (2024)

After a long delay, I have saved the best of the franchise Atlanta Hawks best all time players for last.

These five players have etched their mark in to Atlanta Hawks history as they will forever be remembered as an outline for future success and how to play the right way.

Without further delay, I bring you the top five players of all time for the Atlanta Hawks franchise.

The Hawks' fifth leading scorer of all time, John Drew was a swing man for the team from 1974 to 1982. Before the 1982-83 season, the Hawks traded Drew to the Utah Jazz in the trade that brought them then-rookie Dominique Wilkins.

John Drew was a two time all-star who had a great start to his career, amassing five seasons of 20 points per game.

Drew had many Drug related issues while in the NBA, in 1986 after many relapses and warnings, Drew became the first player in history of the NBA to be banned from the league.

As of 2002, he has kicked his drug habit and is driving cabs in Houston Texas.

Small forward Cliff Hagan was a six-time NBA All-Star, a forerunner of the hook shot, and one of the Atlanta Hawks' all-time leading scorers. Hagan averaged 18 points per game in 11 full seasons with the franchise from 1956 to 1966.

In Hagan’s breakout second season, he averaged a double-double with 20 points per game as the Hawks won their only championship in their 61-year history..

Lou Hudson was a great scorer for the Atlanta Hawks franchise from 1966 to 1977. Hudson posted scoring averages over 25 points per game in three seasons with Atlanta, boasting an 11-year average of 22 per game as a Hawk. “Sweet Lou” had a shooting touch that was ahead of his time and he regularly found himself ranking among the league leaders in field goal percentage

Bob Pettit spent his entire career with the Hawks while they were still playing in Milwaukee and then St. Louis. He was a two-time NBA MVP and remains one of the game’s best rate scorers to ever play. Bob Pettit posted a career scoring average of 26.4 points per game, currently the seventh highest career average in NBA history. He carried the Hawks to their 1958 NBA Championship.

Pettit was an NBA All-Star in each of his 11 seasons, was named to the All-NBA First Team ten times, and was name to the All-NBA Second Team once. Pettit still holds the top two NBA All-Star Game rebounding performances with 26 in 1958 and 27 in 1962, and has the second highest All-Star Game points per game average with 20.4.

Dominique is the Atlanta Hawks' all-time leading scorer, Nicknamed the “Human Highlight Film,” for his amazing athletic prowess and showmanship.

Wilkins was the Hawks’ franchise player of the 1980s and the early 1990s, displaying a brand of athleticism that made him a virtually unstoppable scorer. In a Hawks’ uniform, Wilkins averaged 26.4 points per game in 12 years. His highest scoring season came in 1986 as he poured in a league-leading 30.3 points per game. Dominique Wilkins was a nine-time All-Star, a slam dunk champion and the greatest scorer in Atlanta Hawks history.

He retired in 1999 and is now an NBA announcer for Hawks games on Sports South.