Sports have always played a crucial role in my life. Many of my earliest memories are of going to Turner Field with my parents to watch Chipper Jones and the Braves, or heading down to the old Georgia Dome to witness my favorite athlete, Matt Ryan, put off Hall of Fame performances every week with absolutely no help from his defense. I can attribute more of my friendships than I’d like to admit to my fandom of the Hawks and my rabid obsession with soccer leagues around the globe.
Throughout high school, I wrote for numerous Atlanta sports blogs about all of Atlanta’s teams and beyond. Below, I have compiled some of my favorite articles from my time as an Atlanta sports beat writer.
In a month, the Hawks will be drafting in the lottery for the first time since 2007. Mike Budenholzer is gone and GM Travis Schlenk is going all in on the rebuild. With all of this happening, it’s crazy to think that just 3 seasons ago the Hawks were the best team in the east. The team that was called the “Spurs of the East,” that won 60 games went 17-0 in a month, and had four all-stars, took years to create. This is the story of how the 60-win Hawks were built and all too quickly destroyed.
The Rise
2007:
The Hawks drafted Florida center Al Horford with the 3rd overall pick. They snuck into the playoffs as the 8th seed and shocked the world by forcing the powerhouse Celtics to a game 7. This was the series that Zaza Pachulia made his famous “NOTHING EASY!” speech. Al Horford earned an all-star selection in his third season and would make three more before his time in Atlanta was done. Many would argue that he was the most important player on that 60-win team. Hawks fans didn’t know it then, but this 2007/2008 season marked the beginning of the most successful run in the team’s history.
2009:
With the 19th pick in this draft, the Hawks took Jeff Teague, a raw, athletic point guard from Wake Forest. Before long, Teague took over the starting job and quickly became one of the most dangerous point guards in the league. He always brought the energy and established himself as a consistent scorer and a good team player. This season, The Hawks finished with the 6th best record in the NBA and earned themselves the #3 seed. They lost in the second round to Dwight Howard’s Magic, but nonetheless, It was their best finish since 1997.
2012:
To start the summer off, longtime Hawk Joe Johnson was traded to the Nets for a handful of players and the draft pick that was later used to select Dennis Schroder. 5 days later, on July 16, the Bulls traded Kyle Korver to the Atlanta Hawks for cash considerations. Korver immediately came in and made an impact as he averaged over 10 points per game and finished the season with the second highest 3-point percentage in the NBA. He also began his streak of 127 straight games with a 3-pointer made, the longest such streak in history (later broken by Steph Curry). As a Hawk, Korver led the NBA in 3-point percentage twice and came dangerously close to completing the first ever 50-50-90 season in NBA history. Mike Scott was also added to the roster and he proved to be a key piece of the team.
2013:
This is the year when all the pieces fell into place for Atlanta. Mike Budenholzer, a long time Spurs assistant coach under Greg Popovich, took the job as the head coach of the Hawks. Weeks later, the Hawks drafted teenage point guard Dennis Schroder and Bucknell center Mike Muscala. Schroder quickly became a viable backup option for Jeff Teague while Muscala proved his worth as a smart, capable big man off the bench. On July 10th, two franchise-altering deals took place. Josh Smith, the Atlanta native who had spent 9 seasons with the Hawks, signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons. On the same day, the Hawks brought in free agent Paul Millsap from the Utah Jazz. Millsap had proven himself to be a very good player, averaging double-figures in his last five seasons in Utah, but it wasn’t until he came to Atlanta that Millsap became a star. He was an all-star in each of the four years he was in Atlanta, and his hard work and overall great game quickly put him in the ranks of the best Hawks players of all time. The Hawks also brought in small forward Demarre Carroll. While it was a move that made little noise at the time, Carroll ended up being an integral part of that historical 2014/15 team. Also joining the squad were Pero Antic, Elton Brand, and Shelvin Mack.
The Hawks made the playoffs as the 8th seed and went up 3-2 against the Pacers but eventually fell in 7 games. Despite the loss, that series did mark the beginning of a new era in Hawks basketball. This team looked dangerous, and they were hungry to win. The team resurrected the pacman logo from the Dominique Wilkins era. This homage to the glory days of Hawks basketball was a sign of things to come.
The Summit
2014/15:
In the offseason of 2014, Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore were the final two pieces added to the puzzle. The Hawks started the season off slow with a 1-3 record, and the rest is history. From there, they went on an absolute tear, losing just five games between November and February. This, of course, included the January which saw the Hawks go 17-0, making history as the first team to ever go 17-0 in a month. All five Hawks starters, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Demarre Carroll, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford, were named co-players of the month. Four Hawks were selected to the all-star game, Mike Budenholzer won coach of the year, and the Hawks finished the season at the top of the Eastern conference with their first 60-win season in franchise history.
Atlanta defeated Brooklyn in the first round, then beat Washington in the second round on a handful of memorable plays. Al Horford scored the game-winner in game five to give the Hawks a 3-2 series lead. Then in game six, Paul Pierce hit what would have been the game-tying shot, but the ball left his hand just fractions of a second after the buzzer. The Hawks had finally done it, they were going to the teams first ever Eastern conference finals. The eastern conference finals ended up being a disappointing sweep at the hands of LeBron James and the Cavaliers. It especially hurt because Hawks fans all knew that things would never be the same.
The Fall
2015/16: After a breakout season, Demarre Carroll received a big contract from the Raptors that the Hawks decided not to match. Carroll was the glue guy for this team. He wasn’t great at any one thing, but he didn’t really have a weakness in his game either. On defense, he could guard the best players in the league, and on offense, he could make plays when the starters were struggling. In the end, matching is massive contract wouldn’t have been worth it, but it was still a struggle to replace Carroll. Role players Shelvin Mack and Pero Antic also left. Mack’s absence wasn’t missed too sorely, as it gave young Dennis Schroder a more expanded role, but Pero’s absence did affect the team. As a shooting big man, Antic spaced the floor well for coach Bud, and without him, the teams shooting percentages decreased. The Hawks added the streaky Tim Hardaway Jr. from New York. It wasn’t a bad season for the Hawks, but the magic of the year previous wasn’t there. They finished with a 48-34 record and beat the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs before getting swept by the Cavaliers again.
2016/17:
By the end of the 2015/16 playoffs, Budenholzer was routinely going with Dennis Schroder instead of Jeff Teague in the biggest moments. Over the summer, the Hawks went all in on Schroder when they traded Teague for the 12th pick in the upcoming draft. Jeff Teague spent seven seasons in Atlanta where he made the playoffs in every single one. He left the Hawks with the 5th most assists and 7th most steals in franchise history. The Hawks drafted Taurean Prince with the pick they received in the trade, and two seasons into his career, it is looking like a good deal. Nevertheless, it was tough to see one of this team’s best leaders leave. A little later in the summer, the Hawks made the massive decision to part ways with Al Horford and instead sign Atlanta native Dwight Howard. Al Horford’s legacy in Atlanta is undeniable. As soon as he got here, the Hawks started making the playoffs, and they didn’t stop making it for the rest of his nine seasons in Atlanta. He is ranked 8th all-time in rebounds, 6th in blocks, 5th in win shares and plus/minus, and 2nd in shooting percentage. He appeared in four all-star games and was on the 2010-11 all NBA team. Horford is one of the best Hawks ever and like every other guy on that roster, the 60-win season wouldn’t have happened without him.
With Dwight Howard at center and Dennis Schroder at point guard, the Hawks finished 5th in the east with a 43-39 record. They bowed out to the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. By the end of the year, the issues with the Hawks were glaring. With a new GM, changes were bound to happen.
2017/18:
After just one season in Atlanta, Dwight Howard was traded to Charlotte for next to nothing. Later in the summer, the anchorman Paul Millsap signed a massive contract with the Nuggets that the Hawks were not going to match. Millsap was the final starter from that 2014 team and just like that, he was gone. He was only here for four years, but Millsaps impact was powerful. He was an all-star in each of his four seasons in Atlanta, and for good reason. He is one of the best defensive players in the league, and he is an incredibly consistent scorer. Millsap’s quiet work ethic was an integral part of the 2014 Hawks. Thabo Sefolosha signed with the Utah Jazz after three seasons with the Hawks. Tim Hardaway Jr received a big contract offer from the Knicks, his former team, that the Hawks were not willing to match. Hardaway became the next guy on an increasingly long list of players to come to the Hawks with very little recognition and work their way to a star-caliber contract. Carroll, Millsap, and Baze all did it, and Hardaway was just the next one up.
The end of an era
This is where this chapter of Hawks history comes to an end. Only Dennis Schroder, Mike Muscala, and Kent Bazemore remain from that incredible season. Mike Budenholzer has left Atlanta to coach a more competitive team. Coming off of a terrible season, it’s hard to imagine that the Hawks were so successful just a handful of seasons ago, but they were. For a brief moment in basketball history, the Atlanta Hawks were the best team in the NBA. They played as a team, they broke records, they put the NBA on notice. The best month in NBA history doesn’t belong to Michael Jordan or LeBron James. It belongs to Jeff Teague, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, and Kyle Korver.
For many crazed and casual sports fans, March Madness is the most compelling sporting event of the year: watching lots of great games, chasing that elusive, yet seemingly attainable perfect bracket, and rooting for Cinderella teams despite them busting our well-thought-out brackets. There are only so many ways to fill out a bracket; you can go with the picking-the-best-logo or the classic only-pick-the-highest-seed bracket. I started thinking about other ways to create a bracket, and I came up with this: what if every team had their five all-time best players, in their NBA primes, competing in the greatest basketball tournament of all time? Here’s what would happen.
Listed below are the rosters for all 32 teams who made it to the second round of the tournament. Keep in mind that every roster is constructed of past or present NBA players who went to the schools represented in this year’s NCAA tournament. This has nothing to do with the current college teams, and players on the active rosters won’t be included on the teams. Sorry Trae Young, Oklahoma could have really used you.
The bracket with the final results is at the bottom of the article.
Round of 32
I’m not going to go into detail for the round of 64 games. The majority of the matchups feature a team with less than five NBA players, and just about every game would end in a total blowout. However, the round of 32 has a bit more excitement with a few big matchups.
Arizona vs Kentucky
This is one of the absolute best matchups in the tournament, and it only took one round to get here. The guard matchup features some absolutely electrifying guards. Bibby and Wall are excellent passers, and Arenas and Booker are two of smoothest scorers ever. The big discrepancy in this matchup really comes at the forward/center positions. Arizona doesn’t have a true center, and Kentucky has three guys that can all play center or PF at a hall of fame level. Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins are big mismatches for anyone that matches up against them, and Dan Issel can also handle anyone on this team. It’ll certainly be a high scoring game but in the end, Kentucky is just too talented for Arizona.
WINNER: KENTUCKY
Michigan vs Houston
Chris Webber and Jamal Crawford lead a high scoring, fast-paced Michigan offense that would be very tough to beat. Unfortunately for them, they run into an absolute juggernaut in Houston. Hakeem Olajuwon, arguably the best center ever, is the star of this powerful lineup that gets it done on both ends of the floor. Elvin Hayes is another great player on both ends, and Clyde Drexler is almost a guarantee for 20+ points every game. Michigan puts up a good fight, but Houston gets the win.
WINNER: HOUSTON
Round of 32 matchups
Winners in bold
UVA vs Kansas State Tennessee vs Miami Cincinnati vs Texas Xavier vs Florida State Gonzaga vs OSU
Michigan vs Houston UNC vs Providence Villanova vs Alabama West Virginia vs Marshall
Texas Tech vs UCLA Purdue vs Arkansas Kansas vs NC State Auburn vs Clemson
Michigan State vs Syracuse Duke vs Oklahoma Arizona vs Kentucky Michigan vs Houston
Sweet 16
UNC vs Houston
Looking at the field of true contenders, Houston definitely has the toughest road to the final four; They face a really good Michigan team in the round of 32, then an even better North Carolina team in the sweet 16. This time around, however, the Cougars won’t come out on top. Michael Jordan is playing point guard for this UNC team, and that’s basically all you need to know. Not to mention his backcourt partners are Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, with hall of famers Bob Mcadoo and Billy Cunningham as the big men. This game is all about the Tar Heels.
WINNER: UNC
Duke vs Michigan State
Kyrie Irving vs Magic Johnson. The best ball handler of all time vs the best point guard of all time. This is one of the premier matchups in the tournament between two individual players. Unfortunately for Magic, Kyrie is surrounded by far more talent. Carlos Boozer is a bruising, hardworking power forward that is also capable of scoring 20 points per game, and Elton Brand is much of the same. Grant Hill and Jeff Mullins provide excellent play at the wings on offense and defense. Overall, this Duke team is too talented from top to bottom to lose to Magic Johnson and Michigan State.
WINNER: DUKE
Sweet Sixteen Matchups
Winners in bold
Kentucky vs Kansas State Tennessee vs Texas Ohio State vs Florida State North Carolina vs Houston
West Virginia vs Alabama UCLA vs Arkansas Kansas vs Auburn Duke vs Michigan State
Elite 8
Kentucky vs Texas
Once again Kentucky finds themselves in a matchup that’s must-see TV. Kevin Durant leads a Texas side that is one of the most complete in the field. Myles Turner is a young center who has shown great talent at both ends of the floor, LaMarcus Aldridge is a smart center with an unstoppable turnaround jumper, Avery Bradley is one of the best defenders in the NBA, and Kevin Durant may be the most lethal scorer in NBA history. With this Kentucky team, we could be watching five hall of famers. Dan Issel, considered by many to be the greatest Kentucky product ever, is the only one already there. John Wall, one of the fastest players in the league, is one of the few elite players to average at least 20 points and 10 assists in a season. Anthony Davis is a lock for the hall of fame, having already accomplished so much as a player at just 25 years old. Demarcus Cousins is as good of a scorer at the center position as we’ve seen. He can shoot and he’s a beast in the paint. Finally, Devin Booker is just 21 years and already plays like a star. He’s averaging well over 20 ppg, he once scored 70 points in a game, and he now holds the record for most points in a round in the 3-pt contest. Texas has its pride, but at the end of the day, Kentucky gets the win.
WINNER: KENTUCKY
North Carolina vs Ohio State
John Havlicek and Mike Conley lead a smart, efficient, scrappy Ohio State team. Their unselfish basketball got them past tough Gonzaga and Florida State teams. Enter a UNC juggernaut with four hall of famers led by none other than Michael Jordan. Ohio State would have to play the best game of their careers, and then some, to beat UNC. North Carolina wins a close one and represents the West region in the Final Four.
WINNER: UNC
West Virginia vs UCLA
Jerry West has carried this team of average to below average role players all the way to the elite 8 through what was by far the easiest path for any team. Their first real test comes against this ridiculously talented UCLA squad. Led by triple-double machine Russell Westbrook and the NBA’s all time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Bruins will continue cruising through the East, beating the Mountaineers on their way to the Final Four.
WINNER: UCLA
Kansas vs Duke
What an intriguing matchup between two of the most storied programs in NCAA history. In this game, Kansas has an undeniable advantage in the frontcourt. Joel Embiid is a freakishly athletic 7-footer with a great shot and very advanced post moves. Duke’s Carlos Boozer is as tough a player as you’ll find, but he’s a head shorter than Embiid and no match for the Cameroonian star. The same can be said for Elton Brand matching up against Kansas’s Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain is 7’1”, meaning he towers over everyone else in this game. The backcourts are pretty evenly matched, but size difference down low makes all the difference for Kansas.
WINNER: KANSAS
Elite 8 results
Winner in bold
Kentucky vs Texas North Carolina vs Ohio State West Virginia vs UCLA Kansas vs Duke
Final Four
UNC vs Kentucky
No game in the tournament has as many present and future hall of famers as this one. There are four currently inducted and we could see as many as nine when it’s all said and done. the best player on the court in Michael Jordan, but from top to bottom, Kentucky is more talented. The biggest problem for Kentucky is that most of their players haven’t hit their prime yet. Anthony Davis and Devin Booker are both putting up ridiculous numbers, but they’re still years away from their best basketball and John Wall and Demarcus Cousins are just getting to their best years. We have yet to see what this group can really do. On the other hand, UNC is comprised of four retirees and one Vince Carter, a guy who’s still throwing down highlight reel dunks at the age of 41. Michael Jordan’s squad of hall of famers in their prime is just too good for this young Kentucky team to overcome. If this bracket were to be recreated in a decade, the results might be different, but for now, North Carolina gets the win.
WINNER: UNC
Kansas vs UCLA
Wilt Chamberlain, the sole member of the 100-point-game club, versus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the only player ever with over 38,000 career points. Two of the most recognizable names in sports history face off in this classic battle of old legends and new stars. This UCLA team is, in one word, electrifying. At guard, the nuclear athleticism of Russell Westbrook is paired up with the trash talking, clutch shot making, Spike Lee silencing, Reggie Miller. at small forward, Marques Johnson averaged 20 points per game in his career. Then in the frontcourt are Kevin Love and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Love is a double-double machine, once having averaged 15 rebounds per game, an impressive feat for a 6-10 power forward. He is also a deadly shooter and can get red hot at any time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the highest scorer in NBA history; his patented skyhook is an unstoppable force in the post. Kansas’s guard duo of Jo-Jo White and Andrew Wiggins is their great weakness in this matchup. Joel Embiid, Wilt Chamberlain, and Paul Pierce are all capable of matching up against the UCLA big men. However, Russell Westbrook and Reggie Miller will be able to dictate the action in the backcourt. It’ll be a great game, but UCLA are moving on to face UNC in the championship.
WINNER: UCLA
Final Four results
Kansas vs UCLA UNC vs Kentucky
National Championship
UNC vs UCLA
We finally made it. UCLA, the school with the most championships of all time (11), and North Carolina with the 3rd most (6), battle in what will go down as the greatest game in basketball history. Here are the lineups for one last examination.
UNC:
G: Michael Jordan
G/F: Vince Carter
F: Antawn Jamison
F: Billy Cunningham
C: Bob Mcadoo
UCLA:
PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Reggie Miller
F: Marques Johnson
PF: Kevin Love
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
There are a few guys on these rosters that could be different. For UNC, Antawn Jamison just beat out James Worthy, a player who won a lot more accolades in his career than Jamison. However, Jamison scored more points per game, grabbed more rebounds, had a higher player efficiency rating and recorded more win shares over his career. On UCLA, Marques Johnson and Kevin Love are both guys that just made it into this tournament. Johnson is probably the least notable player in this matchup, but the numbers don’t lie. In a career cut short by injury, Johnson averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, and almost 4 assists per game. He was an efficient scorer and an all-around great player. The other point of contention on this team is Kevin Love. He gets a lot of criticism in Cleveland for a number of reasons, but let’s not forget what a dominant force he was earlier in his career for the Timberwolves. He was a double-double machine, putting up video game numbers in the rebounding and scoring columns on a nightly basis. Since getting to Cleveland, he has really shined as a knockdown 3-point shooter. He once scored 34 points in a quarter, the second most anyone has ever scored in a single quarter. On this team, his role would be more of a paint presence like in years past, but if he’s feeling it, the 3-pointer becomes automatic for Love.
All that aside, there is still a clear winner here. UNC has a combined 9 championships, 7 MVP’s, and 34 all-star appearances. This team exudes greatness. Abdul-Jabbar is the best center in the game, but Bob Mcadoo and Billy Cunningham have plenty of talent to compete with him. No one can match up against Jordan when he’s on offense, and defensively he’ll get steal after steal against turnover-prone Russell Westbrook. It was a game for the ages, but in the end, it’s Michael Jordan and the Tar Heels cutting down the nets.
