NBA
Greatest Player On Each Franchise – Atlanta Hawks
I will be doing a series of each franchise greatest player, The first one is for the Atlanta Hawks. Two names come to mind when discussing the greatest Hawk. Dominique Wilkins and Bob Pettit. Pettit definitely has a case but Wilkins is the greatest Hawk player of all time.
Career Averages
24.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Wilkins is the Hawks leader in games played, minutes played, field goals made, points, points per game, Offensive box plus/minus, Value over replacement player and a few other records. In brief the human highlight film gave the Atlanta fans a show almost every night with his leaping ability. He was great at getting to the rim, had a good spin move and could hit the mid range regardless of who was in front of him.
Accolades
- 9× NBA All Star (86-94)
- All NBA First Team (86)
- 4x All NBA First Team (87,88,91, 93)
- 2× All NBA Third Team (89,94)
- All NBA Rookie First Team (83)
- Scoring Champion (86)
- 2× Slam dunk champion (85,90)
Playoff Averages
25.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG
One of Dominique notable performances came in game 7 vs Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in 1988 semifinals. Wilkins came out on fire in the first half scoring 22 points. Being down just two to start the 4th quarter, Larry Bird started to pick up. Hitting shot after shot after shot. On the other hand after a back and forth duel between Bird and Wilkins, even though the human highlight film finished with 47 points in the lost he had a remarkable game to those who witnessed it live.
Why he is the greatest Atlanta hawk
In spite of not getting too far in the playoffs, Wilkins was a great individual player and carried his teammates as far as he could with his offensive talent. Now as far as Petitt having a case, to point out Bob was a great scorer as well, averaging 26.4 points per game for his career along with 16.2 rebounds per game. He also led the Hawks to their first title in the 58′ season. But no matter how you look at it, Pettit never faced the type of competition Wilkins faced and for the reason Pettit is not the greatest Hawk of all-time.
In conclusion comparatively Wilkins is the greatest Hawk of all-time.
