With the distinction of being the first player in history to win an Olympic Gold Medal, NCAA Championship, and an NBA Championship, Clyde Lovellette certainly brought a winning attitude to the St. Louis Hawks.  Lovellette may not have won a title in St. Louis, but the big man’s versatility and scoring touch were certainly welcome to the Hawks.  Only with St. Louis for four seasons, Lovellette would average over 20 Points per Game in three of them and average a double-double in two campaigns.  He would be selected for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

An All-Star for six of seven seasons as an Atlanta Hawk, Joe Johnson was the central star of the organization.  Signing on as a Free Agent, Johnson strung together five consecutive seasons scoring over 20 Points per Game with his sweet shooter's touch.  While he was not able to take Atlanta deep into the playoffs, he did lead them there multiple times.  At one time, Johnson was the highest-paid player in the NBA, and he is a former All-NBA Third Team Selection.

Although Bill Bridges was considered undersized for his position (he was only 6'6’), he was a tenacious rebounder, especially during his time with the Hawks.  Except for his first two seasons, the former Kansas Jayhawk would average a double-double, finishing in the top eight in Rebounds per Game six times as a Hawk.  The three-time All-Star would also be chosen for two Second Team Defensive squads.

Lenny Wilkens was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times: as a coach, as a player, and as a member of the 1992 United States Olympic Dream Team. 

One of the more physically imposing players of his day, Zelmos Beaty arrived as the third overall draft pick coming out of Prairie View A&M.  Beaty would use his size to average over 10 Rebounds per Game in six of his seven Atlanta seasons, and was also an adept scorer, exceeding 20 Points per Game three times.  He would represent the Hawks in the All-Star Game twice.

With a name like “Tree” Rollins, you expect that the man would be tall, right?  Yes, you would be right.

Foregoing college for the NBA Draft, Josh Smith brought instant excitement to the Atlanta Hawks.  He first garnered national attention as the winner of the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie, but the expert dunker proved to be a true savant as a blocker.  Notably, the youngest player to get to 500 Blocks, Smith would finish in the top five in Blocks four times while posting seven seasons scoring over 15 Points per Game.

Paul Millsap played four seasons for the Atlanta Hawks (2013-14 to 2016-17), and he went "four for four," meaning he was named an All-Star in each of those seasons.  While the Hawks were always a lower-end playoff team when he played there, he was successful in putting together good statistical seasons, as he never had a campaign for ATL where he dipped under 16 Points or 7 Rebounds per Season.  

It was also in Atlanta that he would collect his first individual statistical title, leading the Association in Defensive Win Shares with 6.0.  Millsap's run with the Hawks ended due to the team's restructuring, but there is no doubt he made his mark there, and his contributions should not be forgotten.

While Doc Rivers is far better known these days for his coaching work (he is a former Coach of the Year with an NBA Ring in Boston) there are many in the state of Georgia who will always remember him for his sweet passes to Dominique Wilkins.

Known for his strong defensive game, “Mr Rounds” Dan Roundfield brought a ton of “power” to the Power Forward position.  Roundfield came to Atlanta after a three-year run in Indiana and would reward the Hawks faithful with five Defensive Team Selections and three straight All-Star appearances.  In all but his final season with Atlanta, he averaged a season double-double; however, the one he missed was because he averaged only 9.9 Rebounds per Game.  Not too shabby for a Central Michigan Chippewa!

Far from a one-dimensional Center, Al Horford was the third overall draft pick in 2007 and paid early dividends for the Atlanta Hawks.  A runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors, Horford had two back-to-back All-Star runs (2010-11 & 2015-16) and never had a season where he fell below 10 Points per Game.  Horford would also post seasons with a PER above 20.

Mookie Blaylock was one of the best defensive Point Guards of all time.  Blaylock was an Atlanta Hawk for seven years, which was the best part of his career.  While in Atlanta, Blaylock would win the Steals Title twice and would make the All-Defensive Team six times.  Offensively, Blaylock would never fall below 13 Points per Game as a Hawk.

The owner of one of the sweetest jump shots of all time (hence the nickname of “Sweet Lou”), Lou Hudson went to six straight All-Star Games, coincidentally the first six seasons the team relocated to Atlanta.  Hudson would score over 20 Points per Game seven times, four of which would be higher than 25 Points.  While the Hawks never really went that deep into the playoffs while he was there, most of the success that Atlanta did have can be attributed to Lou Hudson.

Hudson's #23 was retired by the team in 1977, right after he retired.

Cliff Hagan entered the NBA later than he would have liked, as the former NCAA Champion with Kentucky served in the military for a few years; however, he would quickly make up for lost time.

Seriously, if this was specifically just for the accomplishments of the Hawks while in Atlanta, Dominique would have been a lock for the number one slot…though is being behind Bob Pettit an insult in any capacity?

While John Drew might be best known in the NBA for being the first recipient of a lifetime drug ban, many Hawks fans would prefer to remember him for his on-court talent as opposed to his off-court problems.

Bob Pettit played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Hawks, and each included a trip to the All-Star Game.

Pretty impressive, isn’t it?

The intention here at Notinhalloffame.com is to take a look at every franchise from the four main North American Sports and who the best fifty is for each team.  It will be a daunting task for sure, but it will also include a look at how each team handles retiring numbers, franchise hall of fames and other post career accolades.

As such, we here are Notinhalloffame.com are acknowledging the Atlanta Hawks’ decision to retire the number of Dikembe Mutombo, the finger wagging shot-blocker who just entered the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mutombo, who wore #55 throughout his entire professional career, was a Hawk for nearly five of his eighteen year career, earning All Star accolades in four of those seasons.  The African born player was named to two of his four NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards in Atlanta and also would be a two time Blocks Champion and two time Rebound Champion as a Hawk.

Overall as an Atlanta Hawk, Dikembe Mutombo had an 11.9 Points, 12.6 Rebounds and 3.2 Blocks per Game Average with an 18.9 PER.

We would like to congratulate Dikembe Mutombo on this latest accolade.

The grunge movement would not have been the same if Pearl Jam would have been able to call themselves what they wanted to; it would have been better.  Mookie Blaylock has such a nice ring to it for a Rock band don’t you think?  In regards to the man, Blaylock was quite the player.  One of the great shooting point guards ever, Mookie is top 50 in several NBA all time statistics.  He never really dominated the game but his consistency, ability to shoot and his great defense set him apart from most of the point guards of the 90’s.