Hawks Land No. 1 Pick For Second Time In Franchise History, First Since 1975

The Atlanta Hawks made it to the play-in tournament, making you think they’re maybe only a player or two away from the NBA playoffs.

Now, they will have tons of options after landing the No. 1 overall pick courtesy of the NBA Draft lottery on Sunday.

This marks the first and only time since 1975 that the Hawks own the top pick. Last time,l they chose David Thompson, who never played a game for the franchise, opting instead for the then-ABA’s Denver Nuggets.

This time, there are already rumors Atlanta will dangle the pick for some immediate help.

Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards, who finished with the NBA’s second-worst record to the Detroit Pistons, nabbed the No. 5 overall selection — while the poor Pistons dropped to No. 5.

🚨 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY ORDER 🚨 pic.twitter.com/nq0XpM5OI9

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 12, 2024

The Houston Rockets, who came within a stone’s throw of reaching the play-in tourney, will select No. 3 overall.

As for the Hawks, this is viewed as what could be another busy offseason, as trade rumors continue to swirl around guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray (especially Young).

There is a strong sense, however, that the Hawks will keep both and use the top pick to land a veteran, particularly a veteran.

One rival exec tells Hoops Wire he believes Hawks will keep Trae Young and Dejounte Murray and try to use pick as package for “really good” frontcourt player.

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) May 12, 2024

Anyway, back to Young. The Hawks do seem up in the air on his future with the franchise.

“Trae is the ultimate competitor, he really is,” GM Landry Fields said after the season, via Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Without a doubt, I know he wants to win. And you know, it never comes down to just one guy. Because as great as Trae is, he is a fantastic basketball player All-Star-caliber player. He knows and we know that it’s going to take more than one.

“So we’ll look at this roster and continuously build out because we all want the same thing at the end of the day. We want to win.”