Atlanta Hawks: Best Draft Picks Of The Last 20 Years

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Jun 5, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw (33) reacts to a call during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in game one of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

Boris Diaw was far from the most successful Hawk. He only spent two years in Atlanta, after being drafted with the 21st pick of the 2003 draft, before being moved elsewhere. Looking at the rest of Diaw’s career now, it’s fair to say that his inability to fit in Atlanta might have been down to the team’s playing style at the time.

Diaw is an incredibly skilled player, who can shoot and rebound like you’d expect from a forward, but he’s also a talented passer. The fact that Diaw thrived on Mike D’Antoni‘s Suns team and Popovich’s Spurs says a lot about Diaw’s offensive skill set and unselfish play.

With Diaw coming off an outstanding Finals performance, it’s hard not to recognize that this was a shrewd pick, even if not a match for the Hawks at that time. Ironically, if Diaw was to find himself in Atlanta again, he’d likely thrive in the Hawks system now.

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