Atlanta Hawks: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

9. John Collins dazzles with dunks at Rising Stars Challenge

The Hawks selected power forward John Collins 19th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Collins displayed elite athleticism and solid post presence in his two seasons at Wake Forest. With his tools, it’s fair to expect big things from him down the line.

This season, however, Collins kicked off his career on a more modest note. He played 53 games entering the All-Star break, but had only started five. Instead, Budenholzer opted to start veteran Ersan Ilyasova at the 4 over him. Collins was averaging 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game at the break.

Those numbers were still good enough to get Collins in the Rising Stars Challenge. He earned the starting center spot for Team USA and played 22 minutes. He picked up 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and a block in that span. Collins also went 5-for-8 from the field, with all eight of his attempts being dunks.

The exclamation point came in the closing moments of the game – a 155-124 victory for Team World. Collins reached into the stratosphere to bring down a no-look, over-the-shoulder alley-oop pass from eventual dunk contest champion Donovan Mitchell. With displays like what he put on that night, it’s hard to believe John Collins will be kept out of the Slam Dunk Contest for much longer.