Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Atlanta Hawks: The entire 2014-15 team

Yes, it may seem a bit lazy to put an entire team here, but bear with me for a second.

Going into the 2014-15 season, many fans and analysts assumed that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers would run away with the Eastern Conference. Nobody saw the Atlanta Hawks coming.

And why should anyone have seen it? Go to Basketball Reference and look up that 2014-15 Hawks roster. It’s still astonishing that the same players who were by-and-large at the forefront of the hamster wheel of mediocrity the franchise had been stuck on for the previous seven seasons put together the season that they did.

What season, you ask? Well, despite playing in the same conference with a team led by James, the Hawks finished the 2014-15 campaign with a franchise-best 62-20 record. This netted Atlanta the top seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs that year.

Despite not having a single player average more than 16.7 points per game, head coach Mike Budenholzer played to the strengths of his roster and implemented a more egalitarian, San Antonio Spurs-esque offense. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since Budenholzer served as Gregg Popovich’s top assistant prior to coming to Atlanta.

The strategy proved fruitful, as the Hawks finished that year sixth in offensive rating, fifth in 3-point makes, seventh in 3-point attempts and second in 3-point field goal percentage. They also sent four players to the NBA All-Star Game that year in the form of Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague.

Of course, the Hawks learned how important having superstars on your team was when the James, Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers swept them in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. But it will be hard to forget this special group that exceeded everyone’s expectations.