Atlanta Hawks: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

The second season of the Atlanta Hawks rebuild has gone about as expected for a young team. What were some of the team’s biggest moments of 2018-19?

No one expected this year’s version of the Atlanta Hawks to be a playoff contender as general manager Travis Schlenk entered his second season of a massive rebuild. In fact, many expected a worse season than 2017-18 after the Hawks drafted a rookie point guard and decided to give him the reins to the team from the outset.

There were definitely some bumps in the road for the Hawks, but they finished the season with 29 wins, five more wins than the 2017-18 team that finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. This year, three other teams had a worse record in the East.

The Atlanta Hawks were able to see improvement as the season continued. They started the year with a 5-18 record through November, but were competitive throughout the rest of the season, finishing the 2018 calendar year with a 6-7 record. January and February saw the team reach five wins each month and they finished March with a 7-8 record.

This year’s Hawks had to deal with injuries to John Collins and their other rookies, but they also benefited from the leadership of Jeremy Lin and Vince Carter. Lin was traded before the deadline and Vince Carter still found ways to amaze on the court at age 42.

With the season ending on some hopeful notes, including wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks late in the season, let’s take a look at some of the 10 biggest moments of the 2018-19 season.

Honorable Mentions:

• Vince Carter spin cycle and dunk against the Raptors (Feb. 7, 2019)
• Vince Carter driving down the lane and slamming it home against the Bulls (March 1, 2019)