NBA: 50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame

50 greatest players who aren’t in the Basketball Hall of Fame: 18. Lou Hudson

It’s impossible to explore the history of Atlanta Hawks basketball—or St. Louis, for that matter—without seeing Lou Hudson’s name come up. He spent 11 seasons with the Hawks and 13 years in the NBA, earning various accolades and having his No. 23 jersey retired for his efforts.

Hudson arrived shortly after the championship season that was led by Bob Pettit, but he deserves all of the praise possible for keeping the Hawks relevant throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

Hudson was a prolific scorer, as evidenced by his career average of 20.2 points per game and his 17,940 total points scored. He ranks third in Hawks history in scoring, trailing only Dominique Wilkins and Pettit—both of whom are in the Hall of Fame.

He did this before the three-point shot existed, which is a shame due to the skill level he possessed as a jump shooter.

Nevertheless, Hudson averaged upwards of 25 points per game in four different seasons. He even marks of 25.2 points on 49.7 percent shooting between 1968 and 1974. That helped him make Hudson six All-Star Game appearances and an All-NBA team.

More importantly, it helped the Hawks make the Playoffs in every season between 1966-67 and 1972-73. Not only did he help the franchise survive, but thrive during the post-Pettit era.

That includes 1969, when Hudson scored 27 points to close out the San Diego Rockets and send the Hawks to the Western Division Finals—the equivalent of the Conference Finals during that time.

As far as his place in history as a scorer, Hudson’s 23 40-point games land him in the top-50 all-time.

Hudson was a tremendous scorer who holds a special place in the history of a franchise that was founded in 1946.