The Atlanta Hawks have been around the longest among their fellow atlantic division foes. The Hawks began playing basketball in 1946 as the Buffalo (NY) Bisons, then in 1953, the Hawks relocated to the Milwaukee, Wis. they then moved again to St. Louis, Mo. in 1955 before finally landing in Atlanta, Ga in 1968. The Hawks have had a history of great players.
The best center in Hawks franchise history was Walt Bellamy. Many fans would point out Dikembe Mutombo, don't worry Mutombo will be included on the Denver Nuggets list of stars. By the time, Mutombo came to the Hawks, he was just a defensive enforcer. When you think of Ballamy think Dwight Howard, in terms of stats, Ballamy averaged around 20 points per game and 14 rebounds per game, unfortunately the NBA did the record blocks until the end of his career. Howard averages 18 points and 14 rebounds per game, respectively. Ballamy is still the Hawks franchise leader in total rebounds and is No. 9 in NBA history for rebounds.
The best player and power-forward in franchise history was Bob Petit. Petit is considered to have changed power-forward position and was elected to the All-Star team ever single season he played. Generally considered to be the No. 3 big men in the league behind Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Petit averaged 26 points and 16 rebounds per game during his 11 year career. Petit led the Hawks to their only NBA title in 1958.
The best small-forward in Hawks history was Dominique Wilkins. While Petit was the best player in franchise history, Wilkins was the most popular player in franchise history. Wilkins is most well-known for defeating Michael Jordan in the 1985 slam dunk contest. Wilkins was an electrifying player who could get to the rim with ease and was always among the league leaders in points scored per game, winning the scoring title in 1986. The only thing that held Wilkins back from being the franchise's best player was the fact he was unable to win an NBA title, while Petit was able to overcome the franchise's hurdle. Unfortunately, Wilkins' brilliance was overshadowed by the Jordan era.
The best shooting-guard in Hawks history was Pete "Pistol" Maravich. Maravich took the league by storm when he entered the NBA in 1970, he introduced moves like the "behind-the-back" pass and "between-the-legs" dribble. Pistol Pete was the 1970s version of Steve Nash, making passes that that were unbelievable and combined the great ball handling with an outstanding jump shot. Marivich averaged 25 points per game and just over 5 assists per game, at a time when assists were hard to come by. Maravich was unable to win a title in Atlanta, but was able to secure the elusive title when he was signed by the Boston Celtics.
The best point-guard in Hawks history was Lenny Wilkins. Wilkins is the only person NBA history to be inducted into the NBA hall of fame as a player and as a coach, both of which he accomplished as a member of the Hawks. Wilkins averaged 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds per game, the most impressive being the rebounding numbers for a 6-1 point-guard. He also finished second in MVP balloting to Chamberlain for the 1968 season.
The next historic lineup I will look at is the Miami Heat. The Heat entered the NBA one year before the Magic in 1988 and made their first playoff berth in 1992.
The best center in Heat history was Alonzo Mourning. Mourning is the best player in Heat history, as he is the franchise leader in points, rebounds and blocks. When Mourning joined the Heat 1995, he turned the franchise from a 7-8 seed in the playoffs to a title contender. Mourning left the Heat in 2003, only to return in 2004, he was able to make. Mourning continued playing despite having one of his kidneys removed and is still a force in Heat community
The power-forward position is the weakest position in Heat history, but the best power-forward was Brian Grant. Grant's best season with the Heat was in 2000, the first year Grant was with the team, he averaged 15 points and nine rebounds. His biggest contribution for the Heat was as a rebounder, Grant could be counted on to grab eight to 10 rebounds per game.
The best small-foward in Heat history was Jamal Mashburn. Early on in Mashburn's career, he was an outstanding scorer averaging more than 20 points per game. When Mashburn was traded to Miami to Dallas his role diminished as he became the third option behind Mourning and Tim Armstrong. Mashburn was still capable of generating huge scoring numbers on any given night, but he was not a good defender, passer or rebounder. Later in his career, he struggled with injuries that severely limited his mobility.
The best shooting-guard in Heat history was Eddie Jones. Jones did was a very solid all-around player for the Heat, who played during the rebuilding stages of the Heat. He was a dependable shooter averaging around 18 points a game and an outstanding on-ball defender, who gave maximum energy. Jones' career would end with the Dallas Mavericks in 2008, but what Jones is most famous for is getting traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the then Charlotte Hornets for rookie Kobe Bryant.
The best point-guard in Heat history was Tim Hardaway. Hardaway was one of the best point-guards in the league during his Golden State Warriors and Heat day. He averaged 18 points and eight assists per game for his career and created scoring opportunities for himself and teammates with one of the best crossover dribbles in the NBA. His career would end in 2003 with the Indiana Pacers.
Doing the podcast was pretty easy, my group consisted of myself (Chris Lee), Marisa Gottesman, Rebecca Timmons and Tyler Parks. To record and edit the podcast we used audacity. All of our laptops have built in microphones, so we didn't need to use any additional audio recorders. Tyler edited the podcast since he had the most experience with audacity. Our podcast is called the Weekly Sports Scene and will contain information on the biggest sporting events. For our first podcast we focused on the Super Bowl, in particular super bowl myths, predictions, former Florida Gators who have played in previous Super Bowls and former Gators who are played in this year's Super Bowl. The song used in the opening was "Dreams" by RO-M and our tagline is "An Orange-and-Blue-Flavored Take on the Biggest Stories in Sports".
Over the next fourteen weeks, I will be breaking down a team in each post and will be looking at the best players by position in that franchise's history until we get through the NBA. In order to be eligible, the players will have to be retired, so for example, when I get to the Cleveland Cavaliers Lebron James will not be on the roster. Which also means some current teams may not be in the rankings, most notably the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The first team I will look at is the Orlando Magic.
The best point-guard for the Orlando Magic was Penny Hardaway. Today most people compare Lebron James to Magic Johnson. However, the closest a player has come to the Magic Johnson is Hardaway. Hardaway was a 6-7, point guard, who in his prime was averaging 22 points per game and 7 assists. Hardaway has not always been adverse to controversy, as during the 1997 season, he led a players coup that forced out then head coach Brian Hill. Hardaway was traded after the 1999 season and was never the same due to bad knees and an ailing back. However, Hardaway was the most dynamic play maker the Magic have ever had
Shooting-guard is probably the Orlando Magic's biggest strength outside of the Center position thanks to Tracy McGrady and Nick Anderson. Despite McGrady's accomplishments in Orlando, Nick Anderson will go down as the best shooting-guard in franchise history. Anderson was the Orlando Magic's franchise leader in point scored, until Howard broke it in January. Nick possessed one of the smoothest strokes in the NBA, could attack the rim and was the Magic's best perimeter defender. His best scoring seasons were before the Penny-Shaq years, but once Penny and Shaq joined the Magic, he became an extremely solid third option. He also has the most iconic image in Magic franchise history as during the Magic's run to the finals in the 1994-95 season they faced the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. To seal the last game of the series, Anderson stole the ball from Jordan for a dunk the other way.
The small-forward position has been a weakness for the Magic for some time. However, the best small-forward was Dennis Scott. The Magic teams in the 90s were built similarly to the current Dwight Howard led Magic team and Scott filled the J.J. Redick role for the Magic. Scott was a straight-up three-point shooter and a solid defensive played. His three point shooting helped take the pressure off of Shaq in the post. Scott's best year were also before Shaq and Penny's arrival as he averaged around 20 points per game then became more of a supporting option during the Shaq era.
The best power-forward in franchise history was Horace Grant. By the time Grant joined the Magic in 1994, he had helped the Bulls win 3 NBA titles and brought a much need championship presence to the Magic. Grant was an unbelievable defensive player and took up much of the load in the post since Shaq was never a good defensive player. Grant's defensive performance did not come from block shots, but simply good solid defensive and an excellent low base, which made Grant hard to move. The Magic could count on Grant to get a double-double most nights and could be counted on to provide 15 points from the elbow and 10 rebounds every night. His elbow jumper just outside the paint was his go to offensive move.
The Center position was the Gators position of strength throughout its history. The best Center in Magic franchise history was Shaquille O'neal. Shaq was simply a beast with speed and was a nightmare to defend due to his 300-pound frame and his quick feet. However, Shaq was not a great defensive center, although in some seasons he averaged close to 3 blocks per game. He struggled with on-ball defense, but made up for his defense by averaging around 10 rebounds per game and around 30 points per game in his prime. Shaq's most obvious weakness is his free-throw shooting as many opposing coaches would simply foul Shaq in the closing minutes knowing he would most likely miss the free-throws. Shaq will still go down as the best player in franchise history, until Dwight Howard retires.
The best Magic team was the 1994-95 team that got swept by the Houston Rockets in the finals. The Magic dominated the Eastern Conference with a 57-25 record. During the playoffs, the Magic swept the Boston Celtics in the last games ever played in the Boston Garden. Then they defeated the Bulls in six games, which is the only time that any team was able to beat the Bulls with Jordan after he one his first title in 1992. The Magic then played a grueling 7 game series against the Reggie Miller led Indiana Pacers. Then the Magic got swept by the Rockets, after going to the Finals for the first time in NBA history.
