Kevin Willis is 1 of the Atlanta Hawks’ top rebounders in franchise history.
While scorers typically grab all the headlines, the big men who do the dirty work in the paint are an indispensable part of any NBA team’s success. Here’s a look at the players that have been the Hawks’ five most effective weapons near the basket:
Pettit is the undisputed king of the boards in Hawks’ history, and he fittingly counts the franchise as the only one he ever suited up for. Drafted with the second overall pick in 1954 by the thenMilwaukee Bucks – which relocated to St. Louis the following year – the 6-foot-9 power forward/center was an 11-time All-Star and two-time NBA MVP, garnering All-NBA First Team honors on 10 occasions as well. He was the NBA rebounding leader in his third season, and finished his highly-decorated career having averaged double-digit rebounds in every season, including a personal best 20.3 boards per game during the 1960-61 campaign. Pettit also pulled down 14.8 rebounds per contest across 88 postseason appearances, including 16.5 during the Hawks’ championship run in the 1957-58 postseason.
The runner-up to Pettit, Bill Bridges, had a two-year career overlap with the franchise rebounding leader, although he was not originally selected by the Hawks following a successful college career at Kansas. Bridges was a third-round selection (32nd overall) by the then Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards) in 1961, but the young forward opted to initially ply his trade with the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League. After leading the league in rebounds in both of his seasons, Bridges signed with the St. Louis Hawks where he earned three All-Star nods and a pair of NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors. Undersized for a power forward at 6-foot-6, that didn’t prevent Bridges from averaging 11.9 rebounds per game over the course of his career. That figure is partly constituted by seven straight double-digit rebounding seasons and one partial one to close out his Hawks tenure, the latter portion which encompassed the franchise’s first three-plus seasons in Atlanta.
Selected by the Hawks with the 11th overall pick in the 1984 Draft, Kevin Willis played for a whopping nine different franchises before finally hanging it up in 2007. The Hawks had the luxury of having three outstanding rebounders for well over a decade, beginning in the early 1980s. Willis led that charge, spending his prime years in Atlanta. Playing alongside Dominique Wilkins and Tree Rollins for parts of his tenure in Atlanta, Willis carved out his own legacy with a consistent presence in the paint, frequently complemented with a solid scoring profile. The seven-footer was highly durable as well, averaging double-digit rebounds in each of his last three full seasons.
As much as Dominique Wilkins and the Hawks are inexorably tied to each other, the legendary big man was originally selected third overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1982 NBA Draft following an outstanding college tenure at Georgetown. Wilkins was eventually traded to Atlanta in what would prove to be a career-defining development. While the “Human Highlight Film” will always be celebrated for his unforgettable dunks and offensive prowess, he was also a force in securing possession when either his own teammates or the opponent misfired. At 6-foot-8, Wilkins was overmatched down low at times, but the combination of his outstanding durability and consistency allowed him to pile up the boards. Notably, Wilkins never finished a season with the Hawks or any of his other clubs with a double-digit rebounding average, a testament to the nine-time All-Star and 1986 All-NBA First Team member’s perseverance.
The aptly named 7-foot-1 Tree Rollins was the predecessor to both Willis and Wilkins on the Hawks, helping mentor both teammates in their formative years. Selected 14th overall by the Hawks in 1977 NBA Draft, Rollins leveraged his towering dimensions effectively throughout his career. Like Wilkins, Rollins never achieved a season with a double-digit rebounding average (though he got close, averaging just over 9.0 boards in two separate campaigns). In fairness, Rollins’ ability to stop shots before they ever got near the basket inadvertently short-changed him when it came to his overall rebounding numbers – he ranks ninth in all-time blocks (2,542) and averaged at least 3.0 rejections per game in four separate seasons during his Hawks tenure.
