Al Horford can’t become the best player drafted by the Atlanta-era Hawks to win an NBA championship. That honor still goes to Pau Gasol even if Horford’s Celtics beat the Warriors. The Hawks picked Gasol No. 3 overall in 2001, and he went on to win two rings with the Lakers. Gasol is a shoo-in to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame once he’s eligible next year.
But, as long-suffering Hawks fans know, Gasol never played for the team because general manager Pete Babcock traded him on draft night. The Hawks got back Marietta’s Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a good player who couldn’t get the Hawks to the playoffs in two full seasons. Set aside the Gasol technicality, and Horford, selected No. 3 overall by Billy Knight in 2007, has a chance to become the best player drafted by the Hawks to win a title since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1968.
It will be hard to do. The Celtics are facing a hardened Warriors group in the NBA Finals. They’ve won three NBA championships and two Western Conference titles. The Warriors have the best shooter of all time, Steph Curry, and one of the best defenders in the league, Draymond Green. Klay Thompson is back in form after missing two seasons with injuries.
