http://www.si.com/nba/top-100-nba-players-2016
#21
Al Horford
Hawks | Center | Last year: 25
Versatility comes naturally for a player who does almost everything well; ask Horford to spread the floor, defend in space, post up, hit the glass, set screens, facilitate offense, wall off the rim, work the baseline, or run the floor and you’ll get the same blanket capability. To call him a ‘jack of all trades’ undersells the point. Horford is so balanced as a player he’s virtually without weakness
#32
Paul Millsap
Hawks | Forward | Last year: 34
Compared to his fellow All-Stars, Hawks forward Paul Millsap isn’t the biggest, the fastest or the strongest, and his no-nonsense style doesn’t inspire adulation worthy of the leading scorer on a 60-win team. Nevertheless, Millsap excels at making basketball look easy in so many different ways. The former second-round pick fits like a glove in Mike Budenholzer’s pass-heavy, spread-oriented offense, and his inside/outside versatility is the key that unlocks Atlanta’s pick-your-poison offense.
#41
Jeff Teague
Hawks | Guard | Last year: 92
Experience has made Teague a more patient player, which is to say that it made him a better one. The young guard who moved faster than his brain could follow is gone. In his stead is a smooth practitioner of the pick-and-roll who waits for his screen to be properly set and pauses briefly before exploding into action. That recalibration steadied the Hawks and brought Teague to All-Stardom last year, as well as a career-best campaign at the helm of a successful offense and top defense.
#46
Kyle Korver
Hawks | Forward | Last year: 74
Only 10 players in the league last season outranked Korver in Real Plus-Minus, most of them no-questions-asked superstars. His postseason scouting report corroborated that notion; quality defensive teams in Washington and Cleveland treated Korver as a priority during their respective series. Those tasked to guard Korver approached the assignment with the apparent discipline of a player who had been warned (or even preemptively chewed out) in the film room.
#74
Tiago Splitter
Hawks | Center | Last year: 70
As one of the better defense-first centers in the NBA, Splitter, 30, formed a dominant duo with Tim Duncan, posting elite defensive numbers over the last three seasons. Along the way, Splitter played in two NBA Finals and won a title in 2014, and his physical, lunch pail approach to interior defense, pick-setting and offensive rebounding is sorely needed by the Hawks, who got bullied by the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
A few notable former Hawks also managed to make the cut:
#81
DeMarre Carroll
Raptors | Forward | Last year: —
But, unlike Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and other free agents who received gigantic raises this summer, Carroll bathed in new dough despite being the least important member of his team’s starting five. Indeed, the “Junkyard Dog” was the only Hawks starter not selected to the 2015 All-Star Game, and he ranked fifth on the team in points and minutes played, third in rebounds, and seventh in assists. The advanced stats told the same story: Carroll ranked fifth among Atlanta’s starters in net rating, offensive rating, defensive rating, Win Shares, and fourth in PER.
#82
Joe Johnson
Nets | Guard | Last year: 51
As the sun sets on Johnson’s career, we’ve begun to see the division between solid all-around players and mere adequacy. No longer is Johnson a volume scorer or an especially stout defender. His All-Star game has faded with time, leaving some skills sturdy and others merely passable. Still, Johnson does enough well across the board to make a difference and gets a bump in the rankings based on his agreeable game. At minimum he’s a quality shooter who can handle the ball and compete in coverage at two positions. That kind of player could slide into any rotation in the league and contribute in a meaningful way
#92
Lou Williams
Lakers | Guard | Last year: —
To watch Williams run the offense must be an fretful experience for a coach. What he gives a team in terms of shot creation is undeniably valuable; Williams is an impressive salesman on the perimeter given his ability to turn a defender’s momentary hesitation into a trip to the foul line. Yet unleashing Williams by necessity means giving him control—an enterprise that tends to bring the entire coaching staff to hand-wringing.
#96
Josh Smith
Clippers | Forward | Last year: 53
A certain amount of noise tends to follow Smith wherever he goes with most of it snark and sneering in regard to his obvious shortcomings. Smith will take certain shots he shouldn’t and throw passes out of bounds as if he were meeting some kind of turnover quota. Yet on balance he’s still the kind of player who made a good Rockets defense far better while diversifying Houston’s offense with his playmaking, finishing ability, and streaky shooting from beyond the arc
