Let's be honest. Being an Atlanta Hawks fan is basically an exercise in managing expectations and then having them blown to bits by a random trade. One minute you're celebrating a 60-win season and the next, your entire starting five is gone and you're staring at a "rebuilding" sign that seems to stay up for a decade. It’s wild.
Keeping track of former Atlanta Hawks players is like trying to follow a soap opera where half the cast leaves in the middle of a season. You’ve got legends who stayed in the city to run the front office and guys who won rings the second they stepped out of Georgia.
Honestly, the way players move through this franchise is fascinating. Some leave a hole that never gets filled. Others? Well, we’re still trying to figure out what the front office was thinking.
The Al Horford Heartbreak and That 2015 Squad
If you were around in 2015, you remember the "Budenholzer Era." That team was magic. They moved the ball like the Spurs and had an entire starting lineup named Player of the Month. Then, it just... evaporated.
Al Horford was the soul of that team. When he left for Boston in 2016, it felt like a personal betrayal to a lot of fans, even though it was mostly a business disagreement over a fifth year on his contract. He went on to have this incredible second act. He hopped to Philly, then OKC, then back to Boston where he finally got his ring in 2024. Most recently, as of 2025, he’s been veteran-presence-ing for the Golden State Warriors. It’s weird seeing "Big Al" in anything but a Hawks jersey, but the man just keeps winning.
Then there’s Jeff Teague. He was the engine. After he left, he bounced around Indiana and Minnesota before actually coming back to Atlanta for a hot second in 2020. He eventually got a ring with the Bucks in 2021 as a backup, which felt right. Now? He’s actually back in his hometown of Indianapolis, coaching high school ball at Pike High and doing media stuff. He’s surprisingly hilarious on podcasts.
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Kyle Korver basically stayed in the family. He’s the Assistant General Manager for the Hawks now. Seeing him in a suit instead of draining threes from the logo is a trip, but having that "shot doctor" DNA in the front office is probably the smartest thing the team has done in years.
The Trae Young Era: A Shocking 2026 Shift
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. If you’re checking the scores this week, things look very different.
In a move that absolutely sent shockwaves through the city earlier in January 2026, the Hawks actually traded Trae Young. Yeah. "Ice Trae" is now a Washington Wizard. It’s still sinking in for most of us. After years of him being the face of the franchise—and let’s not forget that 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run—the front office decided to pivot toward the Jalen Johnson era.
Trae is currently dealing with some MCL and quad issues in D.C., but his departure marks the biggest "former player" transition since Dominique Wilkins was traded to the Clippers in '94. It’s a lot to process.
Where are Trae’s old running mates?
The guys who shared the floor with Trae during that 2021 run have scattered everywhere. It’s kind of depressing to look at the list right now:
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- John Collins: He’s out in Utah and more recently the Clippers. Fans there have a love-hate relationship with his production, but he hasn’t quite regained that "John the Baptist" poster-machine energy he had in Atlanta.
- Kevin Huerter: "Red Velvet" is currently with the Bulls after a stint in Sacramento. He’s been struggling with his shot lately, which is wild for a guy who couldn't miss in a Hawks uniform.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic: He’s on a struggling Clippers squad, mostly coming off the bench when he's healthy.
- Clint Capela: He’s still in the league but playing a much smaller role these days as he's past his physical prime.
The Legends Who Never Really Left
You can't talk about former Atlanta Hawks players without the GOATs. Dominique Wilkins isn't just a former player; he’s the city’s basketball mascot. "The Human Highlight Film" is still the Vice President of Basketball and sits courtside for every game. If you go to a game at State Farm Arena, you literally walk past his statue. He’s as much a part of the building as the floorboards.
Joe Johnson—"Iso Joe"—is another one. He was the most quiet 7-time All-Star in history. People used to complain about his massive contract ($126 million back when that was really insane), but looking back, he gave this city a decade of relevance. He’s retired now, mostly dominating the BIG3 league and being a legend in private.
And Dikembe Mutombo. The finger wag. The defense. He was only there for five seasons, but he defined the late 90s Hawks. His impact on the community and his global charity work made him a legend far beyond the court before he passed away in 2024.
Paul Millsap and the "Workhorse" Legacy
Paul Millsap was the most underrated Hawk ever. Period. He made four straight All-Star teams in Atlanta and nobody outside of Georgia noticed. He just retired at the end of 2024 after 16 seasons.
It’s actually a pretty cool story—he said he cried in his car after a bad game against Blake Griffin in 2012, thinking he’d never be an All-Star. Then he signed with the Hawks and became an absolute beast. These days, he’s coaching his daughter’s middle school team and helping out with AAU. Just a regular dad who happened to be one of the best power forwards of his generation.
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Why the Hawks "Alumni" Matter
The thing about Atlanta is that it’s a "transient" city. People move here, people leave. The basketball team reflects that. But when you look at guys like Lou Williams, who grew up in Gwinnett and came back to finish his career as a Hawk, you see that the connection is real. Lou retired recently as arguably the greatest sixth man to ever play the game, and he did it in his backyard.
So, if you’re looking for a common thread among former Atlanta Hawks players, it’s this: they almost always speak well of the city. Even the ones who were traded away in lopsided deals or left for more money.
How to keep up with them:
- Follow the Podcasts: Jeff Teague and Lou Williams are providing better "insider" info than most reporters right now.
- Check the Front Office: A weird amount of former players end up working for the team (Korver, Landry Fields, etc.).
- Watch the BIG3: If you miss the old guys, Paul Millsap and Joe Johnson have basically owned that league for years.
The roster in Atlanta might change every three weeks, but the history is deeper than people give it credit for. Whether it's Trae starting a new chapter in Washington or Bob Pettit's 1958 ring still being the only one in the trophy case, being a former Hawk means something. It usually means you're about to go win a championship somewhere else, but hey, we still love you for the memories.
To stay truly updated on where these guys land next, keep an eye on the official NBA transaction logs and the "where are they now" segments on local Atlanta sports broadcasts. Most of these veterans end up back in the city eventually—it's just a hard place to stay away from for long.