ATLANTA — The 2024 NBA Draft is happening on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, and the Atlanta Hawks are taking center stage.
The draft is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, beginning with Atlanta’s No. 1 overall draft pick. The second round of the draft will begin Thursday at 4 p.m. There will be an alternative stream of both rounds on ESPN+.
When will the Hawks draft?
The Hawks only have one pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, but it might be the most important pick of the entire two-day event. This is normally a highly-coveted spot, but this year, scouts don’t have a definitive best player in the draft.
The current favorite to go No. 1 is French forward Zaccharie Risacher. He’s played overseas his entire career, and averaged 11.1 points and four rebounds per game in France this past season.
You can find out more about who the Hawks could pick here.
Who have the Hawks drafted in the past?
The Hawks haven’t had the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft since 1975, when they selected David Thompson.
Thompson never played a game for the Hawks, in part due to the separation between the NBA and the ABA. Thompson signed with the Denver Nuggets - an ABA team - and when the leagues merged a season later, he continued to play for them.
Atlanta had the No. 2 pick in 2005, and they selected Marvin Williams out of North Carolina. Williams played seven seasons for the Hawks, and never averaged more than 15 points per game.
The Hawks have two top-five draft picks on their roster right now. They picked All-NBA guard Trae Young at. No 5 in 2018, while forward De’Andre Hunter went fourth to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019 - and then was traded to the Atlanta Hawks.