Atlanta Hawks: Reddish Brings Fan Enthusiasm to a Fever Pitch

The Atlanta Hawks are being praised all over the media by experts, for having a fantastic 2019 NBA Draft. Cam Reddish is a key member of the draft class and has fans of the basketball club brimming with excitement and enthusiasm.

The Atlanta Hawks have added a dynamic trio of young prospects to their already exciting young core. The team traded up to draft defensive specialist De’Andre Hunter  with pick number four in the NBA Draft. Surprisingly the second player that general manager Travis Schlenk coveted most Cam Reddish, was available with pick ten in round one of the NBA Draft. Reddish who I selected eighth in our last Mock Draft, was the people’s choice for the Atlanta Hawks. Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, have been have been abuzz for weeks, with Hawks fans pinning for the team to select Reddish, with one of its three first round picks. The fans got their wish on draft night and judging from the responses on social media, they are extremely pleased. The reaction at the Atlanta Hawks draft party, best personified the excitement and enthusiasm of the Atlanta fan base. Take a look at the eruption for yourself below, via the following tweet by the Fox Sports Southeast Twitter page:

Draft Expert Rashad Phillips of Sports Talk 2319, also known as the draft “Yoda”, was very excited about the Atlanta Hawks drafting Cam Reddish as well. He has said throughout the process, that Cam Reddish is a top three player in this draft. He has also stated on multiple occasions, that his best fit is with the Atlanta Hawks. Take a look at how enthusiastic Phillips is, after the pick of Cam Reddish by the Atlanta Hawks was announced:

Although Cam Reddish is not a finished product, he certainly has high upside. He has all of the tools to be an All Star player one day. He checks all of the boxes that Travis Schlenk mentioned he was looking for in a player. Those attributes are the ability to dribble, pass and shoot. I also added the ability to defend to that list, as Atlanta badly needed more long defenders who can guard multiple positions. For those reasons, I had Cam Reddish ranked number two on my Atlanta Hawks Big Board. So for the team to nab Reddish at pick number eight is phenomenal value in my eyes.

Thanks to Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks were already sparking the beginnings of a national following, at the end of last season. According to the team’s outstanding play-by-play TV commentator Bob Rathbun when I spoke with him on Around the ATL, Trae Young Atlanta Hawks jerseys were starting to appear on the road, in arenas across the country. The club having more fans around the nation, is a direct result of a superstar with magnetism such as Trae Young now being on the scene. As the country gets to know John Collins more, he will garner more love league wide with his infectious personality as well. The selection of Cam Reddish will only add to the popularity of Atlanta’s national brand. Cam not only excites hardcore Hawks fans, he excites the casual NBA fan as well. Part of that is due to the benefits of brand recognition, coming from Duke University. As you can see, excitement is at an all time high here in Atlanta and nationally for the basketball team. As a matter of fact as the 2019 NBA Draft came to a close, the Atlanta Hawks and the hashtag #TrueToAtlanta were tending on Twitter. That is an occurrence that was a rarely seen before the 2018-19 season, particularly for something positive.

I can remember a time when the Atlanta Hawks draft party was held in a small section on the second floor of Phillips Arena. Yet on Thursday night, Atlanta Hawks fans filled up the entire lower bowl and part of the upper section of State Farm Arena. That just show the rabid level of enthusiasm that the city and the fan base, has for this young Atlanta Hawks core. Not even during the 60 win season, did the Hawks have so much positive energy and enthusiasm from so many people. Dare I say it, but this is the most enthusiastic that the city has been about the Atlanta Hawks, since the days of “The Human Highlight Film”, also known as the Hall of Fame Hawk Mr. Dominique Wilkins.