20 Years of No. 8 Picks: What the Atlanta Hawks Can Expect in the 2026 NBA Draft

The Atlanta Hawks did not get the lottery results that they had been hoping for last Sunday, but they are still a team that made the NBA playoffs and is going to have a top ten pick in what is looked at as a very talented NBA Draft.

The job did get harder though for Onsi Saleh and the Hawks front office. If they had jumped into the top four, they would have gotten a chance to take one of the elite players in this draft without having to think too hard about it. Now they will have to sift through a number of prospects and make the best decision for their roster.

History suggests that is going to be very tough. Let's take a look back at the last 20 years of No. 8 picks.

Year	Player	Team
2006	Rudy Gay	Houston (traded to Memphis)
2007	Brandon Wright	Charlotte (traded to Golden State)
2008	Joe Alexander	Milwaukee
2009	Jordan Hill	New York Knicks
2010	Al-Farouq Aminu	Los Angeles Clippers
2011	Brandon Knight	Detroit Pistons
2012	Terrence Ross	Toronto Raptors
2013	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	Detroit Pistons
2014	Nik Stauskas	Sacramento Kings
2015	Stanley Johnson	Detroit Pistons
2016	Marquese Chriss	Sacramento Kings
2017	Frank Ntilikina	New York Knicks
2018	Collin Sexton	Cleveland Cavaliers
2019	Jaxson Hayes	New Orleans Pelicans
2020	Obi Toppin	New York Knicks
2021	Franz Wagner	Orlando Magic
2022	Dyson Daniels	New Orleans Pelicans
2023	Jarace Walker	Indiana Pacers
2024	Rob Dillingham	Minnesota Timberwolves
2025	Egor Demin	Brooklyn Nets

Who were the best?

Any basketball fan will look at that list and say good luck to the Hawks with the 8th overall pick.

Going all the way back to 2006, Rudy Gay had a long career and was a very productive NBA player. He was a key member of the "Grit N Grind" era for Memphis that got them to the Western Conference Finals in 2013 and he has had the best career of this group of No. 8 picks.

More recently, Dyson Daniels and Franz Wagner have turned out to be very good players. Wagner has struggled with injuries during his time in Orlando, but he has flashed All-NBA and All-Star upside when he has been able to play. Daniels won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award and was the runner up for defensive player of the year last season. He has things to figure out with his shooting, but Daniels is one of the most impactful players on the Hawks.

Collin Sexton is a very good scorer and has turned into a nice bench player in the league, though he has not been able to show that on a winning team just yet.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been one of the most reliable 3-and-D players in the league and was a starter on the Denver Nuggets team that won the NBA Championship in 2023 as well as being a key member of the Lakers squad that won the championship in the bubble in 2020.

Solid careers

Obi Toppin was a key part of the Pacers rotation during their run to the NBA Finals last summer and he has settled nicely into that role.

The same can be said about Jaxson Hayes. Hayes has turned into a solid backup center on the Los Angeles Lakers and pairs nicely with Luka Doncic.

Terrence Ross had good seasons with Toronto and later with the Orlando Magic, especially when it came to scoring the basketball (he had many good games against the Hawks).

To be determined

Egor Demin was off to a solid start for the Nets last season before suffering an injury and there is still a ways to go before making a determination on his career.

Minnesota gave up a lot to move up to No. 8 and take Dillingham, but he was traded at this year's deadline to Chicago. He can still figure out a role in the NBA, but it has not been a promising start for the former Kentucky guard.

Jarace Walker has been a good rotation big for the Pacers and got plenty of minutes this year while the team struggled.

Overall

This 20-year history suggests the Hawks are going to have a hard time finding a star player or even a usefull rotation player.

This is why the Hawks have to be so thorough with the players that they are evaluating and who they decide to take. Whether it is Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff, Mikel Brown Jr, Aday Mara, or someone else, Atlanta has to make the right determination for who will be the best player.

Onsi Saleh has made some good moves as the Hawks general manager, but his it is still not clear just how good of a drafter he is. Asa Newell had good moments last season and the offensive game was better than expected, but he is only one year into his career.

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