Three Biggest What ifs of the last 25 years for the Atlanta Hawks

1. Trae Young Doesn't Get Injured During the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals

We all know that going into not only the playoffs that year, but the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks weren't favored to do much by most. In every series of that postseason, the Hawks weren't favored, and it seemed like people didn't watch the Hawks for most of that season; however, the Hawks shocked the world and made the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 1, the Hawks won a narrow game in which Trae Young nearly had a triple-double and scored 48 points in a thriller matchup.

The Hawks came out flat in Game 2 and lost, but in Game 3, Young and the Hawks were cooking and it looked like Young was on pace to do something historic like Game 1, but ultimately, he wouldn't get the chance to do so, as late in the third quarter, he would suffer a bone bruise. The Bone bruise came as a result of Young twisting his foot on a referee's foot after making a shot and would ultimately miss the next two games of the series. Young would return in the closeout Game 6, but was noticeably hobbled compared to the previous games and wouldn't have the same production, but it remains a debate until this day. Young and Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks would get into a back-and-forth about the matchup and if Young's injury changed the outcome of that series.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo would miss two games also, but to me, I would've liked to see both teams healthy to settle this, as the Hawks were on the verge of going up 2-1 in the series with both teams healthy in Game 3, as it looked like it was on pace for a Game 1 finish.

2. A Healthy 2015 Hawks Team In The Eastern Conference Finals

Coming into the 2015 playoffs, the Hawks had been dealing with injuries, and this was an ongoing problem throughout the playoffs. Before the postseason, Thabo Sefolosha was tackled outside of a nightclub by the NYPD and had his leg broken with a baton, which led to him being out for one year. In the postseason, Kyle Korver sprained his ankle in the Eastern Conference Finals,and DeMarre Carroll also sprained his knee in the Eastern Conference Finals. These injuries played big roles in defining the outcome of the games in this series which ultimately resulted in a Cleveland Cavaliers sweep of the Atlanta Hawks.

The reasoning behind the "What If" is that when they played in the season series when the Hawks were healthy, Atlanta won the series 3-1. Fans and media often overlook this because most view the season as a fluke based on how things ended, but it is important to add context. Even if the Hawks hadn't won the series, it could've been more competitive with a healthy roster, especially when it comes to having two of your best perimeter defenders to guard a dynamic Cavaliers team on the offensive side of the ball.

3. If The Hawks Don't Trade Luka Doncic For Trae Young

In the 2018 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks made a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, trading Luka Doncic for Trae Young. At the time, many people didn't make a big deal out of it in terms of Atlanta doing the deal, as Young led the nation in both scoring and assists at the University of Oklahoma, averaging 27.4 points and 8.7 assists. Doncic, however, was a lightly touted overseas prospect that people had seen minimal film of and didn't hear much about, so it made things tricky when it came to drafting him. Once the season started, it wasn't much of a debate as Doncic took the NBA by storm, and it took Young until the latter half of the season to make up for lost ground in the Rookie of the Year race and prove himself as a worthy trade candidate for Atlanta.

The Hawks and Young would go on to make the Eastern Conference Finals within three years of that draft, while the Mavericks and Doncic made the playoffs twice within the three years of that draft, and each time Doncic put on a show against a championship-contending Los Angeles Clippers team. Young, however, did the same in his first playoff appearance and had the narrative working in his favor for the Hawks winning the trade during the 2021 playoffs. Still, after that season, it wasn't much of a conversation, as the struggles for Young and the Hawks to make the playoffs began. And for Dallas, they would make the Western Conference Finals the year after in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024, with Doncic scoring a career high 73 points against Young and the Hawks that season, further cementing the trade outlook.

The chatter would ultimately die down with Doncic being traded to the Lakers because Dallas did not want to offer him a max contract, but it remains a debate amongst Hawks and Doncic fans.

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