A 7' 4", 325 lb center, Priest Lauderdale was selected 28th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, after playing collegiately at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio and professionally in the Greek League for Peristeri Nikas. He spent just one season with the Hawks, averaging 3.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game.

Lenny Wilkens was a combined 13-time NBA All-Star (as a player nine times and as a head coach four times), was the 1993 NBA Coach of the Year, and won the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2010-11 NBA season. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest coach in NBA history with 1,332 victories.

Jamal Crawford is regarded as one of the best ball handlers in NBA history, and along with Lou Williams, the only three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner.

On July 12, 2016, Dwight Howard signed a three-year, $70 million contract with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. In his debut for the Hawks in their season opener on October 27, Howard grabbed 19 rebounds in a 114-99 win over the Washington Wizards. It was the most rebounds for anyone in their Atlanta debut, breaking the mark of 18 that Shareef Abdur-Rahim set on October 30, 2001.

On March 1, 1977, in a 95-97 loss to the New Jersey Nets, John Drew set an unfortunate NBA record with 14 turnovers.

In 1954, the Milwaukee Hawks selected Bob Pettit second in the first round of the NBA Draft. Though many were skeptical about Pettit making the transition from college to the rough-and-tumble NBA, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 20.4 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.

7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), 275 pound center Tree Rollins was known for his defense, particularly his rebounding and shot-blocking ability. He finished in the top three in blocked shots six times and finished his Hawks career with a franchise-record 2,283 blocks.

Doc Rivers spent seven seasons as a starter in Atlanta, assisting star Dominique Wilkins as the team found great regular season success in the 1980s. He averaged a double-double for the 1986-87 season with 12.8 points and 10.0 assists per game, and finished the season with a franchise-record 823 assists.

Though somewhat undersized for his position, power forward Bill Bridges was a strong rebounder and averaged a double-double (11.9 points, 11.9 rebounds) over the course of his NBA career. He finished the 1969-70 season with 4 triple-doubles. He is also the only player besides Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Willis Reed to record more than 35 rebounds in a playoff game.

One of the youngest players ever inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Pete Maravich, known by his nickname "Pistol Pete", was cited by the Hall as "perhaps the greatest creative offensive talent in history". In an April 2010 interview, Hall of Fame player John Havlicek said that "the best ball-handler of all time was Pete Maravich". Maravich died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game in 1988 as a consequence of a previously undetected heart defect. His #44 jersey was retired by the Hawks on March 3, 2017.