Forgotten Players: John Battle

The Atlanta Hawks in the late 1980s were a very interesting team. Mixed with different personalities, the team always came together with the one goal as a collective, which was to win. The popular names you’ll hear from the that era are Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb. But today, we’re looking into the player that took immense pressure off of the two, John Battle.

Battle was a small guard who was a great volume scorer. He was a player who stayed ready for an opportunity to score and made sure to make the most out of it. The defense had no choice but to pay attention to Battle due to his offensive ability. Often times, he would take immense pressure off of his teammates and carry the Hawks on a great offensive night.

Battle was a career 8.7 points per game scorer. It took him a few years to become accustomed to scoring the ball. In year three, Battle seemed to figure things out. Battle had his best scoring season in year six by averaging 13.6 points in 79 games played. As he gained more momentum on the offensive end, coach Bob Weiss called his number a lot more to make plays.

Battle was able to have a very eventful NBA career. As he transitioned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he became more of a veteran player that provided guidance to his other teammates. On the tail end of his career, Battle was a true example of what being a team player is all about; making the necessary sacrifice to win in the NBA.