Decatur resident Jared Williams showed up to his first Atlanta Hawks draft watch party last night wearing a custom red Hawks jersey featuring his last name on its rear side.
He said the event was a chance for him to meet and connect with other Hawks and NBA fans, and a chance for the home team to make adjustments he sees as necessary.
“We really need a center right now, but the night is us coming together to show love for the city and create our own culture,” Williams said.
Williams was part of last night’s massive audience at State Farm Arena, which roared when NBA commissioner Adam Silver, cast on the venue’s high-definition monitors, announced that the Atlanta Hawks chose French forward Zaccharie Risacher as the first pick in the opening round of the NBA Draft.
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Risacher is the team’s first overall top draft pick since 1975.
Before the Hawks made their draft pick, rapper Jeezy energized the crowd with a 10-minute performance of some of his biggest hit records.
Wearing a custom white Hawks jersey, Jeezy wore a custom white Hawks jersey. He began his set with his opening verse on late Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know,” and kept the crowd hyped with his own popular tracks “Who Dat,” “I Luv It” and the anthemic “Put On.”
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Attendee Koreena Atkins said she came to the draft party just to see her favorite rapper. “Jeezy set it off and got the city going wild,” Atkins said.
College Park native Valissa Allen wore a replica of Hawks point guard Trae Young’s jersey. She said she hopes bringing Risacher to the team will result in the Hawks’ first NBA championship.
“The Hawks are going to get themselves together,” Allen said. “We have the team and mentality, but now we just have to go work hard and get that title.”
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rosalyn Robert, who attended every Hawks draft party since becoming a season ticket holder five years ago, said her love of basketball and how it connects with diverse audiences keeps her returning every year along with her son.
“It’s a great event that easily gets the community out and helps to build the team’s effort to have a good season,” Robert said.
They weren’t the only season ticket holders in attendance: Grammy-winning rapper and College Park native 2 Chainz made an appearance after opening a Smoothie King kiosk in the concourse earlier in State Farm Arena’s concourse earlier in the evening.
Guests were served samples of Caribbean Way, a pink smoothie concoction blended with banana, strawberry, papaya, juice blend and turbinado, after the ribbon cutting.
2 Chainz said he decided to invest in Smoothie King so he and other Hawks fans could have nutritious food, admitting that he usually enjoys traditional and less-health-conscious snacks from concession stands.
“My healthiest option until today was popcorn and chicken fingers,” 2 Chainz said. “There was nothing else in the area, so there was a void that needed to be filled.”
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