It’s Friday, so you know what means.

Another installment of the critically-acclaimed Friday Mount Rushmore column.

This weekend we’re kicking off Philadelphia 76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks in round two of the NBA playoffs, and it results in us having to ask an important question –

Who are the best players to wear both a Sixers and Hawks jersey?

The list is actually very long. There’s been a lot of overlap over the years between Phila and the A-T-L. For the purposes of this exercise, the criteria was basically “best basketball players who have worn both uniforms.” It doesn’t necessarily mean they had to play their best basketball in these two cities. And as a technicality, Doc Rivers does not qualify for this Mount Rushmore. Even though he was an excellent player for the Hawks, he is the Sixers coach and never played here, so he cannot go on the list.

With your help, our Mount Rushmore of “Guys Who Played for Both the Sixers and Hawks.” –

 

Moses Malone

How can Moses not be on the list?

He’s best known for his time with the Rockets and Sixers, which spanned 1976 to 1986, but after a brief stop in Washington, Malone spent three years in Atlanta. He was 33 years old during his first Hawks season, but averaged 20 points per game and earned his final trip to the All Star Game. Even at age 34, when father time began to interfere, Moses still put up 19 and 10 while starting 81 games. He didn’t give up that starting role until his final Atlanta season, when Jon Koncak took over the gig.

Dikembe Mutombo

The big man very easily earns a place on this distinguished list.

I don’t think most people realize this, but Mutombo didn’t make his NBA debut until age 25. He played five seasons with Denver, and then 4.5 more with the Hawks, which took him from 1996 to 2001. He was 34 years old when the Sixers traded for him, sending Pepe Sanchez, Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, and Theo Ratliff to Atlanta.

Dikembe was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001. So he won the award once in Denver, twice in Atlanta, and then the last one was during the Hawks/Sixers combined season. He was an eight-time All Star who won that honor in all but one of his Hawks years.

Maurice Cheeks

Cheeks was a four-time All Star and won a title with the 1983 Sixers.

He played briefly for the Hawks at the end of his career, when the Knicks traded him for Tim McCormick and a first round draft pick. Cheeks wasn’t a starting caliber player at this point, age 35, and he eventually became a free agent and played one more season with the New Jersey Nets.

One piece of trivia here:

Cheeks had four steals in one of his final Atlanta games, which at the time set a ABA and NBA record. He’s now 6th on the list, and was surpassed this year by Chris Paul. The top four is now John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, and Gary Payton.

Lou Williams

Lou Will?

Yeah, Lou Will. Why not? He played his first nine seasons with Philadelphia and Atlanta and is now back with the Hawks. He’s a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner and has averaged double-digit points per game every single season dating back to 2007-2008. You could make the argument for Dwight Howard or Al Horford or any number of guys who were starters and had long NBA careers, but Lou Will is a great player and is so good at what he does. In our estimation, he goes on the Mount Rushmore, and if you don’t like it, then make your own Mount Rushmore!

Honorable mention: Dwight Howard, Elton Brand, Jerry Stackhouse, Kyle Korver, Theo Ratliff, Al Horford, Toni Kukoc

Not honorable mention: Tiago Splitter, Mike Muscala