Peachtree Hoops: 2023-24 Atlanta Hawks player review: Wesley Matthews

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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

We saw the arrow fly a few times in 2023-24.

Wesley Matthews just completed his 16th season in the NBA, an achievement very few players in league history can claim. Even fewer can do so after going undrafted. And yet, in his age-37 season, he continues to ink contracts and contribute.

Matthews has a unique ability to find a useful role on whatever team acquires his services, and his voice in the locker room clearly continues to be valuable.

About mentoring, Matthews had this to say at exit interviews, “it’s been good. It’s been amazing to see a group of guys that want to learn. Want to get better and look to you for advice and help and guidance. And trying to calm down certain situations or be the fire under certain situations. It was a learning experience for me — not something that I’ve normally done. I was usually able to do it by example as well. I was on the court doing it, and it was a different role.”

On the court, Matthews saw very sporadic time on the court — to which he alluded in the above comments. This was despite the injury bug striking the the team and him coming off the bench in the Play-In Tournament game against the Chicago Bulls.

But this development was probably not too surprising given his age, as he frequently popped up on injury reports with various ailments throughout the season. He appeared in 36 games and dropped in a career-low 3.1 points per contest. Unsurprisingly, 71% of his field goal attempts were from three where he shot 35%.

However, when given a shot to play, he always brought great team defense, communication, and the occasional flurry of catch-and-shoot threes — a mix of basketball skills he’s brought throughout his entire career. His toughness was especially useful with the injuries to the forwards during the season. This was most typified in the two-game home sweep of the Boston Celtics when he gave Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown a rugged dose of point-of-attack defense.

“Grateful to be able to play this game we love,” Matthews exuded in the postseason media availability. “Grateful to be able to do this in front of the fans and play basketball.”

Here’s hoping Matthews has yet another shot with someone in the NBA, even if not the Hawks, come the fall of 2024.

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