Atlanta Hawks

 

Atlanta Hawks
Conference	Eastern Conference
Division	Southeast Division
Founded	1946
History	Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946-1951) Milwaukee Hawks (1951-1955) St. Louis Hawks (1955-1968) Atlanta Hawks (1968-present)
Arena	Philips Arena
City	Atlanta, Georgia
Team Colors	Navy blue, Red, Silver
Owner	Atlanta Spirit, LLC (Michael Gearon, governor) Nintendo
General Manager	Billy Knight
Head Coach	Mike Woodson
NBA D-League Affiliate	Anaheim Arsenal
Championships	1 (1958)
Conference Titles	4 (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961)
Division Titles	14 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1980, 1987, 1994)

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Franchise history

The franchise was formed in 1946 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (named after Tri-City native Black Hawk) of the National Basketball League; it was based in the tri-city area between Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa (now called the Quad Cities). Some sources state the team started the 1946-47 NBL season as the Buffalo Bisons and relocated to the Tri-Cities early in the season. When the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association, the Blackhawks reached the playoffs in the NBA's inaugural year, under the leadership of coach Red Auerbach. However, the following season, after the team drafted Bob Cousy and made the blunder of trading his rights to the Chicago Stags (who would later surrender him in a dispersal draft to the Boston Celtics after they folded), they failed to qualify for the postseason. In 1951, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Hawks. In 1953, the Hawks drafted Bob Pettit, a future NBA MVP. Despite this, the Hawks were one of the league's worst teams, and in 1955 the Hawks moved yet again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri.

With acquisitions in the draft and free agency, the Hawks became one of the league's top teams. In 1957, the team advanced to the 1957 NBA Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller in game seven. In 1958, the Hawks again advanced to the NBA Finals under coach Alex Hannum and captured their only NBA Championship in game 6 against the Celtics.

The Hawks remained one of the NBA's premier teams for the next decade. In 1960, under coach Ed Macauley, the team advanced to the Finals yet again, but lost - again to the Celtics - in yet another game seven thriller. The following year, with the acquisition of rookie Lenny Wilkens, the Hawks repeated their success, but met the Celtics in the Finals again and lost in five games.

Relocation to Atlanta

The next few years the Hawks remained contenders, every year advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles. Despite the success, Kerner became wary of the now-aging 10,000-seat Kiel Auditorium. The larger St. Louis Arena (where the Hawks played occasional games) was not well-maintained since the 1940s, and Kerner wanted a new arena to increase revenue. However, he was rebuffed by the city on several occasions. In 1968, the team was sold to Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins and Georgia governor Carl Sanders and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. While a new arena was being constructed, the team spent its first four seasons playing in Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Cousins' firm soon developed the Omni Coliseum, a 16,500-seat, state-of-the-art downtown Atlanta arena, for the Hawks and the expansion Atlanta Flames hockey franchise, which opened in 1972 as the first phase of a massive sports, office, hotel and retail complex, most of which is now the CNN Center.

The years after the move showcased a talented Hawks team, including Pete Maravich, and Lou Hudson. However, after this period of success, the Hawks experienced years of rebuilding. The rebuilding process appeared to be the right direction when they ended up with the 1st and 3rd picks overall in the 1975 NBA Draft. However, it took a turn for the worse when draft picks David Thompson and Marvin Webster both signed on with ABA franchises.

In 1976 Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner bought the team and hired Hubie Brown to become head coach. In 1980, the Hawks team finished with 50 wins and won the Central Division. In 1982, the franchise acquired superstar Dominique Wilkins and promoted Mike Fratello to head coach a year later. From 1985-89, the Hawks were among the league's elite, winning 50 games or more each season. However, the team could not advance past the semifinals of the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing to eventual Eastern conference and/or NBA champions in Boston and Detroit. After several seasons of mediocrity, Lenny Wilkens was hired as head coach in 1993. In the 1993-94 season, coach Wilkens led the team to 57 victories, tying a team record. However, the team fell short again in the playoffs, losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern semis in six games. The season was also marred with the trading of Dominique Wilkins, who remains the franchise all-time leading scorer, for Danny Manning, who quickly left via free agency to Phoenix after the season ended. The trade was a public-relations disaster for Hawks management as ticket sales and overall interest waned without its popular superstar, who carried the team for the previous 11 seasons; in fact, it still sours many Hawk fans to this very day. In 1995, coach Wilkens broke the record (previously held by coach Red Auerbach) for most victories by an NBA head coach with victory number 939. Despite a couple of 50+ win seasons afterward, the Hawks were quickly ousted from the playoffs on both occasions, which led to further apathy by local fans who quickly grew accustomed to Hawk failures in the playoffs.

In 1999, the Hawks traded Steve Smith to Portland for Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson. Smith had been one of the Hawks' most popular players during the 1990s and had recently been awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his charitable endeavors. By contrast, Rider had a history of behavioral problems both on and off the court. Rider's troubled conduct continued after his arrival in Atlanta. Rider missed the first day of training camp and was late for two games. After reports that he smoked marijuana in an Orlando hotel room during a January road trip, the league demanded that he attend drug counseling, and fined him a total of $200,000 until he agreed to go. When he showed up late for a March game, the Hawks released him. [1]. The Hawks later traded Jackson away the following season. In every season since the Smith/Rider trade, the Hawks have found themselves at or near the bottom of the NBA standings.

In March 2004, the team was sold to a group of executives by the name of Atlanta Spirit LLC [2] by Time Warner (who inherited the Hawks and Braves upon its merger with Turner Broadcasting in 1996), along with the Atlanta Thrashers pro ice hockey team, with which the Hawks share the Phillips Arena, which replaced the Omni. After the change in ownership, though, the Hawks still struggled. In the 2004-05 season, the Hawks gained the notorious reputation of the league's worst team with a mere 13 victories (five less than even the expansion Charlotte Bobcats and the struggling New Orleans Hornets). Despite their league-worst record though, the Hawks only landed the number two pick in the 2005 NBA Draft (the first pick went to the Milwaukee Bucks). With the second pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Marvin Williams of the University of North Carolina. At the time, Williams was considered the player with the most overall potential, though the Hawks were roundly criticized locally and nationally for ignoring their glaring need at the point guard position (with college stars Chris Paul and Deron Williams available), which still exists today. The previous year, the Hawks drafted Josh Childress and Josh Smith from the 2004 Draft and Salim Stoudamire in the second round of the 2005 Draft. In the 2006 Draft, the Hawks selected former Duke star Shelden Williams with the fifth overall pick.

However, despite the recent influx of talent acquired in the draft, they still hold the longest drought of not drafting an All-Star or Pro Bowl player in North American pro sports (23 years), going back to their 1984 selection of Kevin Willis.

In the summer of 2005, the Hawks completed a sign-trade deal with the Phoenix Suns that landed Atlanta Joe Johnson in return for Boris Diaw and two future 1st round picks. They also signed Zaza Pachulia from the Milwaukee Bucks. These changes occurred after an apparent power struggle between the owners for nearly three weeks before the moves were made. [3]. Unfortunately, while the power struggle over Johnson has been resolved, the ownership situation remains in flux, with ligitation still ongoing.

With the Golden State Warriors recently qualifying for the playoffs, the Hawks now have the longest tenure in terms of the most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance with eight in a row (see Active NBA non-playoff appearance streaks). They also hold the dubious distinctions of consecutive 50-loss seasons (four in a row), not making the NBA Finals since 1961, and the longest run of not winning an NBA title (49 years). All of the franchise's NBA Finals appearances and lone NBA championship took place over 40 years ago when the team resided in St. Louis. Meanwhile, they have yet to advance beyond the second round of any playoff format in their entire Atlanta existence, which now spans 39 seasons.

However, hope and redemption might be on the horizon for the Hawks. As part of the Al Harrington trade with the Indiana Pacers, the Hawks could select the 3rd (Al Horford) and 11th pick (Acie Law IV) in the 2007 Draft (see 2007 NBA Draft).

For the 2008 season, the Atlanta Hawks changed their colors and uniforms to navy blue, red and white, which marks the first time since their days in St. Louis that they wore those colors.

Season-by-season records

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss %

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBL) Record not included in totals
1946-47	19	25	.432
1947-48	30	30	.500	Won first round Lost semifinals	Tri-Cities 3, Indianapolis 1 Minneapolis 2, Tri-Cities 0
1948-49	36	28	.563	Won first round Lost semifinals	Tri-Cities 2, Sheboygan 0 Oshkosh 3, Tri-Cities 1
Tri-Cities Blackhawks (NBA) Record included in totals
1949-50	29	35	.453	Lost Division Semifinals	Anderson 2, Tri-Cities 1
1950-51	25	43	.368
Milwaukee Hawks
1951-52	17	49	.258
1952-53	27	44	.380
1953-54	21	51	.292
1954-55	26	46	.361
St. Louis Hawks
1955-56	33	39	.458	Lost Division 2nd Place Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	Minneapolis 1, St. Louis 0 St. Louis 2, Minneapolis 1 Ft. Wayne 3, St. Louis 2
1956-57	34	38	.472	Won Division Tiebreaker Won Division Tiebreaker Won Division Finals Lost NBA Finals	St. Louis 1, Ft. Wayne 0 St. Louis 1, Minneapolis 0 St. Louis 3, Minneapolis 0 Boston 4, St. Louis 3
1957-58	41	31	.569	Won Division Finals Won NBA Finals	St. Louis 4, Ft. Wayne 1 St. Louis 4, Boston 2
1958-59	49	23	.681	Lost Division Finals	Minneapolis 4, St. Louis 2
1959-60	46	29	.613	Won Division Finals Lost NBA Finals	St. Louis 4, Minneapolis 3 Boston 4, St. Louis 3
1960-61	51	28	.646	Won Division Finals Lost NBA Finals	St. Louis 4, Minneapolis 3 Boston 4, St. Louis 1
1961-62	29	51	.363
1962-63	48	32	.600	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	St. Louis 3, Ft. Wayne 1 Los Angeles 4, St. Louis 3
1963-64	46	34	.575	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	St. Louis 3, Los Angeles 2 San Francisco 4, St. Louis 3
1964-65	45	35	.563	Lost Division Semifinals	Baltimore 3, St. Louis 1
1965-66	36	44	.450	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	St. Louis 3, Baltimore 0 Los Angeles 4, St. Louis 3
1966-67	39	42	.481	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	St. Louis 3, Chicago 0 San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2
1967-68	56	26	.683	Lost Division Semifinals	San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2
Atlanta Hawks
1968-69	48	34	.585	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	Atlanta 4, San Diego 2 Los Angeles 4, Atlanta 1
1969-70	48	34	.585	Won Division Semifinals Lost Division Finals	Atlanta 4, Chicago 1 Los Angeles 4, Atlanta 0
1970-71	36	46	.439	Lost Conference Semifinals	New York 4, Atlanta 1
1971-72	36	46	.439	Lost Conference Semifinals	Boston 4, Atlanta 2
1972-73	46	36	.561	Lost Conference Semifinals	Boston 4, Atlanta 2
1973-74	35	47	.427
1974-75	31	51	.378
1975-76	29	53	.354
1976-77	31	51	.378
1977-78	41	41	.500	Lost First Round	Washington 2, Atlanta 0
1978-79	46	36	.561	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 2, Houston 0 Washington 4, Atlanta 3
1979-80	50	32	.610	Lost Conference Semifinals	Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 1
1980-81	31	51	.378
1981-82	42	40	.512	Lost First Round	Philadelphia 2, Atlanta 0
1982-83	43	39	.524	Lost First Round	Boston 2, Atlanta 1
1983-84	40	42	.488	Lost First Round	Milwaukee 3, Atlanta 2
1984-85	34	48	.415
1985-86	50	32	.610	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Detroit 1 Boston 4, Atlanta 1
1986-87	57	25	.695	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Indiana 1 Detroit 4, Atlanta 1
1987-88	50	32	.610	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Milwaukee 2 Boston 4, Atlanta 3
1988-89	52	30	.634	Lost First Round	Milwaukee 3, Atlanta 2
1989-90	41	41	.500
1990-91	43	39	.524	Lost First Round	Detroit 3, Atlanta 2
1991-92	38	44	.463
1992-93	43	39	.524	Lost First Round	Chicago 3, Atlanta 0
1993-94	57	25	.695	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Miami 2 Indiana 4, Atlanta 2
1994-95	42	40	.512	Lost First Round	Indiana 3, Atlanta 0
1995-96	46	36	.561	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Indiana 2 Orlando 4, Atlanta 1
1996-97	56	26	.683	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Detroit 2 Chicago 4, Atlanta 1
1997-98	50	32	.610	Lost First Round	Charlotte 3, Atlanta 1
1998-99	31	19	.620	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Atlanta 3, Detroit 2 New York 4, Atlanta 0
1999-2000	28	54	.341
2000-01	25	57	.305
2001-02	33	49	.402
2002-03	35	47	.427
2003-04	28	54	.341
2004-05	13	69	.188
2005-06	26	56	.317
2006-07	30	52	.366
2007-08	0	0	.000
Totals	2239	2345	.488
Playoffs	119	153	.438	1 Championship

Home arenas

• Wharton Field House 1946–1951
• Milwaukee Arena 1951–1955
• Kiel Auditorium 1955–1968 (Occasionally used the St. Louis Arena)
• Alexander Memorial Coliseum 1968–1972 and 1997–1999
• Omni Coliseum 1972–1997
• Georgia Dome 1997–1999
• Philips Arena 1999–present

Players of note

Basketball Hall of Famers:

• Walt Bellamy
• Cliff Hagan (St. Louis)
• Connie Hawkins
• Bob Houbregs (Milwaukee)
• Moses Malone
• Pete Maravich
• Ed Macauley (St. Louis-player and coach)
• Bob Pettit (St. Louis)
• Lenny Wilkens (St. Louis-player; Atlanta-coach)
• Dominique Wilkins

Hagan, Pettit, Macauley, Lenny Wilkens, and Bob Ferry, all of whom played for the Hawks in St. Louis, have been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Retired numbers

• 21 Dominique Wilkins, F, 1982-94
• 23 Lou Hudson, F-G, 1966-77
• 40 Jason Collier, C, 2003-05
• 9 Bob Pettit, F, 1954-65

Not to be forgotten

Shareef Abdur-Rahim Stacey Augmon Hanno Möttölä Zelmo Beaty Mookie Blaylock Bill Bridges Hubie Brown (coach) Jason Collier Tyrone Corbin John Drew Mike Fratello (coach) Al Harrington Steve Hawes Alan Henderson "Fast Eddie" Johnson Jon Koncak

Christian Laettner Danny Manning Tom McMillan Dikembe Mutombo Theo Ratliff Glenn "Doc" Rivers Glenn Robinson Tree Rollins Dan Roundfield Steve Smith Jason Terry Rasheed Wallace Antoine Walker Anthony "Spud" Webb Kevin Willis Charles "Chico" Vaughn

Current roster

Atlanta Hawks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 2.5 G/F 1 USA Childress, Josh 80  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Stanford 1.0 PG 11 USA Claxton, Speedy 71  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Hofstra* 4.5 F/C 15 DOM Horford, Al 82  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Florida 1.0 PG 8 USA Johnson, Anthony 75  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Charleston* 2.5 G/F 2 USA Johnson, Joe 79  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Arkansas 3.5 F 44 USA Jones, Solomon 82  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) South Florida* 1.0 PG 4 USA Law IV, Acie 75  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Texas A&M 1.0 PG 10 USA Lue, Tyronn 72  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Nebraska* 4.5 F/C 27 GEO Pachulia, Zaza 83  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Georgia (country) 2.5 G/F 5 USA Smith, Josh 81  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Oak Hill Academy 1.5 G 20 USA Stoudamire, Salim 73  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Arizona 3.5 F 24 USA Williams, Marvin 81  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) North Carolina 3.5 F 33 USA Williams, Shelden 81  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Duke 5.0 C 42 USA Wright, Lorenzen 83  ft  in ( m)  lb ( kg) Memphis	Head coach Mike Woodson (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Larry Drew (Missouri*) Alton Lister (Arizona State) Bob Bender (Duke) David Fizdale (San Diego*) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Draft pick (FA) Free agent Injured Roster • updated 2007-10-03

Coaches

• Roger Potter 1949-1950
• David McMillan 1950-1951
• Doxie Moore 1951-1952
• Andrew Levane 1952-1953
• William Holzman 1954-1956
• Slater Martin 1957
• Alex Hannum 1958
• Andy Phillip 1958
• Ed Macauley 1958-1960
• Paul Seymour 1960-1961
• Andrew Levane 1961-1962
• Bob Pettit 1962
• Harry Gallatin 1962-1964
• Richie Guerin 1965-1971
• Cotton Fitzsimmons 1972-1976
• Bumper Tormohlen 1976
• Hubie Brown 1976-1981
• Mike Fratello 1981
• Kevin Loughery 1981-1983
• Mike Fratello 1983-1990
• Bob Weiss 1990-1993
• Lenny Wilkens 1993-2000
• Lon Kruger 2000-2002
• Terry Stotts 2002-2004
• Mike Woodson 2004-present

Tri-Cities Blackhawks/Milwaukee/St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks Head Coaches
Potter • Auerbach • McMillan • Logan • Todorovich • Moore • Levane • Holzman • Martin • Hannum • Phillip • Macauley • Seymour • Levane • Pettit • Gallatin • Guerin • Fitzsimmons • Tormohlen • Brown • Fratello • Loughery • Fratello • Weiss • Wilkens • Kruger • Stotts • Woodson

High Points

Individual Awards

External links

• Atlanta Hawks official web site
• Atlanta Hawks Summer Pro League web site
• Atlanta Hawks at the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Preceded by Boston Celtics 1957

NBA Champions St. Louis Hawks 1958

Succeeded by Boston Celtics 1959-1966

Saint Louis Hawks 1957-58 NBA Champions
Coleman | Davis | Hagan | Macauley | Martin | McMahon | Park | Pettit | Selvy | Share | Wilfong | Coach Hannum

National Basketball Association (2007-08)
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Annual events: Playoffs · Finals · All-Star Game · Weekend · Rookie Challenge · Three-point Shootout · Skills · Shooting Stars · Slam Dunk · Draft
Other: Current team rosters · Midwest Division · Dress code · Salary Cap · Arenas · D-League · WNBA (Finals) · Europe Live Tour · Larry O'Brien Trophy · Finals MVP · 50 Greatest Players

Sports teams based in Georgia
Baseball	MLB: Atlanta Braves, SAL: Augusta GreenJackets • Columbus Catfish • Rome Braves • Savannah Sand Gnats, SCL: South Georgia Peanuts • Macon Music
Basketball	NBA: Atlanta Hawks, CBA: Atlanta Krunk, ABA: Atlanta Vision •