Atlanta Hawks
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| 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 | Red, Black, White, and Gold |
| Owner | Atlanta Spirit, LLC (Bruce Levenson, managing partner) |
| Head Coach | Mike Woodson |
| 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).
Contents |
[edit] 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
[edit] Franchise history
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007. |
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 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.
[edit] 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 aging 10,000-seat Kiel Auditorium. The larger St. Louis Arena (where the Hawks played occasional games) had not been 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 new owners, Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins and Georgia governor Carl Sanders and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Cousins' firm developed the Omni Coliseum, a 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 worst 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. After several seasons of mediocrity, Lenny Wilkens was hired as 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 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 superstar; in fact, it still sours many Hawk fans to this day. In 1995, coach Wilkens broke the record (previously held by former Hawk 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 recent years, the Hawks yet again have become one of the league's worst teams, mainly because of horrible personnel moves made by the front office in the late 1990's and early 2000's. The worst move was probably a 1999 trade that sent Steve Smith to Portland for Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson. Smith had been one of the Hawks' more popular players, and neither Wilkens nor Hawks fans liked the trade. Rider soon returned to the behavior that got him traded from Minnesota. He missed the first day of training camp and was late for two games. After reports that he smoked marijuana in a 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]
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 Philips Arena. 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. Marvin Williams was considered at the time to be the player with the most potential and marketablity of the draft class despite other talented and more accomplished players being available, such as Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Additionally, the Hawks also drafted Josh Childress and Josh Smith from the 2004 Draft, Salim Stoudamire in the second round of the 2005 Draft, and had nearly $25 million in cap space for 2005 free agent market.
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.
As of 2006, the Hawks have shown some moderate improvement. Even with the league's 4th worst record, during the 2005-06 season they still managed to triumph over the then-defending champion San Antonio Spurs, 94-84, and also defeated the Detroit Pistons while the latter had the league's best regular season record.
The Hawks trail only the Golden State Warriors (12 in a row) in terms of the most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance with seven in a row (see Active NBA non-playoff appearance streaks). They also hold the dubious distinctions of not advancing beyond the second-round of any playoff format since 1961 and the longest run of not winning an NBA title (49 years).
With the lack of success in the playoffs, and most recently, the regular season, along with often dubious decisions by the front office in terms of the draft and free agency, and the ever-embarrassing episodes in court over ownership of the franchise has greatly contributed to the fact that the team is constantly at or near the bottom of the league in home attendance. While many local and national columnists continue to barrage the city of Atlanta for its lack of fan support (for example, the sight of seeing an Atlanta Braves home playoff game with lots of empty seats is not uncommon despite the team making 14 consecutive playoff appearances from 1991 to 2005.), many longtime fans point to the lack of success on the court and the league-wide perception that they remain years away from being competitive as a reason to stay away from Philips Arena. Of course when you blow as long as the Hawks have nobody wants to see you play...except their moms. Boy oh boy do these birds suck.
[edit] 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 3-1 over Indianapolis Minneapolis 2-0 over Tri-Cities |
| 1948-49 | 36 | 28 | .563 | Won first round Lost semifinals |
Tri-Cities 2-0 over Sheboygen Oshkosh 3-1 over Tri-Cities |
| Tri-Cities Blackhawks NBA | |||||
| 1949-50 | 29 | 35 | .453 | Lost Division Semifinals | Anderson 2-1 over Tri-Cities |
| 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* | 27 | 47 | .365 | ||
| Totals | 2236 | 2340 | .489 | ||
| Playoffs | 116 | 153 | .431 | 1 Championship | |
* Season in progress. Updated April 2, 2007.
[edit] Players of note
[edit] Basketball Hall of Famers:
- Walt Bellamy
- Cliff Hagan (St. Louis)
- Connie Hawkins
- 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, Wilkens, and Bob Ferry, all of whom played for the Hawks in St. Louis, have been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
[edit] Retired numbers
- 9 Bob Pettit, F, 1954-65 (1954-55 Milwaukee, 1955-65 St. Louis)
- 17 Ted Turner, team owner, 1977-2004 (17 for his cable-TV empire, which began with Atlanta's Channel 17, WTBS)
- 21 Dominique Wilkins, F, 1983-94
- 23 Lou Hudson, F, 1966-77 (1966-68 St. Louis, 1968-77 Atlanta)
- 40 Jason Collier F-C, 2003-05
Hudson and Wilkins have also been elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
[edit] 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
- Anthony "Spud" Webb
- Kevin Willis
- Charles "Chico" Vaughn
[edit] Current roster
| Atlanta Hawks Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Mike Woodson | Edit | |||
| PF/C | 11 |  |
Esteban Batista | (Uruguay) |
| SG/SF | 1 |  |
Josh Childress | (Stanford) |
| PG | 12 |  |
Speedy Claxton | (Hofstra) |
| PG | 36 | |
Royal Ivey | (Texas) |
| PG | 8 | |
Anthony Johnson | (College of Charleston) |
| SG/PG | 2 | |
Joe Johnson | (Arkansas) |
| PF | 44 | |
Solomon Jones | (South Florida) |
| PG | 10 | |
Tyronn Lue | (Nebraska) |
| PF/C | 3 |  |
Slava Medvedenko | (Ukraine) |
| F | 23 | |
Jeremy Richardson | (Delta State) |
| C/PF | 27 |  |
Zaza Pachulia | (Georgia) |
| SF | 5 | |
Josh Smith | (Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) |
| SG | 20 | |
Salim Stoudamire | (Arizona) |
| PF | 24 | |
Marvin Williams | (North Carolina) |
| PF | 33 | |
Shelden Williams | (Duke) |
| C | 42 | |
Lorenzen Wright | (Memphis) |
 - Injured |
||||
| C - Captain CC - Co-Captain | Atlanta Hawks | |||
Rookies Shelden Williams - C - Duke Cedric Bozeman - G - UCLA Soloman Jones - F - South Florida
Veterans Salim Stoudamire Joe Johnson Speedy Claxton Josh Smith Josh Childress Marvin Williams Tyronne Lue Zaza Pachulia Matt Freije Esteban Batista
[edit] 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 1965-1976
- 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-
[edit] External links
- Atlanta Hawks official web site
- Atlanta Hawks InsideHoops.com coverage
- Atlanta Hawks NBAwire.com coverage
- Official Atlanta Hawks Summer Pro League web site
- Impending Firestorm Atlanta Hawks Blog]
- MARAVICH book site
- AmIAnnoying.com - Atlanta Hawks
- Sports E-Cyclopedia
- Hawks Alternate Uniforms
- Atlanta Hawks and NBA Fansite
- [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/SportsRecreation/IndividualandTeamSports/Basketball&id=h-1971
Atlanta Hawks entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia]
| Preceded by Boston Celtics 1957 |
NBA Champions St. Louis Hawks 1958 |
Succeeded by Boston Celtics 1959-1966 |
Template:Atlanta Hawks 1957-58 NBA champions
