Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks
2011–12 Atlanta Hawks season
Conference	Eastern Conference
Division	Southeast Division
Founded	1947 (Joined NBA In 1949)
History	Buffalo Bisons (1946) 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, Red, Silver, White
Owner(s)	Atlanta Spirit, LLC
General manager	Rick Sund
Head coach	Larry Drew
D-League affiliate	Utah Flash
Championships	1 (1958)
Conference titles	4 (Western: (4) 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961)
Division titles	3 (1980, 1987, 1994)
Official website	hawks.com
Home Away

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Franchise history

The first years

Original Tri-Cities Blackhawks logo

The franchise was formed in 1946 as the National Basketball League's Buffalo Bisons, playing at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, and featuring guard/forward and coach Deanglo King. However, on December 27, 1946—only 13 games into their inaugural season—owner Ben Kerner moved the team to Moline, Illinois, which at that time was part of an area known as the "Tri-Cities"^[1] (now the Quad Cities). Kerner renamed the team the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in reference to the Black Hawk War that was mostly fought in Illinois. The Blackhawks became one of the National Basketball Association's 17 original teams after a merger in 1949 of the 12-year-old NBL and the three-year-old Basketball Association of America. 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 Milwaukee 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, Milwaukee's rival in the beer industry, and became the St. Louis Hawks.

In 1957, the team advanced to the Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller in game seven. In 1958, the Hawks again advanced to the NBA Finals where they avenged their previous year's defeat against the Boston Celtics, winning the series 4–2. Bob Pettit scored 50 points in Game 6 in front of a crowd of 10,218 in St. Louis. The victory gave the Hawks their first and only NBA Championship.

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, but lost to the Celtics in 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. 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 Hawks occasionally played at the St. Louis Arena (mostly against popular opponents), but Kerner was not willing to move the team there full-time because it had not been well-maintained since the 1940s. Kerner wanted a new arena to increase revenue. However, he was rebuffed by the city on several occasions.

Relocation to Atlanta

Logo 1970–1972

In 1968, the team was sold to Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins and former 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. Winning their first Division title in the 1969–70 season with a 48–34 record in the Western Division. 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.

Ted Turner's Ownership

Cable network entrepreneur and Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner bought the team in 1977 and hired Hubie Brown to become head coach. The Hawks were the only NBA team in the Southeastern United States, just as the Atlanta Braves were the only Major League Baseball team in the region for many years to come. Turner's ownership was instrumental in keeping both teams in the region. Coach Brown won coach of the year in 1978. In the 1979–80 season, the Hawks finished with 50 wins, 32 losses, and won the Central Division. It was their first division title in the Central Division and second in the city of Atlanta. In 1982, the franchise acquired superstar Dominique Wilkins and promoted Mike Fratello to head coach a year later. Due to sagging attendance, 12 home games during the 1984–85 season were played at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was also around this time that Dominique Wilkins would win the Slam Dunk Contest in 1985 and 1990 having an amazing rivalry with Michael Jordan.Spud Webb won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1986. Mike Fratello won coach of the year in 1986 as well.^[2] The New Orleans games were paid for by Barry Mendelson for $1.2 million with the Hawks going 6–6 in Louisiana.^[2]

"Pac-Man" Hawks logo (1972–1995)

From 1985–89, the Hawks were among the league's elite, winning 50 games or more each season. Winning a third division title in 1986–87 season with a franchise record 57–25 and their second in the Central Division. 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 and won a fourth division title in Atlanta, third in the Central Division and won coach of the year. 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. 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. The Hawks had two 50+ win seasons in 1997 and 1998, with center, Dikembe Mutombo winning defensive player of the year award back to back in 1997–98, forward Alan Henderson won most improved player award, as well as a 31-win campaign in the lockout-shortened 1999 season, but the Hawks never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

Hawks logo from 1995 to 2007.

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.^[3] The Hawks later traded Jackson away the following season. The Smith/Rider trade sent the Hawks into a downward spiral; they would not return to the playoffs for nine years.

In 2001, the Hawks drafted Spanish star Pau Gasol 3rd , but his rights were ceded to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade involving Shareef Abdur-Rahim. In February 2004, the Hawks had the distinction of having NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace play one game for the team. Wallace was traded from Portland to the Hawks along with Wesley Person for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, and Dan Dickau.^[4] In his lone game for the Hawks, Wallace scored 20 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists and a steal in a loss to the New Jersey Nets.^[5] After the game he was dealt to the Detroit Pistons in a three-way trade with the Boston Celtics. In turn, Detroit sent guard Bobby Sura, center Zeljko Rebraca, and a first-round draft pick to the Hawks. The Boston Celtics also sent forward Chris Mills to Atlanta to complete the deal.^[6] In 2003, Atlanta hosted the allstar game, the last an east team would host for nine years.

Atlanta Spirit LLC's ownership/Joe Johnson - Josh Smith era 2005–present

In March 2004, the team was sold to a group of executives by the name of Atlanta Spirit LLC^[7] 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, which replaced the Omni. After the change in ownership the Hawks still struggled. In the 2004–05 season, the Hawks were the league's worst team with a mere 13 victories (five less than even the expansion Charlotte Bobcats and the struggling New Orleans Hornets). It was also the year Josh Smith won the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest. Despite their league-worst record, 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, the Hawks selected Marvin Williams of the University of North Carolina. The previous year, the Hawks had drafted Josh Childress and Josh Smith. In the 2006 Draft, the Hawks selected former Duke star Shelden Williams with the fifth overall pick.

In the summer of 2005, the Hawks completed a sign and trade deal with the Phoenix Suns to acquire 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.^[8]

Signs of Hope

Hawks current alternate logo

Hope and redemption appeared to be on the horizon for the Hawks beginning in 2007. With the third pick of the NBA draft, they select Al Horford from the University of Florida. Horford nearly averaged a double-double during his rookie season, and is the only unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team as well as being runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors. The season started brightly as they won the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks 101–94, sending hope to Hawks fans. The last time they won a season opener was in 1998, also the last time the franchise made the playoffs. For the 2007–08 season, the Atlanta Hawks updated the colors and uniforms to navy blue, red, and white, marking the first time since their days in St. Louis that they had used those colors.

A midseason trade for point guard Mike Bibby boosted the Hawks' playoff hopes. At the time of the trade the Hawks were 22–28, afterwards they won 15 of their last 32 games to finish with a 37–45 record. Although they still finished with a losing record, they managed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. It was in the playoffs where the Hawks started to show improvement, pushing the eventual NBA champions Boston Celtics to a Game 7 before losing in a blowout back in Boston. The Hawks won all three games at Philips Arena, which hosted its first playoff games and earned its first sellout.

The 2008–09 season saw the Hawks win 47 games, their first winning season since 1999. With almost an intact lineup from the previous year the Hawks manage to take a step forward in their development. Again they were pushed to a Game 7 in the first round but they capitalized on home-court advantage in earning their first playoff series win since 1999 against the Miami Heat. The Hawks were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0 in the conference semifinals.

The 2009–10 season saw the Hawks improve further, winning 53 games, their first 50-win season since 1997. Al Horford earned his first All-Star selection, and along with Joe Johnson, this marked the first time since 1998 that the Hawks sent two players to the All-Star Game. The playoffs, however, were a reprise from the previous year. They won a hard-fought seven-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they were swept by the Orlando Magic in the second round, with every game a one-sided contest. After the season, the Hawks dismissed head coach Mike Woodson and was replaced by Larry Drew.

The Hawks took a step back in the 2010–11 season, finishing with 44 wins, even though Horford and Johnson were named to the All-Star team. In midseason the Hawks traded Mike Bibby to the Washington Wizards for Kirk Hinrich, in hopes of bringing a defensive guard to replace the defensively liable Bibby. Worse, the Hawks finished the season losing their final six games. However in the playoffs the Hawks once again took flight, exacting revenge against the Magic in a six-game series. However, they subsequently lost to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in six games. The Bulls went on to the Eastern Conference Finals

The Hawks currently own the 2nd longest run (behind the Sacramento Kings) of not winning an NBA title (54 years). All of the franchise's NBA Finals appearances and lone NBA championship took place 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 44 seasons. Much of the failures they've experienced in the postseason could be traced back to their poor history in the NBA Draft. Since 1980, the Hawks have drafted a grand total of three players who have ever been chosen to play in an All-Star game (Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis, and Al Horford; Wilkins was actually selected by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Hawks a few months after the draft). In fact, Horford is the only Hawk to have played in an All-Star game since Willis was selected in 1984, and is also the only first-rounder the Hawks selected in their nine-year playoff drought to play in an All-Star game.

In August 2011, it was announced than California-based businessman Alex Meruelo was buying a majority stake of the Hawks. The sale depends on the approval of the league.^[9][10]

Season-by-season records

Main article: List of Atlanta Hawks seasons

Home arenas

• Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 1946
• Wharton Field House 1946–51
• Milwaukee Arena 1951–55
• Kiel Auditorium 1955–68 (Occasionally used the St. Louis Arena)
• Alexander Memorial Coliseum 1968–72 and 1997–99
• Omni Coliseum 1972–97
• Georgia Dome 1997–99 (some games were played at Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum; both venues were due to the demolition of the Omni and the construction of the new arena on the same site)
• Philips Arena 1999–present

Players

Main article: Atlanta Hawks all-time roster

Hawks 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.

Hawks Retired Numbers

• 9 Bob Pettit, F, 1954–65
• 17 Ted Turner, former owner^[11]
• 21 Dominique Wilkins, F, 1982–94
• 23 Lou Hudson, F-G, 1966–77
• 40 Jason Collier, C, 2003–05 (no official banner hanging at Philips Arena)

Current roster

Atlanta Hawks rosterv · d · e
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y–M–D) From 6.0 !C 34 Collins, Jason (FA) 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978–12–02 Stanford 1.5 !G 11 Crawford, Jamal (FA) 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1980–03–20 Michigan 1.5 !G 6 Hinrich, Kirk  76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1981–01–02 Kansas 5.5 !F/C 15 Horford, Al (C) 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1986–06–03 Florida 1.5 !G 2 Johnson, Joe (C) 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1981–06–29 Arkansas 6.0 !C 27 Pachulia, Zaza 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1984–02–10 Georgia (country) 4.0 !F 12 Powell, Josh (FA) 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1983–01–25 North Carolina State 4.0 !F 25 Rolle, Magnum 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1986–02–23 Louisiana Tech 4.0 !F 5 Smith, Josh (C) 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1985–12–05 Oak Hill Academy (VA) 1.5 !G 0 Teague, Jeff 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1988–06–10 Wake Forest 6.0 !C 36 Thomas, Etan (FA) 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1978–04–01 Syracuse 2.5 !G/F 3 Wilkins, Damien (FA) 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1980–01–11 Georgia 4.0 !F 24 Williams, Marvin 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1986–06–19 North Carolina	Head coach Larry Drew (Missouri) Assistant coach(es) Lester Conner (Oregon State) Bob Bender (Duke) Kenny Gattison (Old Dominion) Tyrone Hill (Xavier) Pete Radulovic (Loyola Marymount) Athletic trainer(s) Wally Blase (Winona State*) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Chattin Hill (Central Washington*) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured * High school Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2011-08-26

International rights

G/F		Alain Digbeu	1997 NBA Draft	49th pick
G/F		Cenk Akyol	2005 NBA Draft	59th pick
G		Sergiy Gladyr	2009 NBA Draft	49th pick

Coaches

Main article: List of Atlanta Hawks head coaches

Roger Potter 1949 Red Auerbach 1949–1950 Dave 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 2004–2010 Larry Drew 2010–present

Individual awards

All-time Leading scorer

• Dominique Wilkins

NBA MVP of the Year

• Bob Pettit – 1956, 1959

NBA Defensive Player of the Year

• Dikembe Mutombo – 1997, 1998

NBA Rookie of the Year

• Bob Pettit – 1955

NBA Most Improved Player of the Year

• Alan Henderson – 1998

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

• Jamal Crawford – 2010

NBA Coach of the Year

• Harry Gallatin – 1963
• Richie Guerin – 1968
• Hubie Brown – 1978
• Mike Fratello – 1986
• Lenny Wilkens – 1994

NBA Executive of the Year

• Stan Kasten – 1986, 1987

All-NBA First Team

• Bob Pettit – 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
• Dominique Wilkins – 1986

All-NBA Second Team

• Frank Brian – 1951
• Slater Martin – 1957, 1958, 1959
• Cliff Hagan – 1958, 1959
• Bob Pettit – 1965
• Lou Hudson – 1970
• Pete Maravich – 1973
• Dan Roundfield – 1980
• Dominique Wilkins – 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993
• Dikembe Mutombo – 2001

All-NBA Third Team

• Dominique Wilkins – 1989
• Kevin Willis – 1992
• Dikembe Mutombo – 1998
• Joe Johnson – 2010
• Al Horford – 2011

NBA All-Defensive First Team

• Dan Roundfield – 1980, 1982, 1983
• Wayne Rollins – 1984
• Mookie Blaylock – 1994, 1995
• Dikembe Mutombo – 1997, 1998

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

• Bill Bridges – 1969, 1970
• Joe Caldwell – 1970
• "Fast Eddie" Johnson – 1979, 1980
• Dan Roundfield – 1981, 1984
• Wayne Rollins – 1983
• Mookie Blaylock – 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
• Dikembe Mutombo – 1999
• Josh Smith – 2010

NBA Rookie First Team

• Zelmo Beaty – 1963
• Lou Hudson – 1968
• Pete Maravich – 1971
• John Brown – 1974
• John Drew – 1975
• Dominique Wilkins – 1983
• Stacey Augmon – 1992
• Al Horford – 2008

NBA Rookie Second Team

• Jason Terry – 2000
• Josh Childress – 2005
• Josh Smith – 2005
• Marvin Williams – 2006

See also

Atlanta portal

References

1. ^ "A Franchise Rich With Tradition: From Pettit To "Pistol Pete" To The "Human Highlight Film"". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/00400483.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Finney, Peter (January 8, 2003). "Larry Legend had 60 on Boston's '85 visit". The Times-Picayune: p. C1. 
3. ^ Archive for August 4, 2000Las Vegas Sun
4. ^ "Blazers trade Wallace to Hawks". Canada: CBC. 2004-02-11. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2004/02/10/hawks-trailblazers040209.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
5. ^ "Atlanta at New Jersey". NBA.com. 2004-02-18. http://www.nba.com/games/20040218/ATLNJN/boxscore.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
6. ^ "Wallace lands in Detroit in three-team deal". ESPN. 2004-02-20. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1739128. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
7. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ HAWKS: Hawks Ownership Dispute Resolved
9. ^ Mathis, George (2011-08-02). "Report: Atlanta Hawks, Philips Arena sold". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/report-atlanta-hawks-philips-1083775.html. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
10. ^ "Alex Meruelo has agreement to purchase Atlanta Hawks". USA Today. 2011-08-08. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/hawks/2011-08-08-hawks-sale-alex-meruelo_n.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
11. ^ Ted Turner's 17 stands for his television station Atlanta's Channel 17, WTBS (now WPCH)

External links

• Atlanta Hawks official website
• Atlanta Hawks at the New Georgia Encyclopedia
• Atlanta Hawks Blog