The Atlanta Hawks are a professional basketball team that’s part of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and their home court is State Farm Arena.
Atlanta Hawks Brief History
The Atlanta Hawks are not originally from Georgia and they started with a different name.
This team began as the Buffalo Bisons back in 1946 in New York as part of the National Basketball League or NBL. This identity didn’t last for long, as just 3 years later they were re-baptized as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, after moving to Moline, Illinois.
In 1949 the team finally joined the NBA, and in 1951 the team moved once again, this time to Milwaukee, acquiring its current name, the Hawks.
The franchise remained in that city until 1955, when it was moved to St. Louis. And in 1968, the team was finally moved to Atlanta; it’s hometown from that year until the present.
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Atlanta Hawks Interesting Facts
1 - The Hawks are the team with the current second-longest NBA title drought, just behind the Sacramento Kings, with 60 seasons without winning an association title. In fact, they’ve only won a single championship, back in 1958!
2 - With that said, they’re one of only four teams to have made it to the NBA playoffs in ten consecutive seasons, from 2008 to 2017.
Atlanta Hawks Awards and Accomplishments:
- Championships: 1 (1958)
- Conference titles: 4 (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961)
- Division titles: 5 (1970, 1980, 1987, 1994, and 2015)
Atlanta Hawks Hall of Famers and Famous Players
Here’s a list of the top 3 Hall of Famers for the Atlanta Hawks:
Bob Petit: He was the first player to get the honor of being the MVP. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times; a feat accomplished just by him and Kobe Bryant.
- 11 seasons with the Hawks, 2 times MVP, 11 times All-Star, averaged 26 points per game
- Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted in 1971
- College Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2006
Cliff Hagan: Nicknamed “Lil Abner”, played his full career with the St Louis Hawks. He won a single NBA title in 1958.
- 10 seasons with the Hawks, 5 times All-star, averaged 18 points per game
- Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2013
- College Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2006
Dominique Wilkins: Nicknamed “the Human Highlight Film”, he’s viewed as one of the top dunkers in the history of the NBA.
- 12 seasons with the Hawks, 9 times All-Star, averaged 26 points per game
- Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2006
Atlanta Hawks Rivalries
The Atlanta Hawks top rivals in the NBA are the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic.
Celtics
This is an NBA rivalry that has lasted for more than five decades, with the teams facing each other 11 times in the NBA playoffs, 4 times in the NBA Finals, with Boston having won 10 of 12 series to Atlanta.
And, the rivalry intensified even more during 2016, when Al Horford decided to switch teams, leaving the Hawks for the Celtics.
Magic
This rivalry is also related to the player clash between Josh Smith and Dwight Howard.
And such rivalry between these two teams is also related to their playoff appearances, with the teams facing each other in 3 occasions.
The first of these meetings was back in 1996 when Orlando eliminated the Hawks in the second round of the postseason.
Then, the Magic managed to eliminate Atlanta once again, in 2010, and the Hawks were finally able to take Orlando down in 2011 when they beat them 4-2 in the first round.
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