Atlanta Hawks
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Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Founded: 1946, as a member of the National Basketball League, joined the National Basketball Association in 1949.
- Formerly known as: Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946-1951), Milwaukee Hawks (1951-55), St. Louis Hawks (1955-68)
- Home Arena: Philips Arena
- Uniform colors: Red, black and gold
- Logo design: A red and black hawk clutching a basketball in its talons, with "ATLANTA HAWKS" above the hawk
- NBA Championships: 1958 (St.Louis)
- 2004-05 Record: 13-69
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Franchise history
The franchise was formed in 1946 as the Tri-City Blackhawks of the National Basketball League; it was based in the tri-city area between Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. When the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA, the Blackhawks reached the playoffs in the NBA's inaugural year. Led by coach Red Auerbach, the Blackhawks had a successful year. In 1951, however, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee and became the Hawks. In 1953, the Hawks drafted Bob Pettit, a future NBA MVP. Despite this, the Hawks were one 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 of the league's top teams. In 1957, the team advanced to the 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.
The next few years the Hawks remained contenders, every year advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles. In 1968, however, with new owners Thomas Cousins and Carl Sanders, the team moved to Atlanta, Georgia. The following years after the move showcased a talented Hawks team, including Pete Maravich, which won a division championship and advanced to the Finals yet again. However, after this period of success, the Hawks experienced a few years of rebuilding; the Hawks had all losing records in those years and never advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
In 1977 Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner bought the team and hired Hubie Brown to become head coach. In 1979 the Hawks team finished with 50 wins and won the Central Division. In 1982 the franchise acquired superstar Dominique Wilkins, and in the next four seasons the team had more than 50 victories each season. However, the team could not advance past the semifinals of the playoffs. In 1993, Lenny Wilkens was hired as coach. In the 1993- 1994 season coach Wilkens led the team to 57 victories, a team record, and in 1995 Wilkens broke the record (previously held by former Hawk coach Red Auerbach) for most victories by an NBA head coach with victory number 939.
However, in recent years the Hawks team has struggled, yet again becoming one of the league's worst teams. In September 2003 the team was sold to a group of executives [1] (http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/business.bg?articleid=262&format=text) by Time Warner, along with the Atlanta Thrashers pro ice hockey team, with which the Hawks share the arena. After the change in ownership, though, the Hawks still struggled. In the 2004-2005 season the Hawks gained the notorious reputation of the league's worst team with a mere 13 victories. 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.)
Players of note
Basketball Hall of Famers:
Not to be forgotten:
Retired numbers:
- 9 Bob Pettit
- 21 Dominique Wilkins
- 23 Lou Hudson
Current stars:
Coaches and others
Basketball Hall of Famers:
External links
- Atlanta Hawks official web site (http://www.nba.com/hawks/)
- Official Atlanta Hawks Summer Pro League web site (http://www.summerproleague.com/)
- AmIAnnoying.com - Atlanta Hawks (http://www.amiannoying.com/view.aspx?id=11501&collection=3069)Template:NBA
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