History of the Atlanta Hawks

50s - Forgotten Dynasty

The Hawks were one of the first NBA teams originating in 1949. After acquiring Hall of Fame forward, Bob Pettit, success was on its way. Much of the late 50s is remembered by the rise of Bill Russell and the Celtics, but their main competition was the Hawks. Pettit led the Hawks to 4 NBA finals and became one of only two teams to ever beat Bill Russell in the Finals.

60s - Playoff Lock

The franchise couldn’t hold on to this high level of play throughout the 60s but was still a playoff lock year in and out. After Petitt retired, stars such as Lenny Wilkens and Lou Hudson emerged. Even while making nine playoff appearances in the decade they never could reach the NBA Finals.

70s - No Longer Contenders

The Hawks slipped back into mediocrity after a short stint with a young Pete Maravich. After he left for Utah the team turned to John Drew who helped lead them back into the playoffs. They made it to the second round multiple times but were never truly contenders.

80s - Human Highlight Reel

In 1982, Dominique Wilkins was drafted and grew into superstardom. The athletic small forward would lead the league in scoring while bringing the Hawks passed the first round of the playoffs. The franchise saw Wilkins needed some help so they brought in veteran Moses Malone at the end of his career. This didn’t pan out as planned as they never took that leap into the best team in the East.

90s - Life Without Wilkins

Eventually, Dominique was traded as he got older and the team looked for their next star. For the next couple of years they had great, valuable players but none who jumped out as the future of the franchise. Even without a superstar the team were consistently good in the regular season but would lose early in the playoffs.

00s - Dark Ages

The 2000s would bring the longest playoff drought in franchise history with eight years. The team would have some exciting players such as guards Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry, but would never have the right pieces for a playoff run. By the end of the decade they would have a good young trio in Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson they would hope to build around.

10s - Improbable Run

In 2015 the Hawks would make a very improbable run to the first seed in the West. They were led by Al Horford and Paul Millsap but also had first time all stars, Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague. The team looked nearly unstoppable until they ran into Lebron and the Cavs in the Easter Conference Finals where they got swept.