Q: With the Atlanta Hawks playing so well right now, I’d like to know more about their history. Were they an expansion team, or did they move here from another city? Who have been their best players?
A: The franchise hasn't always played in Atlanta, and there have been many times in the past 45 years when this city didn't want to claim them. The Hawks have been a part of Atlanta since 1968, when they moved here from St. Louis just 10 years after winning the franchise's only NBA title.
Atlanta didn’t have an arena suitable for the Hawks, so they shared Alexander Memorial Coliseum with Georgia Tech until the architectural wonder called The Omni was finished in 1972. The Hawks weren’t great those years, but Lou Hudson and “Pistol” Pete Maravich wowed fans with their offensive skills.
There were struggles in the mid-1970s, but the franchise improved when maverick media mogul Ted Turner bought it. The front office and coach Hubie Brown assembled a talented roster that helped the Hawks become competitive by the late 1970s and early ’80s behind Eddie Johnson, John Drew and Dan Roundfield.
Dominique Wilkins was drafted in 1982, and by ’85, the Hawks had several other excellent players, including Kevin Willis, Randy Wittman and Doc Rivers, to challenge Boston and Detroit as the best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
One problem: They couldn’t win a second-round playoff series.
Wilkins electrified the NBA with his dunks, high-flying acrobatics and personal on-the-court battles with Boston’s Larry Bird during his career, which filled The Omni with points and people. Wilkins was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Hawks enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s from teams built around Mookie Blaylock, Dikembe Mutombo, Steve Smith and Christian Laettner, but a variety of opponents eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs in 1994, ’96, ’97 and ’99.
Sense a trend here?
It’s one that hasn’t ended because the Hawks were knocked out of the second round in 2009, ’10 and ’11 with rosters featuring Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Al Horford, who is one of the top players on this year’s red-hot team.
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