Despite an calm outward demeanor, Tony Ressler is more impatient and competitive than he lets on publicly.

And he wants to bring a championship to Atlanta.

So if the Hawks principle owner can buy the team and then break ground on a sorely needed, state-of-the-art practice facility in just one year, who is to argue with his ultimate goal for the NBA franchise?

“Yes, we have an objective to be a great franchise,” Ressler told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is an exclusive interview. “A great franchise has to win a championship. When I use the term, I think it’s healthier to say we want to be a great franchise than say I want a championship. You can’t be a great franchise without being a champ. So, we have to be a champ at some point.

Read the complete story on myajc.com.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A Hawks logo painted on the tunnel wall leading out to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Featured

Public Service Commission candidate Peter Hubbard gets a hug from Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, during an election-night party in Southwest Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.  (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC