Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are one of only four NBA teams that have qualified to play in the NBA playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons in the 21st century.

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at State Farm Arena.

Quick Facts

Season finish: 5th place Eastern Conference
Regular season record: 40–26
Playoff result: Lost first round to Boston Celtics (6 games)
First regular season game: December 27 vs. New Jersey Nets (Win)
Clinching win date: April 16 vs. Toronto Raptors (109–87)

Lore & Background

The team's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo, New York, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris. After 38 days in Buffalo, the team moved to Moline, Illinois, where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1949, they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and briefly had Red Auerbach as coach.

In 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed their name to the Milwaukee Hawks. Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, where as the St. Louis Hawks they won their first (and thus far only) NBA Championship in 1958 and qualified to play in the NBA Finals in 1957, 1960 and 1961. The Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals. The Hawks moved to Atlanta on May 3, 1968 and became the Atlanta Hawks, when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia governor Carl Sanders.

Reader's Guide

The Hawks currently own the second-longest drought (behind the Sacramento Kings) of not winning an NBA championship at 67 seasons. The franchise's lone NBA championship, as well as all four NBA Finals appearances, occurred when the team was based in St. Louis. Meanwhile, they went 48 years without advancing past the second round of the playoffs in any format, until finally breaking through in 2015. In the 2024 NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick, their first since 1975.