Atlanta Hawks

One championship (1958, as the St. Louis Hawks). A franchise with deep roots and plenty of moves.

The story

A 1958 banner and a long search for the next one

The roots go back to the 1940s as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, but the franchise's one championship came in 1958 as the St. Louis Hawks, when Bob Pettit outduelled Bill Russell's Celtics. That banner still stands alone.

The team moved to Atlanta in 1968. The 1980s belonged to Dominique Wilkins, the Human Highlight Film, whose dunk-contest wars with Jordan are legend even though the team never broke through.

The modern Hawks run on Trae Young's deep range and the surprise 2021 run to the Eastern Conference finals. The hunt for banner number two goes on.

The Joe Johnson and Al Horford teams of the 2000s and 2010s made the playoffs almost every year, but the franchise has not been back past the conference finals since that 2021 surprise.

For the fans

You came for the dunks and the deep threes, not the trophy case. Atlanta basketball is theatre first, and Trae keeps the lights bright.

For the punters

A streaky, offense-first team that lives by the three. Strong in track-meet games, soft on defense, so totals often lean over and road spots carry risk.

See the Hawks odds board →Rivalries: Celtics · Heat

Power rank

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Record

26-28

Conference

East

Division

Southeast