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Atlanta-hawks
By Maria Brown
The years after the move showcased a talented Hawks team and after this period of success, the Hawks experienced years of rebuilding. The rebuilding process appeared to be the right direction when they ended up with the 1st and 3rd picks overall in the 1975 NBA Draft.
In 1976 Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner bought the team and hired Hubie Brown to become head coach. From 1985–89, the Hawks were among the league's elite, winning 50 games or more each season. However, the team could not advance past the semifinals of the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing to eventual Eastern conference and/or NBA champions in Boston and Detroit. After several seasons of mediocrity, Lenny Wilkens was hired as head coach in 1993. In the 1993–94 season, coach Wilkens led the team to 57 victories, tying a team record. However, the team fell short again in the playoffs, losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern semis in six games. In 1995, coach Wilkens broke the record for most victories by an NBA head coach. Despite a couple of 50+ win seasons afterward, the Hawks were quickly ousted from the playoffs on both occasions, which led to further apathy by local fans who quickly grew accustomed to Hawk failures in the playoffs. But that became a history as the team joined its hands and planned for further series of successes.
Atlanta Hawks franchise first emerged almost fifty two years ago in 1946 as the Tri-City Blackhawks of the National League. Atlanta Hawks was primarily based in the tri-city area between Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.
After the merger of NBL with the Association of America that formed National Association, the Blackhawks had managed to hit playoffs in the NBA's inaugural year. Red Auerbach led the team, which eventually resulted into a thriving season for Blackhawks.
Franchise then relocated in 1951 and moved to Milwaukee to become the Hawks. Latter in 1953, the Hawks even drafted Bob Pettit, a future NBA MVP, but it could not save itself from being termed as one the league's worst teams. Couple of years latter in 1955 team moved yet again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri.
Thanks to acquisitions in the draft and free agency, then came the good time for Hawks; that turned out to be the league's best teams. In 1957, the team succeeded in advancing to the NBA Finals, but lost it to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller in game seven. In 1958, the Atlanta Hawks, yet another time placed themselves in NBA finals. Led by Coach Alex Hannum, Hawks were able to capture their NBA Championship in game 6 against
the Celtics.
This was the prime time for Atlanta Hawks, who remained one of the elite teams in NBA for the next decade. In 1960, Ed Macauley was coaching the team, when they were able to hit another Championship Finals; but the luck made them loose the match against the Celtics in yet another game seven thriller. Next year, with the acquisition of rookie Lenny Wilkens, the Hawks repeated their success, but met the Celtics in the Finals again and lost in five games.
Then came few years of down time, during which Hawks suffered in playoffs almost every year. This was the time when they kept on advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles, but not the championship.
In 1968 franchise was bought by Thomas Cousins and Carl Sanders and decided to move team to Atlanta, Georgia. This change in ownership and new place resulted into a very sound and talented Hawks team that included Pete Maravich, which won a division championship and advanced to the Finals yet again. However, after this period of success, the Hawks experienced a few years of rebuilding; the Hawks had all losing records in those years and never advanced past the first round of the playoffs.
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Visit: http://atlanta-hawks-tickets.ixs.net Article Source: http://www.upublish.info About the Author:
Maria Brown
Maria is a professional writer. Music and Art is her passion and she enjoys writing on various Arts events including concerts and theaters. She also love sports and like to write on sporting events as well. Keywords: Atlanta hawks, Atlanta hawks basketball, Atlanta hawks NBA **NOTE** - Maria Brown has claimed original rights on the article "Atlanta Hawks" ... if there is a dispute on the originality of this article ... please contact us via our Contact Form and supply our staff with the appropriate details of dispute. |
