- Home court: State Farm Arena
- G.M: Landry Fields
- Coach: Nate McMillan
- Star: PG Trae Young
- 2021 Season: 43-39, lost to the Miami Heat in five games in a First-Round Eastern Conference first-round series
- NBA Titles: 1958
- Greatest Player: Bob Pettit
Factoid: The legendary Red Auerbach coached the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, which eventually became the Hawks, in 1949-50
Atlanta is not a basketball town. It’s a football town, for sure. It’s a baseball town, for real. Basketball has always been a bit of a third wheel, but man have the Hawks come close to turning the Gateway to the South into a basketball town.
The Hawks have had players – such as Pistol Pete Maravich and Dominique Wilkins, the Human Highlight Film - that changed the face of the game
They won an NBA title as the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 and played the Celtics in three other Finals. For those few seasons, Atlanta was a basketball town, and it threatens to be so again.
The Hawks have one of the best – and most polarizing players in the NBA – point guard Trae Young. The rail-thin Young loves to play to the crowd when he’s not antagonizing it. Once Young steps over halfcourt, any shot is fair game.
The Hawks lost in the conference finals in 2020-21 with a young team led by Young. But Atlanta learned quickly that it’s harder to stay on top, losing last season in a first-round series.
Which brings Atlanta to a pivotal moment in franchise history. That once young Hawks team has been together for several years now and has the talent to make a championship run.
It makes one wonder what Atlanta would be like if the Hawks won it all. Imagine that – a basketball city in the heart of Dixie.