The Hawks became one of the league's top teams as a result of the acquisitions in the draft and free agency. The team advanced to the 1957 NBA Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in game seven. In 1958, the Hawks again advanced to the NBA Finals and captured their only NBA Championship in game 6 against the Celtics. The Hawks remained one of the NBA's premier teams for the next decade. In 1960, , the team advanced to the Finals yet again, but lost—again to the Celtics—in yet another game seven thriller. The following 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. Thus this victory and loss session brought forward its own implications and the team took it with an open heart.
The next few years the Hawks remained contenders, every year advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles. Despite the success, Kerner became wary of the now-aging 10,000-seat Kiel Auditorium. The larger St. Louis Arena was not well-maintained since the 1940s, and Kerner wanted a new arena to increase revenue. However, he was rebuffed by the city on several occasions. As a result in 1968, the team was sold to Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins and Georgia Governor Carl Sanders and moved to Atlanta, Georgia. While a new arena was being constructed, the team spent its first four seasons playing in Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Cousins' firm soon developed the Omni Coliseum, a 16,500-seat, state-of-the-art downtown Atlanta arena, for the Hawks and the expansion Atlanta Flames hockey franchise, which opened in 1972 as the first phase of a massive sports, office, hotel and retail complex, most of which is now the CNN Center. With the new arena, the team was rejuvenated again to face the challenges ahead with renewed enthusiasm.
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 Basketball 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 Basketball Association of America that formed National Basketball 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.
Author Resource:-
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.
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