The Atlanta Hawks are a National Basketball Association professional team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The franchise is one of the eight teams in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Hawks play in Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and wear jerseys of red, white and gold. The franchise was formed in 1946 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, based in Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. The Hawks later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and St. Louis, Missouri and finally relocated to Atlanta. In 1957, the franchise advanced to the NBA Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime in game seven. In 1958, the Hawks again advanced to the NBA finals under Coach Alex Hannum and won their only NBA Championship in game 6 against the Celtics. During this time the St.Louis Hawks were among the best teams in professional basketball, reaching the NBA Finals four out of five from 1955 to 1959. Top players included Lenny Wilkens, Ed Macauley, Cliff Hagan and Bob Pettit. After the 1967-68 season the team was sold to Georgia real estate developer Thomas Cousins and former Georgia governor Carl Sanders, who moved the team to Atlanta. The franchise reached the 1969 division finals and returned as division champions a year al later before losing to the Lakers in the Playoffs. Atlanta Hawks has won one NBA championship title, four Conferences titles and fourteen Division titles.
In 1979 the Hawks team finished with 50 wins and won the Central Division, with Hubie Brown as their head coach and under the franchise new owner Ted Turner. Recently the Hawks franchise has struggled, and becoming one of the league’s worst teams. Despite their losing record the Hawks only landed the number two pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. They selected Marvin Williams of the University of North Carolina. Additional player for the franchise are Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire. They also signed Zaza Pachulia from Milwaukee Bucks. In the summer of 2005, the franchise completed a sign-trade deal with the Phoenix Suns that landed Atlanta Joe Johnson in return for Boris Diaw and 2 future 1st round picks. With a league worst record, the club still managed to triumph over the defending champion the San Antonio Spurs, 94-84. The Hawks also had a win over Detroit Pistons; this was a win to a team with the best league record as of February 2006. The Hawks a team with a bad record is known for its surprise win and challenge great teams.
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