Link to Part 1 in case anyone missed it
Beginning of Success
After a shaky start to the 1956-57 season, coach Red (our Red, not Auerbach) was fired and replaced with player Slater Martin, who soon decided he wanted to focus on being a player. The coaching job was next handed to Alex Hannum, another reserve player. Under Hannum, the Hawks finished in a three-way tie for 1st place in the Western Division with the Minneapolis Lakers and the Fort Wayne Pistons. However, with all three teams having a 34-38 record, they each would have finished last in the Eastern Division – which is honestly so classic. It’s amazing to see that the Eastern Conference remained the powerhouse conference from then all the way to now!
This time, the Hawks won the single-game playoffs to give them the first seed and a first round bye. When they played the Lakers for the Western Division Finals, they swept them, winning the last game 143-135 in double OT and earning a spot against the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Everyone was expecting a blowout series by the Celtics, but the Hawks managed to shock the world and win the first game, again in double OT. The Celtics managed to come back, and led the series 3-2 going into game 6. After a close game, Cliff Hagan (one of the players from the Russell trade) tipped in a Pettit miss to win the game at the buzzer, 96-94. The Hawks shocked the world, but were unable to come up big, losing to the Celtics in game 7, 123-125, giving the Celtics their first championship.
LET’S GO HOX!
After losing in the NBA Finals, Hannum retired as a player to focus on coaching. The Hawks easily ranked first in the Western Division, and cruised past the Pistons in a 4-1 series to rematch the Celtics in the NBA Finals. After winning the first game by 2 points, the Celtics tied the series up going into game 3. Luckily for the Hawks (though I never wish ill upon opposing players), Russell injured his ankle in game 3, helping the Hawks take it to go up 2-1. The Celtics and the Hawks then traded victories, giving the Hawks a 3-2 advantage doing into game 6. Although Russell tried to play with limited mobility, he had to be taken out. Carried by Pettit’s then-playoff-record 50 points, the Hawks won game 6, 110-109, giving them their first (and only) franchise championship.
Slowly Spiraling Downhill
The next season saw success for the Hawks once again; they were first in the Western Division and Pettit won his 2nd MVP, despite coaching changes throughout the season. While the Hawks (along with almost everyone else) were expecting a 3rd straight Finals appearance against the Celtics, they were defeated in the Western Division Finals by the Lakers, led by a rookie Elgin Baylor. The Lakers came back from a 2-1 deficit by winning 3 straight, sending them to the NBA Finals.
Despite missing the NBA Finals, the Hawk retained a solid team the next season. They once again managed to get first place in the West, this time beating Minneapolis in a 7-game series to face the Celtics in the Finals once more. Although they managed to take the Celtics to game 7 after winning games 2, 4, and 6, Boston decisively won game 7, led by Russell and his 35 rebounds.
This loss prompted another changing of coaches, which led the Hawks to a 15-game 1st place title in the West. Once more, the Hawks beat the Lakers from a 1 point OT win in game 6 and a 2 point win in Game 7, sending them to face the Celtics. This time, though, the series wasn’t close. The Celtics easily won Games 1, 2, 4, and 5, only losing Game 3. The 1961 Finals marked the collapse of the Hawks as perennial contenders.
Trying to Stay Afloat
In the 1961-62 season, the Hawks lost recently-drafted guard Lenny Wilkes to the military reserves. The loss of Wilkes coupled with a mid-season injury to Clyde Lovellette, a center/forward for the Hawks, sent the Hawks into an abysmal 4th place in the West after a 5-year 1st seed streak, also missing the playoffs. Luckily, after another new coach and the addition of Wilkes other draft picks, the Hawks were able to rebound. They made the playoffs the next three season, losing twice in the Western Division Finals and once in the first round.
After the 1964-65 season, Bob Pettit retired after an impressive 11-year career. He had 10 All-NBA First Team selections, 2 MVPs, and was the first player to score 20,000 points. After his retirement, Cliff Hagan was the only remaining member of the 1958 championship team. Despite this, the Hawks managed to take 3rd in the West and make it to the Division Finals, losing in 7 to the San Francisco Warriors.
The following season, the Hawks drafter “Sweet Lou” Hudson in 1966 draft, who made the All-Rookie team that year and helped the Hawks to 2nd seed in the West, despite losing Hagan before the season. Once again, the Hawks lost in the Division Finals, this time to the Warriors. The next season, Sweet Lou almost jumped ship and went to the ABA, but changed his mind and decided to stay – not that it did a lot of good. Sweet Lou was called into military service halfway through the season. Still, the Hawks won the West, but lost to the Warriors in the 1968 playoffs. On May 3, 1968, Ben Kerner announced that he had sold the Hawks to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia Governor Cal Sanders.
Introducing: The Atlanta Hawks
Their first two seasons in Atlanta saw the Hawks make and lose the Division Finals twice. Before their third season, they lost All-Star Jim Caldwell to the ABA, but drafted “Pistol Pete” Maravich as a positive. Unfortunately, this did not help the team. For the next two seasons, the Hawks finished under .500. Even though they made the playoffs both years, they fell in the first round. The league also changed during this time, creating the Eastern and Western Conferences, each with two division. This is the point when the Hawks were realigned to play in the East.
Before the ’72-73 season, the Hawks preformed two major changes. They hired head coach “Cotton” Fitzsimmons and moved to a brand new arena, the Omni. Despite an improved record, they once again lost in the first round of the playoffs. The very next season, the Hawks missed the playoffs, ending an 11-year run of postseason appearances.
Lol
The Hawks sent of Maravich before the ’74 season to the New Orleans Jazz for Dean Meminger, Bob Kauffman, 1974-75 first round picks, and 1975-76 second round picks. After an injury to Sweet Lou that allowed him to play only 11 games, the Hawks won only 31 games. Needing change, they selected David Thompson and Marvin Webster with their 1st and 3rd picks of the 1975 draft. In yet another stunning display of the Hawk’s drafting prowess, both players opted to sign with the Denver Nuggets in the ABA. Moves like this effected a disastrous collapse of the Hawks, as they missed the playoffs for the next 2 years, bringing them up to a 4-year playoff drought.
The Times are A-Changing
In 1977, Ted Turner announced that he had purchased the franchise and intended for it to remain in Atlanta. At around the same time, the Hawks traded away Sweet Lou, knowing that they had no chance of making the playoffs. After adding several new players before the ’78-79 season, Coach Hubie Brown somehow managed to bring the Hawks a 41-41 record, good enough to make the playoffs and earn him a COTY award. The next season, the Hawks made the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time, though they ultimately lost. The ’79-80 season saw the Hawks win their division, but once again losing in the semifinals (this time to Dr. J).
Back to Mediocrity
After a brief period of success, including their first division title in over 10 years, the Hawks once again collapsed – something we should all be familiar with by now. Luckily, Kevin Loughery came in as a new, defensive minded coach, getting the Hawks to the playoffs again, where they lost in the first round.
In 1982, the Hawks attempted major change by trading for rookie Dominique Wilkins from the Utah Jazz. Wilkins went on to make the All-Rookie team, but the Hawks still got knocked in out the first round of the playoffs, leading to another coaching change with Mike Fratello. Over the next two year, the Hawks split playoff appearances without making it out of the first round.
The Nique Era
The ’85-86 season saw major change. The Hawks signed free agent Spud Webb and were the 2nd youngest team going into the season. After a rocky start, they finished as a 50 win team. Wilkins led the league in scoring (30.3 PPG) and made his first All-Star appearance, while Fratello won COTY. Most importantly, the 5’7” Spud Webb won the NBA Dunk Contest – something I couldn’t do if I were 6’8”. Ultimately, though, the Hawks lost to the Celtics in the Conference Semifinals.
Over the next two years, the Nique-led Hawks were legitimate contenders. Unfortunately, they still weren’t able to make it past the Conference Semifinals, despite winning 50 games for 3 straight seasons. In the 1988 season, Game 7 of the semifinals against the Celtics went down in history as two all-time greats battled it out. Wilkins and Bird both stepped up to enormous heights in the 4th quarter of Game 7, trading baskets and dueling it out, each attempting to will their team to victory. Bird eventually prevailed in one of the best games of all time.
If you're interested, here is a video of their duel, featuring solid quality for the time and some great uniforms.
Part 3 to come later!
Submitted January 25, 2016 at 07:46PM by RichardShermanator