1-866-915-1308 Buy Atlanta Hawks Tickets, Get NBA Schedule information and more
When the subject is NBA tradition, the Atlanta Hawks aren't the first team that comes to mind. However, the Hawks are as venerable a franchise as any. The team's history extends back to 1946, when the squad was known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. At that time the team was shared by three neighboring river cities (Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa) that straddled the Mississippi River. In later years the team played in Milwaukee and St. Louis and enjoyed the services of a handful of the NBA's most memorable stars. In 1958, as the St. Louis Hawks, the club earned its only championship.
>> More
Upcoming Schedule
More from the Southeast
The Tri-Cities Blackhawks joined the National Basketball League in the 1946-47 season, when the NBL included such teams as the Toledo Jeeps, the Youngstown Bears, the Oshkosh All-Stars, and the Sheboygan Redskins. That was the year that legendary center George Mikan played his first professional games, competing for the NBL's Chicago American Gears. The Blackhawks were owned by Ben Kerner and played in the 6,000-seat Wharton Field House. Tri-Cities finished out of the playoffs in 1946-47 but improved its record to .500 the following year and made it to the first round of the postseason. At the start of the 1948-49 season Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers and three other NBL teams jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which had teams in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The 1948-49 Blackhawks featured Don Otten, the NBL's only remaining 7-footer. He led the league in scoring with 14.0 points per game and powered Tri-Cities into the playoffs with a 36-28 record. The Blackhawks survived the first round but were felled by the Oshkosh All-Stars in the second.
After the first part of the 2003-04 season didn't go as planned, General Manager Billy Knight decided major changes had to be made for the franchise to move forward. Over a 10-day span in February, Knight pulled off three major trades, leaving the Hawks with massive salary cap room for the summer of 2004. In another move that changed the shape of the franchise, the Hawks, along with the Atlanta Thrashers and the operating rights to Philips Arena, were sold to a nine-man ownership group called Atlanta Spirit LLC on March 31, 2004.
On the court, Stephen Jackson had a breakout season, while rookies Boris Diaw and Travis Hansen showed signs of things to come.
This team is so bad that it will finish behind an expansion team! They have no size up front and too many young players to win more than 25 games. Look for Antoine Walker to rebound statistically as he goes from having to share with a boat-load of stars to being the only NBA caliber starter on this roster. Walker will go postal, shooting every chance he gets, but the Hawks will lose nevertheless.