Long before the days of Dominique Wilkins, Al Horford, Mookie Blaylock, and Trae Young, the Hawks franchise originated as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1949. After stops in Milwaukee and St. Louis, the team moved to Atlanta in 1968, where the Hawks have enjoyed a rich history ever since.
For the sake of this article, and with all apologies to Bob Pettit's 1958 NBA Champions, we'll only be ranking the Atlanta years. The main criteria for ranking will be historical relevance, peak performance, and overall roster talent.
Without further ado, the 10 greatest Atlanta Hawks teams in franchise history.
10. 1979-80 Hawks “Hubie and The Youths”
Record: 50-32
Starters: Armond Hill, Eddie Johnson, John Drew, Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins
Key Reserves: Steve Hawes, Charlie Criss, Tom McMillen
The 1979-80 Hawks enjoyed some early success in Atlanta with Lou Hudson and Walt Bellamy, but this particular group coached by legendary coach and broadcaster Hubie Brown was arguably the best Hawks team of the 70s, winning 50 games and posting the best net efficiency rating differential behind a youth movement led by “Fast” Eddie Johnson and John Drew, who both made All-Star appearances.
This team would eventually lose in the playoffs to a Philadelphia 76ers team that made the Finals, headlined by Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, and Bobby Jones.
This wouldn't be the first, or last, Hawks team in history to run into a juggernaut in the postseason.
9. 2015-16 Hawks “The Last Ride”
Record: 48-34
Starters: Jeff Teague, Kent Bazemore, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Key Reserves: Thabo Sefolosha, Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr.
The 2015-16 Hawks were an era-ending team, as this would be Al Horford's last season in Atlanta, breaking up the combination with Paul Millsap that made the Hawks so dangerous for so many years.
Despite never being able to fully get over the hump, this Hawks team had one of the league's best starting lineups and helped redefine what a great defensive team could look like. The Hawks finished 2nd in defensive efficiency and assists this season, which were two of the hallmarks of the brand of basketball played under head coach Mike Budenholzer.
The Hawks won a first-round series against Boston, but ran into LeBron James and the eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Hawks never looked or played the same after Al Horford's departure this season, but it was beautiful while it lasted.
8. 1998-99 Hawks “Lockup Lockout Squad”
Record: 31-19
Starters: Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, LaPhonso Ellis, Alan Henderson, Dikembe Mutombo
Key Reserves: Grant Long, Chris Crawford, Tyrone Corbin
The 1998-99 Hawks didn't appear to be impacted by the NBA lockout, as the stout defense that carried the team through the late 90s came to play in every game of the shortened season. The Hawks recorded a defensive efficiency rating of 97.1 — the lowest number for any Hawks team since the inaugural season in Atlanta.
The driving force behind those numbers was Mookie Blaylock at the point of attack and Dikembe Mutombo protecting the rim, The Hawks played painstakingly slow and ground out wins with an army of power forwards, but with shooting percentages around the league down, the style worked wonderfully.
After squeaking out a first-round win in Game 5 against Grant Hill and the Detroit Pistons, the Hawks ran into the 8-seed New York Knicks…who weren't exactly your average 8-seed.
The Knicks were a defensive buzzsaw and held the Hawks to 31 percent shooting from the field in the four-game sweep, leading to a near-full dismantling of the team in the offseason and the last winning season with the Hawks for legendary head coach Lenny Wilkens.
7. 1988-89 Hawks “Move for Moses”
Record: 52-30
Starters: Doc Rivers, Dominique Wilkins, Reggie Theus, Cliff Levingston, Moses Malone
Key Reserves: Jon Koncak, Antonie Carr, Spud Webb
The 1988-89 Hawks paired up two Hall of Fame players in Dominique Wilkins and Moses Malone, and the dynamic duo carried Atlanta to big offensive outputs. Opposing defenses had enough time stopping “The Human Highlight Film” in Wilkins, but Malone's presence as an offensive rebounder and Theus's scoring ability gave the Hawks additional firepower.
Dominique Wilkins was at the peak of his popularity, coming off a season where battled Larry Bird tooth and nail and gave Michael Jordan all he could handle in the iconic 1988 dunk contest.
Unfortunately, despite having a talented roster of veterans, the Hawks would come up short in the first round in a 5-game battle with the Milwaukee Bucks. The problems wouldn't end there. After a productive playoff series, Atlanta notoriously signed backup big man Jon Koncak to a contract worth $13 million — massive money at the time — that made him higher paid than Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and a host of other NBA stars.
This was also the beginning of the end for head coach Mike Fratello, sending the Hawks to a lengthy period of mediocrity during the prime of Dominique Wilkins's career.
This team underachieved, but the talent on the roster was as good as any in Atlanta's history.
6. 2009-10 Hawks “Big Al's Arrival”
Record: 53-29
Starters: Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford
Key Reserves: Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia
The 2009-10 Hawks were a model of consistency, as the starting lineup played in 76 games together and developed an on-court chemistry offensively that led Atlanta to the 2nd-best offensive efficiency mark in the league. With 23-year-old Al Horford making the leap in his third season with an All-Star appearance, Atlanta had all the makings of a tough playoff team if the matchups broke correctly.
That ended up coming to fruition, as the Hawks beat a tough Milwaukee Bucks team in seven games in the first round behind the scoring of Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. But the grueling series clearly took its toll, and the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard proved to be too much inside for the Hawks in the second-round sweep.
Mike Woodson's final year as head coach ended up being one of Atlanta's best teams, and stacked starting lineups, in franchise history.
T-5. 1993-94 Hawks “Mookie Makes Noise” and 2020-21 “Trae's Heel Turn”
Record: 57-25
Starters: Mookie Blaylock, Stacey Augmon, Danny Manning, Jon Koncak, Kevin Willis
Key Reserves: Craig Ehlo, Andrew Lang
and
Record: 41-31
Starters: Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, Bogan Bogdanovic, John Collins, Clint Capela
Key Reserves: DeAndre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Danilo Gallinari
We're cheating a bit, but it was hard to decide between these two legitimate contenders.
The 1993-94 Hawks traded Dominique Wilkins, who tore his Achilles in the previous season, to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Danny Manning halfway through the year…and the Hawks still nearly won 60 games.
Just how good was Mookie Blaylock in his prime? At the heart of this incredible season was Blaylock, who made his first (and only) All-Star appearance and was named to his first All-Defensive Team as well.
Mookie Blaylock and Stacey Augmon's suffocating defense paid big dividends for the Hawks, as Atlanta nabbed the 1-seed and narrowly survived the Miami Heat in the first round, winning the decisive Game 5 at home fueled by Blaylock's ridiculous statline: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 18 assists.
The Hawks would fall in the second round to Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in the next round, making this an all-time “What if?” team. If Dominique Wilkins never tears his Achilles and gets traded, could this team have been the best in Atlanta Hawks history?
The 2020-21 Hawks, meanwhile, started off 14-20, but a midseason coaching change to Nate McMillan sparked the club to an improbable finish. The Hawks closed the regular season with a 27-11 record, and handled the New York Knicks in the first round behind Trae Young's heroics in his first-ever playoff game. Young's epic performance would give Madison Square Garden a new villain for years to come.
Of course, the run didn't stop there. The Hawks carried the momentum from the win over the Knicks and went on to shock the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the second round in seven games.
While the Hawks eventually fell to a Milwaukee Bucks team in the Eastern Conference Finals that would go on to win it all, Young made his stamp in Hawks history with a crazy run in his first postseason appearance.
4. 1996-97 Hawks “Mount Mutombo's Squad”
Record: 56-26
Starters: Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, Tyrone Corbin, Christian Laettner, Dikembe Mutombo
Key Reserves: Jon Barry, Eldridge Recasner, Henry James
The 1996-97 Hawks may have lacked depth, but the starting quartet of Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, Christian Laettner, and Dikembe Mutombo complemented each other wonderfully with a mix of defense and scoring that led to top-10 finishes in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Laettner is unfairly regarded as a bust in the NBA, but he made his lone All-Star appearance this season with Atlanta, averaging 18 points and nearly 9 rebounds in one of the few seasons he was able to remain completely healthy. His mid-post scoring and shooting meshed nicely with Mutombo's offensive rebounding and paint presence, which the Hawks struggled to consistently find next to their star center.
After Laettner led the Hawks to a decisive Game 5 home victory over Grant Hill's Detroit Pistons, Atlanta ran into an immovable object in the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks managed to pull off a big Game 2 win in Chicago to even the series, but Michael Jordan and company proved too much in the end for the Hawks to contend with.
3. 1986-87 Hawks “Dominant Dominique”
Record: 57-25
Starters: Doc Rivers, Randy Wittman, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis, Tree Rollins
Key Reserves: Cliff Levingston, Mike McGee, Spud Webb
The 1986-87 Hawks featured the most dominant player in franchise history at the peak of his powers. Wilkins, who led the league in points per game the season before, was in his prime at age 27 and had a perfect supporting cast around him. Doc Rivers was the ultimate table setter at point guard, Kevin Willis was a walking double-double, Tree Rollins protected the paint and Randy Wittman provided shooting.
The Hawks were easily one of the best teams in the league, ranking second in Net Efficiency Rating (+7.4) while sporting a top-5 offense and defense. The chemistry, coaching, and star performances from Dominique were all on point this season.
After cruising past the Pacers in the first round, the Hawks ran into a “Bad Boys” Pistons that had perfected the art of shutting down star scorers…and had another unstoppable force themselves in Isiah Thomas. This was a truly great Hawks team that just ran into the wrong team at the wrong time in the postseason — a familiar theme for the Hawks in their playoff exits.
2. 1987-88 Hawks “The Duel”
Record: 50-32
Starters: Doc Rivers, Randy Wittman, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis, Tree Rollins
Key Reserves: Cliff Levingston, Jon Koncak, Spud Webb
The 1987-88 Hawks team is remembered for one of the most iconic battles in NBA playoff history between Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Known by NBA fans as “The Duel”, the back-and-forth battle between the two stars had everyone stunned, as Wilkins refused to let the Hawks go away in Boston.
Although the Hawks barely came up short, Wilkins poured in 47 points in one of the most dominant Game 7 performances in the history of the sport and immediately immortalized himself as an Atlanta sports legend. When you close your eyes and think of Hawks basketball, it's hard not to be transported back to Dominique, wearing that classic uniform, battling it out with Bird.
1. 2014-15 Hawks “Spurs East”
Record: 60-22
Starters: Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Key Reserves: Dennis Schroder, Thabo Sefolosha, Kent Bazemore
The 2014-15 Hawks take the top spot as the best team in franchise history, and as one of the best teams in NBA history not to win a title.
Referred to as “Spurs East” under long-time San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks played a style similar to the “Beautiful Game” Spurs. They moved the ball unselfishly and always passed up good looks for great ones.
This Hawks team had shooting in spades and length defensively before it became fully en-vogue, setting a trend for other teams to follow for years to come. It's rare to find a team without a top-10 player in the league win this many games, but the Hawks were a perfect example of what five players moving in the same direction can accomplish. Atlanta's leading scorer, Paul Millsap, only averaged 16.7 points per game. Led by Al Horford defensively, the Hawks displayed teamwork at its finest.
It's unlikely Atlanta will ever see a team play as beautifully as this one did. The 60-win Hawks eventually met their maker in LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals, but this dominant team will forever live fondly in the memories of Hawks fans and deserves the top spot.
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