Atlanta Hawks – Franchise Snapshot
* Red Auerbach was the Hawks’ first coach: in 1949-50, he piloted the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.
* The only Rookie of the Year in Hawks history is Bob Pettit He won the award in 1954-55, when the club was playing in Milwaukee.
* From 1956-57 to 1960-61, the Hawks faced the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals four times–and lost all but once.
* The 1957-58 Hawks stand as the only champions in franchise history.
* Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s first name is Julius.
* Atlanta has won more games against the New York Knicks (170) than any other team; it’s lost more vs. the Celtics (198) than any other club.
* The first trade in Atlanta history came on May 8, 1969, when the Hawks dealt Paul Silas to the Phoenix Suns for Gary Gregor.
* The Hawks had the No. 1 and No. 3 overall picks in the 1975 draft Both of their selections, David Thompson at No. 1 and Marvin Webster at No. 3, spurned Atlanta to sign with the ABA’s Denver Nuggets.
* On March 1, 1978, John Drew set an NBA record with 14 turnovers in a game vs. the New Jersey Nets.
* In the 1987 draft, Atlanta spent five of its eight picks on international players: Song Tao (China), Theo Christodoulou (Greece), Jose-Antonio Montero (Spain), Ricardo Morandoti (Italy), and Franjo Arapovic (Yugoslavia).
* On December 8, 1992, Dominique Wilkins set an NBA record with 23 consecutive free throws vs. the Chicago Bulls.
* Atlanta’s all-time biggest loss is by 47 points, 132-85 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. on December 8, 1982.
* The Hawks’ all-time biggest win is by 44 points, 141-97 vs. the Detroit Pistons, on February 7, 1994.
* In 1996, Darvin Ham shattered a backboard during an NCAA Tournament game vs. North Carolina.
* Wilkins owns seven of Atlanta’s 12 50-point games, including two games of 57 points.
* The crowd of 62,046 that watched the Bulls defeat the Hawks 89-74 at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998 is the largest in NBA history.
* Jason Terry has “206”–the area code in his hometown Seattle–tattooed on his chest.
* The Hawks set an NBA record by holding opponents to 83.4 ppg in 1999.
* Tree Rollins has played in more postseason games, 56, than any other Hawk.
* Mookie Blaylock’s seven triple-doubles are the most in franchise history.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
