From Ashy to Classy: How the Atlanta Hawks Became a Juggernaut

Let me start out by introducing myself. My name is Max, and I’m a junior Industrial & Systems Engineering major at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, so for all my Georgia Bulldogs fans, I can give you 30-24 reasons to root for the white and gold (Sorry, I couldn’t resist).

I’m one of the newest writers here at Soaring Down South, and I’m also a pretty big Hawks fan. For the last eight years, I’ve had the pleasure (and sometimes misfortune) of calling the Atlanta Hawks my favorite team. I’ve watched them go from ashy to classy, and I couldn’t be more excited to watch the team prove itself on a national stage in the NBA Playoffs.

My first exposure to Atlanta Hawks basketball came at the tail end of the 2006-07 season, specifically on April 17th, 2007. I was in my driveway shooting hoops with my neighbor, when he abruptly said that he had to go inside, since the Hawks game was about to start. He and his dad were die-hard fans, and never missed a game. I, on the other hand, had never seen my hometown team play.

I’ve played basketball since the age of five, so I was no stranger to the game, I just never was really exposed to the Hawks. So, after saying goodbye to my friend, I went inside my house and started watching TV.

As fate would have it, I stumbled across the Hawks-Pacers game. To 99.9 percent of the NBA world, this was a meaningless regular season finale, but to me this was the start of an exciting, frustrating, and rewarding relationship that would only grow stronger over the next eight years. At that point, the Hawks were 29-52 and were just trying to quietly hobble into summer vacation. The Pacers were an equally disappointing 35-45, and were trying to do the same.

Although these records would likely come with a playoff appearance and home court advantage in today’s Eastern Conference, at the time both teams had long been eliminated from playoff contention.

I remember quickly bonding with our hapless hometown team, cheering for them to just get to 30 wins. In my mind, winning this game would validate their otherwise dismal season. In retrospect, I highly doubt that game was entertaining to watch, as the Hawks only had eight available players, and Shelden Williams, Marvin Williams, and Tyronn Lue combined to score almost 75 points. I’m not even joking. Seriously, you can stop laughing now.

The Hawks won, 118-102, and from then on, I was hooked. I spent the summer reading anything and everything that was written about my new favorite team. I picked a pretty great time to start following the team, as that off season saw the drafting of Al Horford and Acie Law IV, as well as total redesign of the court, and new uniforms.

It was an exciting time to be a Hawks fan, but just one thing stood in the way: a playoff drought that went all the way back to the 1999 NBA season. But if there is one thing that every NBA fan outside the city of Philadelphia can have at the beginning of every season, it’s hope for a better tomorrow.

We started the season 3-7, and limped to a 37-45 finish. I watched just about every single game, and even turned my now 91-year-old grandmother into the biggest Hawks fan in the state of Georgia. To this day, she’ll often call me after class and update me on games that I was unable to catch. Despite the uninspiring finish to the season though, the Hawks did enough to make the playoffs as an eighth seed.

This was the first step on the road to domination for our Atlanta Hawks. Although they faced a daunting task of trying to knock off the original Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, along with a scrappy young point guard named Rajon Rondo, the Hawks seemed cool, calm and collected. That was until the Celtics wiped the floor with the Hawks in the first two games of the series. Across the country people began to wonder if the Hawks even belonged in the NBA, let alone the playoffs.

All of that changed when the series shifted to Atlanta, however. In just three games, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Zaza Pachulia managed to cement themselves (at least temporarily) in the hearts of Hawks fans. Game 3 saw the emergence of Josh Smith, while Game 4 still stands in my mind as one the top Hawks games I have ever witnessed, in addition to having two of the dirtiest crossovers I’ve ever seen by a Hawk not named Jamal Crawford.

Joe Johnson simply took over, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter and 32 overall. With each tough jumper that he elevated for, he elevated the reputation of Atlanta Hawks basketball. Suddenly, we weren’t just a fluke. Although the Hawks lost the series in seven games, they entered the conversation of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. From that point on, the Hawks would not fail to make the playoffs, despite the changes in personnel, coaches, and philosophy that would take place over the next few years.

Now, after a wildly successful 60-22 campaign, the Hawks find themselves on the verge of greatness. This team is no longer expected to be competitive for a few games, then give way to a mightier opponent, we are expected to actually win series, and do it handily.

Some would say that this unexpected turnaround began with the hiring of Danny Ferry and Coach Mike Budenholzer in the summers of 2012 and 2013, but I believe that the playoff series with Boston four years earlier laid the groundwork for this historic turnaround. While having a coach that has won 98 games in two seasons, and garnered Coach-of-the-Year honors helps, that series gave the city of Atlanta the swagger of a championship contender, even if the talent and coaching wasn’t quite there yet.

I don’t know how this story will end, but it is refreshing to walk around campus and see people decked out in Atlanta Hawks gear, when a few years ago, admitting you’re a Hawks fan was analogous to telling someone that you’ve recently began oozing foreign substances from your eyeballs.

Regardless of the outcome of this season, I am proud of my Atlanta Hawks, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for a city that was once dominated by college football and the NFL, but is now turning into the newest and most passionate basketball hub in the country.

Next: Dennis Schröder: Still Young And Learning

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