Atlanta Hawks: Six Decades of NBA Basketball Downtown

A long road to Atlanta

The Hawks are one of the NBA's oldest franchises, and they took the scenic route to Georgia. The team began in 1946 as the Buffalo Bisons, became the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, then moved to Milwaukee in 1951 and St. Louis in 1955. In St. Louis, with future MVP Bob Pettit leading the way, the Hawks won the 1958 NBA championship, still the only title in franchise history.

In 1968 the team moved to Atlanta, giving the city its first NBA club. Early stars Lou Hudson and Pete Maravich brought scoring flair to the 1970s, and the Hawks quickly became part of the city's sports identity.

Legends of the Highlight Film era

No player is more tied to the Hawks than Dominique Wilkins. Nicknamed the Human Highlight Film for his thunderous dunks, he spent 12 seasons in Atlanta from 1982 to 1994, won the NBA scoring title in 1985-86 at 30.3 points per game, captured two Slam Dunk Contests, and made nine All-Star teams. He left as the franchise's career scoring leader and entered the Hall of Fame in 2006. A statue of Wilkins has greeted fans outside the arena since 2015.

The 1990s brought defensive anchor Dikembe Mutombo, and the 2014-15 team under Mike Budenholzer set a franchise best with 60 wins. In 2021, a young group led by Trae Young, drafted in 2018, reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Home court: State Farm Arena

The Hawks play downtown at State Farm Arena, which opened in September 1999 as Philips Arena. It took its current name in 2018, the same year a major renovation wrapped up. The building seats about 17,600 for basketball, and its angled steel columns facing downtown spell out the word ATLANTA. It sits close to Centennial Olympic Park, so game nights pair easily with dinner and a stroll through the heart of downtown.

A new chapter: 2025-26 and beyond

The 2025-26 season reshaped the team. In January 2026 the Hawks traded longtime face of the franchise Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in a deal that brought back CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Jalen Johnson responded with a breakout year, averaging 22.5 points and 10.3 rebounds and earning his first All-Star selection. After the All-Star break the Hawks went 20-6, including an 11-game winning streak, and finished 46-36 to win the Southeast Division for the first time since 2022-23.

As the sixth seed, Atlanta took a 2-1 lead over the New York Knicks in the first round before falling in six games. Heading into 2026-27, coach Quin Snyder has a roster built around Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and McCollum, with summer additions Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins bringing extra defensive bite.

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