Thursday, 29 March 2012

The Greatest Head Coach in the History of the Atlanta Hawks

By Jack Jones


The Atlanta Hawks began playing in the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1946 and later became a member of the NBA in 1949. The Hawks have had five different name changes in their history. They were called the Buffalo Bisons, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Milwaukee Hawks, St. Louis Hawks and then the Atlanta Hawks in 1968. The team won their one and only title in 1958 and has had 28 different coaches over the years. The top 3 coaches for the Atlanta Hawks are Richie Guerin, Alex Hannum and Mike Fratello.

No. 3: Mike Fratello (1981 & 1984 - 1990)

Mike Fratello was the 20th head coach for the Hawks. In 1981 he coached the Hawks in three games and lost all 3. Fratello would get another shot in 1984, and this time he made the best of it. Fratello would go on to coach the Hawks in 574 regular season games, posting a winning percentage of (.564). His playoff resume stands at 40 games, 18 wins and 22 losses, with an overall winning percentage of (.450). He won the Coach of the Year Award in the 1985-86 season. He is among the most respected head coaches who have not won an NBA Championship. Have a quick look at the 2012 odds to win the NBA Finals to see if Atlanta is in the running this season.

No. 2: Alex Hannum (1957 (player-coach) & 1957 "1958)

Alex Hannum is the only coach to have won a title to the Atlanta Hawks, which came in the 1958 season. Hannum is one of only three coaches in the history of the NBA to win a Championship with two different teams. Hannum coached the Hawks for 103 regular season games and would win 56 of them, for a winning percentage of (.544). What truly get a lot of attention for Hannum, is his (.696) playoff winning % with the Hawks. He ended up training the team in 23 playoff games. If Hannum had coached the Hawks for a few more seasons, he might have ended up at No. 1 on this list. His greatness as a head coach not only stayed with the Hawks, but he brought titles to other very notable teams.

No. 1: Richie Guerin (1964 -1970 (player-coach) & 1970 "1972)

Richie Guerin earned the Coach of the Year Award in the 1967-68 season. He is the Hawks all-time leader in regular season games coached at 619. In those 619 games, Guerin posted a winning percentage of (.529). He has also coached the most playoff games in team history at 60, winning 26 of those games. In his first year with the Hawks he helped them to a playoff spot. That would become a little bit of a practice, as Guerin's Hawks made the playoffs in all eight years he was with the organization..

The Atlanta Hawks won their only championship under Hannum in 1958, but under Richie Guerin they were able to consistently win every season that places him out in front. Richie Guerin is the best boss coach for the Atlanta Hawks of All-time.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment