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May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) handles the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the first quarter in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Bleacher Report's Pick For Greatest Hawks Team Ever Will Surprise You

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 9:13 AM ET

While the 2025-2026 NBA season is right around the corner, it is always an interesting time to be debating "greatest ever" lists. Whether it is players or coaches or teams, it is always an interesting debate among who should be considered the greatest ever.

That is especially true when it comes to greatest teams in franchise history. While it might be easy to point some out among franchises, what do you do with a franchise that has not had much high-end success?

Yes the Hawks won a title in 1958, but they have not won one since they moved to Atlanta. In fact, they have only made the conference finals twice (2015 and 2021). You would think that would make one of those teams the greatest Hawks team of all time, but Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey had a different choice.

Greatest Hawks team ever?

Jason Getz-Imagn Images

Bailey's pick for the greatest Hawks team of all-time is the 1986-1987 version, one that featured the greatest Hawk of all-time, Dominique Wilkins. Here is what he had to say about why he chose this team over the others:

"We're going to jump right in with a hint of controversy. The Atlanta Hawks do have a championship in their franchise history. It came in 1958, when Bob Pettit's St. Louis Hawks beat Bill Russell's Boston Celtics in the Finals.

But that team went 41-31 in the regular season, in a league that only had eight teams. It only had to win two playoff series to secure the title.

The NBA was a whole different game back then, and the 1986-87 team featured here had a more impressive regular season in a deeper league. Its own playoff run was stopped short, but it was stopped by an Isiah Thomas-led Detroit Pistons team that would eventually win two championships.

There was some consideration for the 2014-15 team that finished the regular season with 60 wins. But ultimately, the star power from Dominique Wilkins (29.0 points per game that season) and steady contributions from Kevin Willis (16.1 points and 10.5 rebounds) and Doc Rivers (12.8 points, 10.0 assists and 2.1 steals) put the 1986-87 squad over the top."

Was it the right pick?

Jason Getz-Imagn Images

The 1986-87 team is a perfectly reasonable pick due to having probably the most stacked roster in Hawks history, but I don't think the 2014-2015 team or the 2020-2021 team should be forgotten.

The 2015 Hawks won the most games in franchise history, had four all-stars on the team, and was undefeated in the month of January. That team won 19 straight games and got the conference finals. While most will only remember them getting swept by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, this was a team that was banged up in that series (their best defender Thabo Sefolosha did not play in that series) and while I don't know if that would have swung that series alone, it would have made a difference.

The 2021 Hawks were two games away from reaching the NBA Finals and if Trae Young did not hurt his ankle in the game three loss to the Bucks, Atlanta may have won the series and faced Phoenix in the Finals, where they very well could have won. That was a team that peaked at the right team, dominating the first round series against the Knicks and then upsetting the 76ers in the semifinals.

It is an interesting debate about the greatest Hawks team of all-time and while my vote would go to the 2014-2015 team, the other two choices are reasonable.