When the subject is NBA tradition, the Atlanta Hawks aren't the first team that comes to mind. However, the Hawks are as venerable a franchise as any. The team's history extends back to 1946, when the squad was known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. At that time the team was shared by three neighboring river cities (Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa) that straddled the Mississippi River. In later years the team played in Milwaukee and St. Louis and enjoyed the services of a handful of the NBA's most memorable stars. In 1958, as the St. Louis Hawks, the club earned its only championship. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks joined the National Basketball League in the 1946-47 season, when the NBL included such teams as the Toledo Jeeps, the Youngstown Bears, the Oshkosh All-Stars, and the Sheboygan Redskins. That was the year that legendary center George Mikan played his first professional games, competing for the NBL's Chicago American Gears.

The Blackhawks were owned by Ben Kerner and played in the 6,000-seat Wharton Field House. Tri-Cities finished out of the playoffs in 1946-47 but improved its record to .500 the following year and made it to the first round of the postseason. At the start of the 1948-49 season Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers and three other NBL teams jumped to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which had teams in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. The 1948-49 Blackhawks featured Don Otten, the NBL's only remaining 7-footer. He led the league in scoring with 14.0 points per game and powered Tri-Cities into the playoffs with a 36-28 record. The Blackhawks survived the first round but were felled by the Oshkosh All-Stars in the second. Buy Atlanta Hawks Tickets.