The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team began playing in 1946 as a member of the National Basketball League (NBL), and joined the NBA in 1949. The team has had five names since its inception; the Buffalo Bisons (1946), the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946–1951), the Milwaukee Hawks (1951–1955), the St. Louis Hawks (1955–1968), and the Atlanta Hawks (1968–present). The Hawks won their only NBA championship in 1958, and have not returned to the NBA Finals since 1960. The team has played its home games at State Farm Arena since 1999.
There have been 30 head coaches for the Hawks franchise since joining the NBA. The team's first head coach while in the NBA was Roger Potter, who coached for seven games. Richie Guerin, who coached the Hawks for eight seasons, is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (618), regular-season games won (327), playoff games coached (60), and playoff games won (26). Alex Hannum is the only head coach to have won an NBA championship with the Hawks, doing so in the 1958 NBA Finals. Five Hawks coaches have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, four have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches, and three were listed among the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History in 1996. The current head coach is Quin Snyder.
Key GCGames coachedWWinsLLossesWin%Winning percentage#Number of coaches* Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the HawksElected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach
Coaches Note: Statistics are correct through April 13, 2026. This list does not include NBL seasons. #NameTerm GC W L Win% GC W L Win%AchievementsReferenceRegular seasonPlayoffsTri-Cities Blackhawks1*716————2572829312One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)3*23914————4* (as player-coach)321————5* (as player-coach)421428————Milwaukee Hawks6661749————7 (as player-coach)1173879————8 (as player-coach)983662————One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)St. Louis Hawks—–1054758945One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)9 (as player-coach)853————10 (as player-coach)103564723167NBA championship (1957–58)11*1064————12* (as player-coach)13789482091113–9356371257—602040————14* (as player-coach)642————15–193111822312111962–63 NBA Coach of the Year16*– (as player-coach)2901591312914151967–68 NBA Coach of the YearAtlanta Hawks—*–3281681603112191967–68 NBA Coach of the Year17–32014018062418*817————19–407199208166101977–78 NBA Coach of the Year20303————21–1648579514—–5743242504018221985–86 NBA Coach of the Year22–24612412282623–5423102324717301993–94 NBA Coach of the YearOne of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)24*–19169122————25–1375285————26–49220628629111827–23012810224101428–4102131972915142014–15 NBA Coach of the Year29*–18363120————30–179998023111231220————32–present267132135624
Notes A running total of the number of coaches of the Hawks. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once. Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
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