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Atlanta Hawks, 1949
The franchise was established in 1946 as the Buffalo Bisons in the NBL by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris. The team relocated soon and were named the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. The Blackhawks joined the NBA after the merger in 1949. By 1951, they were on the move again, this time to Milwaukee and were named the Hawks. After 4 terrible seasons, Kerner moved the team again, this time to St. Louis. In the first 6 seasons in St. Louis, the Hawks reached 4 NBA Finals, all against the Boston Celtics and won 1 title in 1958.
1961, however, would be the last time the team reached the NBA Finals.
The following years were marred by Playoff disappointments, which would be a running theme for the Hawks to this date. In 1968, Thomas Cousins purchased the team and moved it to Atlanta. While the team reached 2 division Finals in its first two seasons, it would be almost 50 years till they'd reach the Conference Finals. In 1977, the team was sold again, to Ted Turner. The team was as usual good, but never good enough to get it done, something which could also be said about the Hawks under Bruce Levenson who purchased the team in 2004 and sold it in 2015. Under the current ownership of Tony Ressler, the Hawks finally reached the Conference Finals but were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They are, however, currently in full tank mode and success doesn't really seem in sight.
