NBA: Greatest head coach in each team’s franchise history

Greatest head coach in Atlanta Hawks history: Lenny Wilkens, 1993-00

The Atlanta Hawks are a franchise with a long history, much of it more successful than casual fans may think. The St. Louis Hawks were the first foil to Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, the only team to beat Russell in the NBA Finals in 1958. Head coach Alex Hannum coached just 103 games for the franchise, but that included the franchise’s only title.

In the decades since, the Hawks have continued that role of pesky challenger to Eastern Conference powers, unable to return to the NBA Finals, but generally competitive nonetheless.

Richie Guerin, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello and Mike Budenholzer have all spent time at the helm of many successful Hawks squads. Seven times have Hawks coaches claimed the NBA Coach of the Year award.

Out of these strong head coaches, the one who stands above the rest is Lenny Wilkens. One of the most decorated coaches in league history, Wilkens oversaw the Hawks from 1993 to 2000, winning 310 of the 542 (57.2 percent) regular-season games he coached.

In the NBA playoffs, he went 17-30, reaching the postseason in all but one season. However, his teams always ended up losing to the likes of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Reggie Miller’s Indiana Pacers each year.

Wilkens is a rare three-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, reaching it as a player, coach and member of the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” as an assistant coach. While he could never get the Hawks back to the NBA Finals, he was a steady and experienced hand who helped inconsistent rosters be consistently successful in the 1990s.