1995–96 Atlanta Hawks season

The 1995–96 Atlanta Hawks season was the 47th season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1] The Hawks had the 16th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected power forward Alan Henderson out of Indiana University.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Hawks guard, and one-time Slam Dunk champion Spud Webb from the Sacramento Kings; Webb played for the Hawks from 1985 to 1991.^[5][6][7] The team also replaced Stacey Augmon as the team's starting small forward with Ken Norman, as Augmon played a sixth man role off the bench for the first half of the regular season.

With the addition of Henderson and Webb, the Hawks got off to a 9–5 start to the regular season, but soon struggled losing 10 of their 14 games in December, falling below .500 in winning percentage with a 13–15 record at the end of the month. After 28 games, Norman was benched as Augmon returned to the lineup for the remainder of the regular season, as the Hawks posted a 10-game winning streak in January,^[8][9][10] and later on held a 26–21 record at the All-Star break.^[11] At mid-season, the team traded Webb, and Andrew Lang to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Christian Laettner, and Sean Rooks.^[12][13][14] The Hawks finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a 46–36 record, and earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.^[15][16]

Steve Smith averaged 18.1 points per game and contributed 140 three-point field goals, while Mookie Blaylock averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game, led the Hawks with 231 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Laettner provided the team with 14.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 30 games after the trade. In addition, Grant Long provided with 13.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Augmon contributed 12.7 points and 1.4 steals per game, Craig Ehlo contributed 8.5 points per game, and Henderson averaged 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.^[17] Norman averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in only just 34 games, and did not participate in the NBA playoffs, despite not being injured; Norman feuded with head coach Lenny Wilkens during the regular season after being removed from the team's starting lineup.^[18][19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Henderson was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team.^[20][21] One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on March 1, 1996, when Wilkens reached a significant milestone, becoming the first NBA coach ever to reach 1,000 victories, as the Hawks defeated his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 74–68 at home at the Omni Coliseum.^[22][23][24] Wilkens also finished in sixth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[25][26]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the Hawks faced off against the 3rd–seeded Indiana Pacers; All-Star guard Reggie Miller was out for most of the series due to an eye socket injury, as the Pacers were led by Rik Smits, Derrick McKey and Mark Jackson. The Hawks took a 2–1 series lead before losing Game 4 to the Pacers at home, 83–75 at the Omni Coliseum.^[27][28][29] With the series tied at 2–2, and despite the return of Miller, the Hawks managed to win Game 5 over the Pacers on the road, 89–87 at the Market Square Arena to win in a hard-fought five-game series.^[30][31][32]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant. The Magic won the first three games to take a 3–0 series lead, but the Hawks managed to win Game 4 at the Omni Coliseum, 104–99, in which Smith scored 35 points, and made 7 out of 14 three-point field-goal attempts.^[33][34][35] However, the Hawks lost Game 5 to the Magic on the road, 96–88 at the Orlando Arena, thus losing the series in five games.^[36][37][38]

The Hawks finished 27th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 496,668 at the Omni Coliseum during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league.^[17][39] Following the season, Augmon and Long were both traded to the Detroit Pistons,^[40][41][42] while Ehlo signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[43][44] and Rooks signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.^[45]

For the season, the Hawks changed their primary logo and uniforms, adding black and brown to their color scheme of red and yellow; the team's new logo featured a red hawk spreading its wings and holding a basketball,^[46] while their new uniforms featured their primary logo of a hawk on the front of their jerseys, with a red side panel on the left side of their shorts, plus adding half-black and half-red road uniforms.^[47][48] The team's new primary logo would remain in use until 2007, while the basic design of the logo would last until 2015, and the new uniforms would last until 1999.