Atlanta Hawks Trivia
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58 free Atlanta Hawks trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Atlanta Hawks trivia quiz follows the franchise across four cities: 38 days in Buffalo, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks under a young Red Auerbach, four Milwaukee seasons, Bob Pettit's St. Louis Hawks and their 1958 championship, and finally Atlanta from 1968 onward, from Pete Maravich and the Omni to Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Mookie Blaylock, Dikembe Mutombo, the 60-win 2015 team and the Trae Young era. Expect a mix of easy questions (which arena, which colours), classic trivia (who was traded for Bill Russell, who dunked over whom) and hard ones for lifers, such as why the Omni rusted, whose number 59 hangs in the rafters, and where the Hawks played 12 'home' games in 1985. Uniforms, rivalries with Boston and Orlando and front-office moves all get a turn. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so you can trust the explanation when you miss one. Play it solo, or use it as a round at your next watch party. For the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 58 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What name did the Hawks' home arena take in 2018 under a new naming-rights deal?
State Farm Arena
State Farm Arena. The insurer's name went up when the building reopened in October 2018 after a $192.5 million renovation.
Q 02The Hawks franchise began life in 1946 in which city?
Buffalo
Buffalo. The NBL's Bisons needed 3,600 fans a night to break even and drew barely 1,000, so its owners took the club to the Midwest.
Q 03What was the Hawks franchise called after moving to Moline, Illinois, from its first home?
Tri-Cities Blackhawks
Tri-Cities Blackhawks. The trio was Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport in Iowa, and the name was clipped to Hawks when the club left for Milwaukee in 1951.
Q 04About how long did the Hawks franchise last in its first home city before leaving town?
About five weeks
About five weeks. The club lasted 38 days: its general manager announced on Christmas Day 1946 that it was leaving for Illinois, partway through its first season.
Q 05Which legendary coach briefly led the Hawks franchise in 1949–50, its first NBA season?
Red Auerbach
Red Auerbach. He lasted one season before leaving for Boston, where his Celtics went on to beat the Hawks in three NBA Finals.
Q 06Which future Celtics great did the Hawks franchise draft in 1950 but fail to sign?
Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy. He refused to report, his next club folded, and Boston's owner then drew his name out of a hat while hoping for someone else.
Q 07In which city did the Hawks win their only NBA championship?
St. Louis
St. Louis. The Hawks lost the 1957 Finals in seven games, then beat the same opponent a year later for the only title the franchise has won.
Q 08The Hawks won their lone NBA title a year after losing Game 7 of the Finals in what fashion?
In double overtime
In double overtime. The Hawks lost that 1957 decider 125–123 to Boston, then beat the same team in six games the following spring.
Q 09A Hawk scored 47 in Game 7 of a 1988 playoff series yet lost a famous duel to which rival?
Larry Bird
Larry Bird. He scored 20 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Boston edged the Hawks 118–116 to take the series.
Q 10Which Hawks forward won the NBA's first official Most Valuable Player award in 1956?
Bob Pettit
Bob Pettit. Cut from his high school team as a freshman and a sophomore, he retired in 1965 as the first NBA player to score 20,000 points.
Q 11Which future Hall of Famer did the Hawks draft second in 1956 and immediately trade to Boston?
Bill Russell
Bill Russell. The Hawks got two future Hall of Famers in return and won a title with them, but Russell's Celtics beat them in three other Finals.
Q 12Which ageing main home arena did owner Ben Kerner tire of before selling the Hawks to Atlanta buyers?
Kiel Auditorium
Kiel Auditorium. The hall dated from 1934 and held about 10,000, and Kerner sold up after the city kept refusing his demands for a building of his own.
Q 13Which LSU scoring sensation did the Hawks draft third overall in 1970, two years after moving to Atlanta?
Pete Maravich
Q 21The Hawks' 'Human Highlight Film' won two Slam Dunk Contests but lost a famous 1988 final to which rival?
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan. He won on his home floor in Chicago with a perfect-score dunk from the free-throw line; the Hawk's own titles came in 1985 and 1990.
Q 22Which guard, acquired from New Jersey in 1992, was still the Hawks' career steals leader as of 2025?
Mookie Blaylock
Mookie Blaylock. Pearl Jam first performed under his name, and called their debut album Ten after his jersey number.
Q 23Which Hawks coach became the NBA's all-time leader in coaching wins with victory number 939 in 1994–95?
Lenny Wilkens
Pete Maravich. His $1.9 million contract was by far the richest yet, and the veterans he joined resented it.
Q 14On which university's campus did the Hawks play their first four Atlanta seasons?
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech. The Hawks borrowed its Alexander Memorial Coliseum while a downtown arena was built, and moved back in 1997 when that arena was torn down.
Q 15The Hawks' new arena of 1972 was built to house them and which NHL expansion team?
Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames. They shared the building for eight seasons, until the hockey club was sold in 1980 and moved to Calgary, keeping its name.
Q 16The Hawks held the first and third picks in 1975, but both signed with which ABA team?
Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets. David Thompson and Marvin Webster both chose the ABA club, so Atlanta's two top-three picks never played a game for the Hawks.
Q 17Which Atlanta sports owner bought the Hawks in 1977?
Ted Turner
Ted Turner. The cable pioneer already owned baseball's Braves, and he promised fans the Hawks would stay in Atlanta.
Q 18Which Georgia alumnus and future franchise scoring leader joined the Hawks in 1982?
Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins. Utah drafted him third overall, but he was unwilling to play there, and the Jazz traded him to Atlanta before he played a game.
Q 19Because of poor attendance, the Hawks played 12 home games of the 1984–85 season in which city?
New Orleans
New Orleans. The city had been without the NBA since the Jazz left for Utah in 1979, and a promoter paid to stage a dozen Hawks home games there.
Q 20Which 5-foot-7 Hawks guard won the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest?
Spud Webb
Spud Webb. He beat a Hawks teammate, the defending champion, in the final, and did it in his home town of Dallas.
Lenny Wilkens. He passed the Celtics coach whose record had stood since 1966, with the man himself in the building, and took a few puffs of a cigar in tribute.
Q 24Which forward came to Atlanta in the 1994 trade of its all-time top scorer to the Clippers?
Danny Manning
Danny Manning. The Hawks had the East's best record when they made the deal, lost in the second round, and then watched him leave as a free agent that summer.
Q 25Which former MVP centre signed with the Hawks as a free agent in 1988?
Moses Malone
Moses Malone. Atlanta signed him after three straight second-round exits, then went out a round earlier, losing to Milwaukee in the first round in 1989.
Q 26Which Spanish star did the Hawks draft third in 2001, then trade to the Grizzlies on draft night?
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol. Atlanta wanted Georgia native Shareef Abdur-Rahim in return; Gasol went on to win two NBA titles with the Lakers.
Q 27Which All-Star forward played one game for the Hawks in 2004 before being sent to Detroit?
Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Wallace. He scored 20 points in his only Hawks game, was traded again within days, and won the title with the Pistons that June.
Q 28The Hawks' league-worst 13 wins in 2004–05 were five fewer than which team managed?
Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats. The first-year expansion team went 18–64 to Atlanta's 13–69, and the Hawks then lost the draft lottery as well.
Q 29The Hawks acquired Joe Johnson in a 2005 sign-and-trade with which team?
Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns. Johnson asked the Suns not to match Atlanta's $70 million offer, so Boris Diaw and two first-round picks went the other way.
Q 30Which Florida big man did the Hawks select third overall in 2007?
Al Horford
Al Horford. He arrived from back-to-back NCAA titles with the Gators, and the Hawks made the playoffs in each of his nine seasons.