The Atlanta Hawks are arguably the NBA’s least distinguished franchise. The Hawks’ one NBA championship happened way back in 1958, and otherwise the team hasn’t even won the Eastern Conference during their existence. The team’s 2021 conference finals run was a rare re-introduction to national relevance for the franchise, but they followed it with a .500 season and eventually punted on that era when they traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards earlier this year.

The Hawks just seem like they’re permanently stuck in play-in tournament range, and not even a huge stroke of luck could help change that. Atlanta won the 2024 NBA Draft lottery from the No. 10 spot, but unfortunately it was a notoriously bad class at the top, and Atlanta ended up choosing a player we didn’t even have ranked in the top-10. Zaccharie Risacher has had a disappointing start to his career so far, and once again the Hawks are as mid as can be.

There was real optimism the Hawks could take a leap forward this year. The addition of Kristaps Porzingis, a star leap from Jalen Johnson, and the free agent signing of Nickeil Alexander-Walker had sharp analysts like The Ringer’s Zach Lowe on the Hawks bandwagon entering the season. Instead, Atlanta is 31-31 after 62 games, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone, because .500 is what this team has consistently been over the last 70 years.

The Hawks are almost perfectly average this season in terms of points scored and points allowed. Oh, but there’s so much more than that.

Atlanta’s mediocrity actually goes all the way back to the 1950s. The Hawks aren’t just .500 over their last 62 games, they’re actually .500 over their last 90 games, their last 134 games, their last 348 games, their last 420 games, their last 1,570 games …

You get the picture.

This stat is cherry-picking a little bit, but it’s still remarkable. The Hawks have always been mid over the course of 70 years, despite playing in what’s been the league’s JV conference for the last 25 years.

There is some hope on the way for Hawks fans. The team made a brilliant trade for the New Orleans Pelicans’ unprotected 2026 first-round pick during the 2025 draft. The Pelicans are currently 19-43 and are the sixth-worst team in the NBA. The Hawks actually own the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Milwaukee Bucks’ pick. The Bucks are 26-34, and would enter the lottery in the No. 10 spot if the season ended today. Atlanta is going to have outstanding odds at landing a top pick in an absolutely loaded draft class. Hawks fans, read our most recently 2026 NBA mock draft here.

Hey, there has to be some team that’s always losing to the Celtics and beating the Wizards in the East. Some teams are usually great, some teams are usually terrible. The Hawks are neither. They are simply pure mid.