5 Toughest Things About Being An Atlanta Hawks Fan

The rest of the nation is just now been exposed to the failings of Bruce Levenson and the Atlanta Spirit. The truth is that they have been a disaster since taking over the Hawks. This is the worst ownership in professional sports, and it's a miracle the Hawks have found any success under their leadership. Ownership is a key ingredient to a successful franchise, and Hawks fans have endured a terrible run.

The Hawks have turned in some clunker seasons over the years. As hard is it may be to believe, however, they have only had the No. 1 overall pick one time. That was back in 1975 when they drafted David Thompson out of NC State. The Hawks have been bad, but have not been bad enough to win the lottery and get the top pick of the draft. Thus, they've missed out on some great talent over the years.

In the same vein, the Hawks have had some very good seasons. They have finished in the top half of the Eastern conference, gotten to the playoffs, won some series and even played in the NBA Conference Finals. However, they've never been the best. The Hawks have existed in some middling NBA purgatory for the entirety of their existence -- not consistently bad, but not consistently good either. That's a frustrating situation for fans.

The Hawks have been famously bad at making personnel decisions, maybe none worse than the 2004-2006 drafts. Under Billy Knight, the Hawks could have had the likes of Luol Deng (ironically), Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo. Instead they walked away with Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams. It's was a rough few years, and still continues to be when Hawks fans think of what might have been.

All of those things above have led to the toughest part for fans: the Hawks have not won a single championship. Fans have not gotten to see the Hawks even make a Finals appearance, let alone hoist the O'Brien Trophy. At least the Braves won one World Series and played for many others. Even the Falcons played in a Super Bowl. The Hawks have just existed, and that's the toughest things for fans to endure.