ATLANTA -- In the atrium of Atlanta City Hall, Mayor Kasim Reed asked the gathered crowd to try and shatter the surrounding glass -- with its collective voice. The crowd in question featured hundreds of Atlanta Hawks supporters, each showing up on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the franchise's historic season with an appreciation rally. Reed simply requested the appropriate volume.
"Our goal was simple," Hawks CEO Steve Koonin told the crowd. "We wanted to be true to Atlanta."
The Hawks' accomplishments are well known. They won a franchise-record 60 regular-season games, earned a No. 1 seed, made their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals and sent four players to the NBA All-Star Game, and Mike Budenholzer was named Coach of the Year. Despite their unsightly playoff exit, a decisive sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was arguably the most successful season in the Hawks' quiet NBA history.
They were one of the league's top storylines for the better part of the campaign, invigorating a city's support of its basketball team in the process.
The latter seems to be a greater point of pride, at least for the team's executives who were tasked with regaining the city's backing following a tumultuous offseason. That was the main talking point for Koonin at the event: The coalition of on-court performance and his organization's ability to live up to its "True To Atlanta" marketing campaign.
"There are some other things that have happened," Koonin said after rattling off the team's on-court accomplishments. "We did unite a city. Sports are supposed to bring people together, and Atlanta has come together behind these Atlanta Hawks. And for that we are incredibly grateful."
The #Hawks are celebrating their historic season at Atlanta City Hall right now pic.twitter.com/Dk1W0QzYER
— FOX Sports South (@FOXSportsSouth) June 3, 2015
" ... The bars, the restaurants, the retailers all around Philips Arena have had record sales because fans came out in record numbers. The Atlanta Hawks sold out 34 of their last 36 games."
Additionally, the organization participated in numerous public charity functions, found a new level of creativity with its marketing and promotions department and paid tributes to the city's rich, diverse heritage. Koonin pointed out that the Hawks funded five new public basketball courts for youth around the city. The franchise also announced its involvement in the planning of a new project to build a recreation center in Atlanta's Summerhill neighborhood.
Budenholzer joined players Kyle Korver -- the sharpshooter navigating on a steerable knee walker (See: Georgia State coach Ron Hunter) following his post-playoffs ankle surgery -- Mike Muscala and Kent Bazemore on stage to officially proclaim that the work is not finished.
The Hawks have a busy offseason ahead, including decisions on free agents DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap and the No. 15 overall draft pick, but the goal is to uphold this positive momentum.
"We learned a lot this year, we grew a lot," Budenholzer said. "Obviously a pretty incredible regular season, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, there's so much that you learn from that process. And we're going to get better moving forward. ... We're looking for more. We want more."
Reed presented the entire Hawks organization with the Phoenix Award, calling it the highest honor the city's mayor can bestow.
At the end of the ceremony, music began blaring as players waded into the crowd for autographs and pictures. Along with the typical sports-related anthems, a 2011 pop smash from Rihanna filtered in, a curious and, at the same time, somewhat fitting selection given the Hawks' year-long revival: "We found love in a hopeless place..." The choice didn't seem unintentional.
