1992–93 Atlanta Hawks season

The 1992–93 Atlanta Hawks season was the 44th season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 25th season in Atlanta, Georgia. The Hawks received the tenth overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft, and selected power forward Adam Keefe out of Stanford University. During the off-season, the team acquired Mookie Blaylock and Roy Hinson from the New Jersey Nets; however, Hinson never played for the Hawks due to knee injuries he sustained with the Nets, in which he last played in the NBA during the 1990–91 season.

With the addition of Blaylock and Keefe, and with Dominique Wilkins back after missing half of the previous season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Hawks lost five of their first seven games of the regular season, but managed to defeat the 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls on the road, 100–99 at the Chicago Stadium on November 7, 1992. The team played around 500. in winning percentage for the first half of the season, holding a 24–27 record at the All-Star break. After holding a 26–31 record as of March 4, 1993, the Hawks won 12 of their next 13 games while posting a 12–3 record in March, and two six-game winning streaks that month. The Hawks finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a 43–39 record, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence.

Wilkins averaged 29.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, led the Hawks with 120 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Kevin Willis averaged 17.9 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, while second-year guard Stacey Augmon contributed 14.0 points per game, and Blaylock provided the team with 13.4 points, 8.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game, along with 118 three-point field goals. Off the bench, Duane Ferrell provided with 10.2 points per game, while second-year guard Paul Graham contributed 8.1 points per game, Keefe averaged 6.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and starting center Jon Koncak provided with 3.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wilkins was selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Wilkins surpassed Bob Pettit as the Hawks all-time scoring leader during the regular season, and also finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Blaylock finished tied in eleventh place in Most Improved Player voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the Hawks faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Central Division champion Bulls, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Hawks lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, before losing Game 3 at home, 98–88 at the Omni Coliseum, in which Jordan scored 39 points despite a sprained right ankle; the Hawks lost the series to the Bulls in a three-game sweep. The Bulls would go on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive NBA championship.

The Hawks finished last in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 491,229 at the Omni Coliseum during the regular season, which was 27th in the league. This was also Wilkins' final full season with the Hawks before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the following season. Also, following the season, head coach Bob Weiss was fired after three seasons with the Hawks, and Travis Mays was released to free agency.

For the season, the Hawks changed their uniforms, adding side panels to the right side of their jerseys and shorts, which would remain in use until 1995.