Prior to Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday night, Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon decided to fire some shots across the bow of the Atlanta Hawks. Perhaps more specifically, across the bow of Hawks fans.
Although he grew up in Atlanta, Brogdon was a passive Hawks fan at best. He believes that’s the case for most Hawks fans, accusing them of being fairweather in their support of the team.
“I’m tied to the city. I love Atlanta. This is home and this will always be home,” Brogdon said, via NBC Sports Boston. “Historically, these fans haven’t been the most dedicated, and that’s myself included coming up. I was always an NBA fan but not Hawks specifically.”
Sustained success is what creates a loyal fanbase and the Hawks have certainly fallen short of that.
Although the Hawks have gone to the playoffs each of the past three years and 13 of the past 16 years, they’ve advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals just once over that span. They’ve also won just five playoff rounds over the past 11 seasons. And they last appeared in the NBA Finals all the way back in 1960-1961 when they still resided in St. Louis.
This season, the Hawks averaged just 17,555 in attendance per night, which was 18th in the NBA. By comparison, Brogdon and the Celtics averaged 19,156.
But the Hawks did give their fans a little hope on Fright night, dropping the Celtics, 130-122, to pull the series within a game (2-1). Atlanta will have a chance to even things up and potentially turn the tide on Sunday night at home.
