Tonight, the Hawks host Portland. The game will no doubt be marked as the return to Atlanta of Jamal Crawford, who left the Hawks and signed a free agent contract with the Blazers after the lockout ended.
But Crawford is not the first Blazers to have a connection with the Atlanta Hawks franchise.
Like the Hawks, the Blazers own one NBA World Championship. It came during the 1976-77 season.
Portland was the immediate beneficiary of the ABA-NBA merger that happened the summer preceding their championship run. Four ABA teams joined the NBA; the remaining teams were dissolved and their players distributed among the remaining NBA squads in a dispersal draft. The Trail Blazers selected Maurice Lucas in the dispersal draft. That summer they also hired Jack Ramsay as head coach.
The two moves, coupled with the team’s stellar play, led Portland to several franchise firsts: a winning record (49–33), a playoff appearance, and the NBA Championship.
Also that summer, the Blazers selected a point guard in the draft from the University of Dayton, Detroit native Johnny Davis.
Davis played all 82 games for the Blazers as their backup point guard to Dave Twardzik. Eventually, Davis made his way to Atlanta and served the Hawks in a variety of capacities.
First, Johnny played for the Hawks for two seasons in 1982-84, and finished his playing days here in 1986. Before he got into coaching, Davis worked in the Hawks community relations department.
Davis got into coaching, and served as the head coach of three different franchises: the 96-97 Philadelphia 76ers; the Orlando Magic from 2003-2005; and briefly as an interim head coach at Memphis.
His Memphis stint last just three days, and ironically was replaced by Lionel Hollins, his teammate on the 1977 championship Portland team.
This season, Davis is in his first as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, here two days ago to face the Hawks on MLK Day. Tonight, Davis and the Raptors are in Boston to battle the Celtics.
Good to see Johnny Monday. Good man.
