Hawks turning Atlanta into All-Star Titletown

Who cares about playoff success when you dominate All-Star weekend?

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With their annual early-round playoff exit less than two months away and embarrassing home losses of 23, 34 and even 41-point margins, the Atlanta Hawks haven’t had much to celebrate recently and likely don’t have much to look forward to in the coming weeks.

But there is one time of year that the Hawks seem to have made a name for themselves: mid to late February.

This past weekend was no exception as the Hawks once again dominated the NBA All-Star weekend festivities.

The undeniable highlight of the 2011 All-Star weekend in Los Angeles was the Haier Shooting Stars competition (sarcasm) and true to form, the team from Atlanta took home the hardware.

Al Horford, former Hawk Steve Smith and Dream guard Coco Miller defeated Team Texas in the finals of the competition on Saturday night, thus adding to the ever-expanding tradition of Atlanta’s All-Star domination.

Josh Smith (2005), former guard Spud Webb (1986) and Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins (1985, 1990) each brought Slam Dunk Contest titles back to Atlanta, making the Hawks franchise the only one in league history with more than two different contest winners.

Who cares about the Celtics and Lakers combined 31 NBA Championships when they only have three combined Slam Dunk titles?

Sure, San Antonio may have four NBA Championships and a league-best three Shooting Stars titles, but whose to say that the Hawks aren’t on their way to starting an All-Star weekend dynasty of their own?

Actually, they already have.

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