The 1985–86 Atlanta Hawks season was the franchise's thirty-seventh season in the National Basketball Association and the eighteenth in Atlanta Georgia. The Hawks entered the season with rookies Jon Koncak and Spud Webb. The Hawks were transformed into one of the youngest teams in the NBA. The Hawks were led by "The Human Highlight Reel" Dominique Wilkins. He would have an outstanding year as he led the NBA in scoring with an average of 30.3 points per game. One of the highlights of the season came when Webb (measuring five feet, seven inches) won the NBA Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend. In the second half of the season, the Hawks would be one of the strongest teams in the league. The club won 35 of their final 52 games to finish the season with a record of 50 wins and 32 losses. In the playoffs, the Hawks would eliminate the Detroit Pistons in 4 games. In the 2nd round, the Hawks would be defeated by the Boston Celtics in 5 games.
Draft picks
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | October 25, 19857:30p.m. EDT | Washington | L 91-100 | Wilkins (32) | Rollins (9) | Webb (10) | The Omni10,129 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | October 26, 19859:00p.m. EDT | @ Milwaukee | L 91–117 | Wilkins (18) | Levingston (9) | Williams (7) | MECCA Arena10,237 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | October 29 | New York | W 102-87 | Dominique Wilkins (22) | Dominique Wilkins (13) | Ray Williams (8) | Omni Coliseum9,901 | 1–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | November 1, 19857:30p.m. EST | @ Boston | L 105–109 | Wilkins (40) | Wilkins (10) | Wittman (5) | Boston Garden14,890 | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 2, 19857:30p.m. EST | Philadelphia | W 114–113 (OT) | Wilkins (28) | Levingston, Koncak (9) | Webb (11) | The Omni12,214 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | November 5, 19859:30p.m. EST | @ Denver | L 113–128 | Koncak (21) | Kevin Willis (10) | Johnson (6) | McNichols Sports Arena8,691 | 2–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | November 6 | @ Phoenix | W 114-106 | Dominique Wilkins (34) | Dominique Wilkins (9) | Spud Webb (5) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,805 | 3–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 | November 8 | @ Golden State | L 119-130 | Cliff Levingston (23) | Levingston, Koncak, Willis (6) | Williams, Johnson, Webb (5) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena14,780 | 3–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 9 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 97-94 | Cliff Levingston (20) | Dominique Wilkins (14) | Eddie Johnson (8) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena8,716 | 4–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 13 | Phoenix | W 108-101 | Cliff Levingston (23) | Cliff Levingston (11) | Eddie Johnson (10) | Omni Coliseum4,608 | 5–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | November 15, 19857:30p.m. EST | Detroit | W 122–118 | Wilkins (30) | Levingston (10)] | Johnson, Wittman (6) | The Omni12,924 | 6–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 | November 16 | @ New York | L 96-103 | Dominique Wilkins (19) | Tree Rollins (8) | Eddie Johnson (7) | Madison Square Garden15,422 | 6–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 20 | Chicago | W 116-101 | Dominique Wilkins (28) | Cliff Levingston (17) | Eddie Johnson (7) | Omni Coliseum7,179 | 7–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | November 23, 19857:30p.m. EST | Utah | L 106–116 | Wilkins (31) | Wilkins, Koncak, Rollins (7) | Johnson (8) | The Omni6,115 | 7–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 15 | November 24 | @ Cleveland | L 90-98 | Cliff Levingston (17) | Cliff Levingston (11) | Randy Wittman (8) | Richfield Coliseum6,145 | 7–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | November 26 | New York | W 104-94 | Dominique Wilkins (35) | Dominique Wilkins (9) | Randy Wittman (5) | Omni Coliseum7,488 | 8–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 17 | November 27, 19858:30p.m. EST | @ Milwaukee | L 96–114 | Johnson (24) | Tree Rollins (8) | Johnson (8) | MECCA Arena10,879 | 8–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | November 29 | @ New Jersey | L 97-107 | Dominique Wilkins (30) | Dominique Wilkins (9) | Eddie Johnson (5) | Brenden Byrne Arena10,329 | 8–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 19 | November 30, 19857:30p.m. EST | Boston | L 97–102 | Wilkins (24) | Willis (12) | Battle (5) | The Omni13,101 | 8–11