I rcecently caught up with Atlanta Hawks play by play announcer Steve Holman. Holman has been with the Hawks for 30 years and has called 2,233 straight games. He was the 2014 Georgia Sportscaster of the Year and a 2011 Georgia Radio Hall of Fame inductee. Holman discussed his experiences in both the Omni Colliseum and Philips Arena, the Hawks of the 80s and 90s, and also the keys to Atlanta reaching the 2015 NBA Finals. Check out the full interview below.

Q.What type of work ethic does it take in the broadcasting industry to reach some of the accolades that you have achieved such as being inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame and Georgia Sportscaster of the Year?

A.You have to do certain amounts of preparations for every game and the knowledge that you learn over the course of time is very valuable from them. Showing up everyday is apart of it. These kinds of experiences lead to great job performances.

Q.Back when we had the Omni, what was the feeling like when you made the call when Dominique Wilkins became the Hawks' all-time leading scorer?

A. It was exciting because we knew it was coming at some point during the game and when the moment came, I let it ride. I didn't have it scripted or anything else and those are the best calls when something happens and you're always spontaneous. It was exciting because I was always close to Nique' on the court and I was happy for him when it happened. He's now back with us and with the Hawks' management and it's great to be around him for all these years.

Q.What was the electricity in The Omni like with those Hawks teams that consisted of guys like Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, & Doc Rivers in comparison to the electricity of Philips arena with the Atlanta Hawks of 2015?

A. This year is a special year. Our fans have been terrific all year long. This is a likeable squad and one that's fun to watch. The crowd in Game 5 a couple nights ago was as loud as I ever heard it in either building. Back in the Omni, in the 88' series against the Celtics and Larry Bird, it was crazy. The very next season, you were almost unable to get a ticket to a Hawks game. Right, now the crowd and teams we've had at Philips Arena have been really phenomenal.

Q.The Hawks came close to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 1988 when they took the Boston Celtics to seven games and Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird put on a show for the ages in Game 7. How do the 2015 Hawks compare to the team in 1988 knowing that that was the closest Atlanta has been to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in recent memory?

A.The guys on our squad now mentioned last night about that and they were aware of the history. Kyle Korver even said himself that over the course of the several years he's been playing here now, he's realized what it's like for the fans and the history of this team and he really feels apart of the community. Several of the players also said that they feel as though that our fans at Philips Arena have helped them to win the games they've had at home this year.


Q.The Hawks put the Wizards away last night in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Why do you think the Hawks struggled in the conference semifinal series against Washington? What were some of the weaknesses that the Wizards took advantage of in their fourth quarter comebacks?

A. The Wizards are a talented team and they had won four in a row against Toronto. They came in against us with a lot of confidence and they have great young players in the backcourt with Beal and Wall and they added the veteran in Paul Pierce this year. He hit the big shots when he needed to and even at the age of 37, he stepped up and made those shots. I give them a lot of credit and it wasn't so much as weaknesses for the Hawks, it was the way they were playing. They shut off Kyle Korver almost the entire series and their big guys battled with Paul and Al underneath and they were very scrappy. Both teams showed a lot the way they battled.

Q.The Hawks won 3/4 against the Cavs in the regular season but what are the keys to getting past them in the Eastern Conference Finals? We obviously know that Kevin Love is out and Cleveland is dealing with a banged up Kyrie Irving.

A. You have to remember that we also have a key member for our squad out in Thabo Sefolosha. It would've been very big in him guarding LeBron James so it's not only the Cavaliers that will be short handed. Our guys have done well against them this year and it will come down to see if one of our guys can stop LeBron. I think the Hawks know they can beat them and they beat them by almost 30 points in Cleveland this season and everybody says it's all different in the playoffs and it is but after the Hawks recently got out of very two tough playoff series, they're really feeling good about themselves and they know they can do well against Cleveland. I know they're underdogs in this series and I know they're about to shock the world.

Q.What are the key match ups that you're looking at in this series?

A. The rebounding is gonna be big with Tristan Thompson is is stepping in for Love(Kevin) now and you have to keep an eye on J.R. Smith with his three pointers and of course it starts with LeBron. It will be a comination of DeMarre Carroll or Kent Bazemore being on him. I think we have a little bit of an advantage on them in the matchup up front with Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and DeMarre Carroll. I think it will be a terrific series.

Q.It feels like the Hawks are the most underrated and under appreciated #1 seed of all time. How much the underdog role play in Atlanta's success in this deep playoff run?

A. They havent been bothered by the fact that people have somewhat disrespected them all year long as a 60 win team and a #1 seed. I think they will go into this series the way the did the last two and come out the way they did in the Game 6s against Brooklyn and Washington and decide that "Hey, we need to play like we're the number one seed and a 60 win team." I think that's the attitude that they will carry into this series.

Check out the full conversation between Steve Holman and I in the link below.

Click for full interview here.