Don’t sleep on the Atlanta Hawks in 2025-26.
Atlanta’s young studs on the wing, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, are only getting stronger, and the Hawks could emerge as an East power this season now that the conference is significantly weaker (Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton are both expected to miss the season).
Oh, and don’t forget that Trae Young is still only 26 years old. Atlanta has enough offensive firepower to score with anyone, and they have the defensive dogs to make up for Young’s shortcomings on that end.
The Hawks might be in for a successful season, which makes it unsurprising that Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes insinuated on Thursday that Atlanta could finish with the best record in the East.
“Massive leaps up the standings seem to be happening more often,” Hughes wrote. “The Detroit Pistons tripled their 2023-24 win total last year, while the Houston Rockets went from 22 to 41 to 52 victories across the last three seasons. The Atlanta Hawks are next, but we’re going to take things a step beyond “they’ll win lots more games” and argue they’ve got a real shot to finish first in the East.”
“It helps that the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, the last two Finals representatives from the conference, are cooked as contenders for this season because of key injuries,” Hughes continued. “The Philadelphia 76ers are a giant question mark, the Cleveland Cavaliers might not push as hard during the year after losing steam in another first-round ouster and the Milwaukee Bucks don’t have much besides Giannis Antetokounmpo. Atlanta is poised to capitalize.”
“Trae Young isn’t so far removed from guaranteeing a top-flight offense all by himself, only now he has hidden-gem star Jalen Johnson at his side,” Hughes added. “Dyson Daniels finished second in DPOY voting and will pair with Onyeka Okongwu, Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to wreak havoc on D. Porzingis also brings mismatch-busting offense to the mix. Zaccharie Risacher offers three-and-D upside, Luke Kennard is one of the best shooters of his generation and head coach Quin Snyder presided over similarly balanced conference-winners in Utah just a few seasons ago.”
If Porzingis can stay healthier for Atlanta than he did in a Boston Celtics uniform, the sky is the limit for the Hawks.