Season Wrap: The 2025-26 Atlanta Hawks

  • By Keston Paul

    Last Updated on May 18, 2026 2:04 am by Keston Paul | Published: May 18, 2026

    The Hawks had a tumultuous season in some ways, but it was a very positive one in most aspects. They moved on from Trae Young during his eighth season with the franchise after 493 games together for what was viewed as underwhelming compensation, but went on to secure an automatic playoff berth after a strong finish to the regular season.

    How’d It Go?

    On October 22, 2025 — Game 1 of the regular season — the Hawks fielded a starting lineup of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis. Off the bench, they had Onyeka Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard absorbing the bulk of the minutes with spotty playing time for Mouhamed Gueye and Keaton Wallace. Okongwu was always destined for a starter-level role off the bench and Alexander-Walker also seemed likely to be given a sixth-man-level role.

    In the fifth game of the season, Trae Young suffered a right MCL sprain, missed 22 games — during which the Hawks went 13-9 — then with Young playing in five of the next six games, the team rattled off seven consecutive losses as he appeared to disrupt their rhythm. In Young’s five games at the beginning of the season, the team went 2-3 and one of those wins happened during Young’s seven-minute appearance due to the MCL injury. Naturally, Young’s negative impact on the defense became a hot topic of discussion, and the more free-flowing, team-oriented offense also reverted to more of just “playing through Young” when he was around. We aren’t here to discuss how effective Young is as a player, but it did seem like there were some issues with the fit for what the squad was becoming. Young then suffered a right quad contusion and never played for the Hawks again.

    On an inconspicious night in January, ESPN’s Shams Charania dropped one of his bombs:

    Many were disappointed with the return, and there was chatter about whether or not the Hawks would try to make another move involving McCollum. There were also other major storylines surrounding the Hawks: Jalen Johnson’s All-Star breakout, Zaccharie Risacher’s continued subpar play and Nickeil Alexander-Walker looking like a legitimate starter — an opportunity he seized during Young’s MCL injury — becoming a tough-shot maker as a secondary source of offense.

    Another subplot was Kristaps Porzingis: continued issues with injuries and mysterious illness listings (believed to be POTS until there was some confusion down the line about whether that was true), which eventually led to a trade with the Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga (and Buddy Hield) — a bet on youth, athleticism and upside for a team that likes to run in transition. Porzingis only appeared in 17 games for the Hawks in 2025-26 before being traded on February 5, nearly a month after his last appearance for the team on January 5.

    Some other notable moves:

    • Vit Krejci was traded for an injured Duop Reath, who was waived to create roster space.
    • Luke Kennard was traded to the Lakers for Gabe Vincent and the Lakers’ 2032 second-round pick.
    • The Hawks acquired Jock Landale from the Jazz for cash.

    And there were a number of moves that involved waiving and signing various players on two-way contracts, plus a few moves at the end of the standard roster for depth.

    So basically, there was a lot of roster turnover and the Hawks had to integrate a high-usage guard in McCollum into the mix (albeit, less high-usage than Young). However, everything worked! McCollum did provide much-needed ball-handling in a lower-usage fashion than Young, allowing the rest of the offense to still flow somewhat freely. McCollum eventually displaced Risacher in the starting unit on February 22, and Risacher started one more game the rest of the way — on February 26 with a couple of guys out. While Risacher still had a healthy dose of minutes off the bench for a while, that dwindled until his first DNP-CD on April 8. In the first-round playoff series vs. the Knicks, Risacher received three DNP-CDs, played fewer than four minutes twice and lucked into 16 minutes thanks to the oodles of garbage time in the infamous Game 6 blowout loss.

    The Hawks finished as the No. 6 seed in the East with a 46-36 record, their most wins since they went 48-34 in 2015-16. The beginning of the playoffs was exciting, as the Hawks took a 2-1 lead over the Knicks with CJ McCollum looking like the latest Hawks villain of Madison Square Garden. However, the Knicks brought out an adjustment in Game 4, playing through Karl-Anthony Towns as a dribble-handoff hub, and the Hawks were never able to recover. The series will be remembered for an 89-140 loss in Game 6 where the Hawks were down 36-83 at halftime. However, you cannot deny that it was a successful season.

    In the NBA Draft Lottery, the Hawks had the Pelicans’ unprotected first-round pick with the seventh-best odds at No. 1, but had to settle for the No. 8 pick at the end of the day. They acquired that pick in a trade that landed them Asa Newell at No. 23 in the 2025 NBA Draft with the Pelicans taking Derik Queen at No. 13.

    A team with two consecutive Most Improved Players (Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker) whose sharp moves alongside internal development resulted in significant improvement, must surely be doing something right. That goes without the potential swindling of the Pelicans in that trade as well, although we may want to wait on the outcome of that No. 8 pick.

    Coaching

    Quin Snyder just completed his fourth season (on paper) as head coach of the Hawks, but it was his third full season. He went 10-11 in his 21 games at the end of 2022-23, followed by records of 36-46 and 40-42 before ending the 2025-26 campaign with a 46-36 (.561) record for the 6-seed in the East. The Hawks also finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 115.0 offensive rating (14th), a 112.9 defensive rating (10th) and a plus-2.2 net rating (12th). They held a pace of 102.50 (fifth). This team made its money in transition and averaged the third-most points (20.7) off turnovers per game with 18.1 fast-break points (also third).

    We should also look at what they did after the All-Star break, as they had a strong finish after CJ McCollum entered the starting lineup. They went 20-6 for the fourth-best record in that post-ASB timeframe, only trailing the Spurs, Thunder and Celtics. After the All-Star break, the Hawks also had an offensive rating of 118.3 (11th), a defensive rating of 108.6 (second) and a net rating of plus-9.7 (fourth). Additionally, their pace of 101.61 ranked 11th and they averaged 22.5 points per game off turnovers, which led the NBA. They also averaged 18.2 fast-break points (fifth). Of course, not every turnover leads to a direct transition bucket.

    The Players

    Jalen Johnson
    PF, Atlanta Hawks
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    25-26 ATL 72 72 35.2 8.3 17.1 48.9 4.2 5.3 78.8 1.7 4.7 35.2 22.5 10.3 7.9 1.2 0.4 3.4
    24-25 ATL 36 36 35.7 7.5 15.1 50.0 2.6 3.5 74.6 1.2 3.9 31.2 18.9 10.0 5.0 1.6 1.0 2.9
    23-24 ATL 56 52 33.7 6.4 12.5 51.1 1.9 2.6 72.8 1.3 3.6 35.5 16.0 8.7 3.6 1.2 0.8 1.8

    ADP: 25.3/46.7 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value:11/15 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 12/18 (8/9-cat)

    Johnson had already flashed some second-round upside before, but of course, he had a lot of injury issues in past seasons that was built into his ADP. ESPN’s ADP was still extreme, but Yahoo’s was logical. Johnson went on to play a career-high 72 games, becoming a first-time All-Star in a breakout season. Alongside that, he averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, 3-pointers and free-throw percentage. He also averaged his most turnovers per game while taking on extra usage. Johnson took some hits in the defensive categories — likely linked to the extra responsibilities he had on the offensive end — but if he can find a way to balance that, his upside could be even higher. There were times during the season when Johnson looked like a mid-to-late 9-cat first-round producer, but he did slow down just a smidge as things progressed. Johnson’s ability to fill up practically every column in the box score should continue making him an 8-cat/9-cat gem as a star building block for the Hawks, plus any continued improvements should concretize his place in the rankings even further.

    Onyeka Okongwu
    C, Atlanta Hawks
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    25-26 ATL 74 63 31.0 5.6 11.6 48.0 2.1 2.7 75.7 1.9 5.2 37.6 15.2 7.6 3.1 1.1 1.1 1.7
    24-25 ATL 74 40 27.9 5.2 9.2 56.7 2.2 2.9 75.9 0.6 2.0 32.4 13.4 8.9 2.3 0.9 0.9 1.2
    23-24 ATL 55 8 25.5 4.1 6.6 61.1 1.7 2.1 79.3 0.4 1.3 33.3 10.2 6.8 1.3 0.5 1.1 0.8

    ADP: 94.7/87.9 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 34/25 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 55/41 (8/9-cat)

    Going from an ADP outside of the top-85 to Okongwu’s per-game finish and value by totals is significant. So, what happened? Across Okongwu’s 74 games, he made a career-high 63 starts with his 31.0 MPG being a significant career-best number as well. Above all, playing time is the most important thing for fantasy value. That naturally gave us personal bests in points, assists, steals and threes, with his second-best rebounds and joint-third-best blocks per game.

    However, it would be too simplistic to only credit the improvement to Okongwu playing more minutes despite it being a major factor. Okongwu has become a true threat as a floor-spacer with a career-best 37.6 percent from three on 5.2 attempts per game, more than doubling his volume from the previous season. Opponents have to genuinely scheme for his shooting, and given Dyson Daniels’ shooting limitations, it makes Okongwu integral to the Hawks’ system.

    Of course, while Kristaps Porzingis’ injuries, continued illness and eventual trade played a part in the increased opportunity, it did still seem like Okongwu was set for low-end starter-level minutes off the bench, so he was likely set for a career year either way it shook out. His .480 FG% was a clear career low — and that was not just the increased 3-point volume as his .564 2P% was also a career low. However, Okongwu was a true triple-one (threes, steals, blocks) fantasy threat with solid scoring impact, decent rebounding and his 3.1 APG weren’t anything to sneeze at for a big man either. The main issue is that Okongwu is still a bit undersized as a full-time center, so the Hawks may want to invest in a bigger, alternative body (via the draft, free agency or trade market). Still, even if that happens, Okongwu’s impact as a shooter should keep him near the 30-minute range as a floor.

    Nickeil Alexander-Walker
    SG, Atlanta Hawks
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    25-26 ATL 78 71 33.4 7.0 15.3 45.9 3.6 3.9 90.2 3.2 8.1 39.9 20.8 3.4 3.7 1.3 0.5 2.1
    24-25 MIN 82 10 25.3 3.3 7.5 43.8 1.1 1.4 78.0 1.7 4.5 38.1 9.4 3.2 2.7 0.6 0.4 1.2
    23-24 MIN 82 20 23.4 2.9 6.6 43.9 0.6 0.8 80.0 1.6 4.1 39.1 8.0 2.0 2.5 0.8 0.5 0.9

    ADP: None/None (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 15/12 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 31/28 (8/9-cat)

    As the NBA’s release kindly points out, Alexander-Walker had a massive scoring improvement. Initially, it seemed like NAW would be utilized as a sixth man or sixth-man-adjacent player (so, the seventh man). However, Trae Young’s MCL sprain gave NAW an opportunity to start and he did not look back. For those who don’t remember, NAW entered the NBA as a bit of a microwave scorer, but failed in that role, so he transformed himself into one of the league’s better 3-and-D players in Minnesota. In the 2025 offseason, the Hawks acquired NAW via a sign-and-trade of a Cavs 2027 second-round pick and cash, handing NAW a four-year, $62 million deal. That contract was viewed as 50-50 by many at the time, possibly swinging either way, but now, it is undoubtedly viewed as a value deal.

    NAW started a career-high 71 games across 78 appearances, playing a career-high 33.4 MPG with personal bests in points, rebounds, assists, steals, threes and all of his percentages: FG%, 3P%, FT%. The fact that NAW had his most efficient season alongside a massive jump in usage is superbly impressive. Also, his BPG were a joint-career-high. In the playoffs, NAW struggled from 2-point range but still knocked down 3.0 triples per game at a 41.9 percent clip in the six-game series loss to the Knicks. Even if NAW does slow down a little efficiency-wise next season, it does seem like he should still be a legit 12-team option as long as there isn’t a significant roster shakeup in Atlanta.

    Dyson Daniels
    PG, Atlanta Hawks
    SeasonTeamGPGSMPG FGMFGAFG% FTMFTAFT% 3PTM3PTA3PT% PTSREBAST STLBLKTO
    25-26 ATL 76 76 33.2 5.3 10.2 51.7 1.0 1.6 61.5 0.3 1.5 18.8 11.9 6.8 5.9 2.0 0.4 1.8
    24-25 ATL 76 76 33.8 6.0 12.1 49.3 1.1 1.8 59.3 1.1 3.1 34.0 14.1 5.9 4.4 3.0 0.7 2.0
    23-24 NO 61 16 22.3 2.3 5.1 44.7 0.6 0.9 64.2 0.7 2.2 31.1 5.8 3.9 2.7 1.4 0.4 1.0

    ADP: 37.9/46.3 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 31/24 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 57/45 (8/9-cat)

    This is just a sneak peek of the Season Wrap. The entire roster is covered, as well as the Fantasy Star, Letdown, One to Watch and One Burning Question for this team.ย You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!ย Premium Access Required

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    May 18, 2026, 2:04 am