The Atlanta Hawks are still trying to recreate that glory they found during a 2021 playoff run.
Only one player, Onyeka Okongwu, remains from that Eastern Conference finalist team. Coaches and executives have come and gone, and yet every season the Hawks seem locked in a battle against .500 — not against the elite of the NBA.
Many pointed to the difficulties of building around a small, defensively challenged guard like Trae Young for this, but as the New York Knicks showed, the right team building execution can navigate those challenges (although not a perfect comparison for Jalen Brunson’s brilliance, of course).
As they head into the next season, there doesn’t appear to be much of a path leading to the 2027 NBA Finals for them. The team opted for continuity and long-term flexibility in their moves this offseason — which I believe was the mature and prudent path forward in fairness.
So why is it that the Hawks continue to be stuck in the middle?
They’ve replaced one homegrown, foundational All-Star (Young) with another (Jalen Johnson). Both guys have proven to be elite NBA players as first rounders and former five-star high school players.
But that same first round of the NBA Draft is exactly where the Hawks are otherwise snakebitten, and the main reason why their stuck in mediocrity.
Let’s take a brief stroll down memory lane (focused on first-round draft picks because second round picks are a pure crapshoot):
This one will be quick: the Hawks hit both of their top 29 first round picks out of the park (the less that’s said about Omari Spellman at 30, the better). Kevin Huerter has proved to be a quality pick at 19 even as his career has stalled out after a torrid start to his Sacramento Kings career.
Still, this draft will likely be about who the Hawks didn’t come away with than who they did. What does the franchise look like if they had opted for the player with six (!) First Team All-NBA selections before the age of 28 instead of Young — provided they didn’t later trade him to the Lakers for pocket lint.
Here’s where things really began to go off the rails. The Hawks — coming off a 29-53 season — held three first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, no. 8, no. 10 (from the 2018 draft night trade), and no. 17 (fun fact: the pick that became reigning Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker).
Instead of bringing in three rookies, the Hawks decided to use no. 8, no. 17, and second round assets to move up for De’Andre Hunter at fourth overall. They rounded out their first round with Cam Reddish at 10. The thought was both guys would bring length, athleticism, two-way impact and position versality to better round the roster around Young and emerging forward John Collins.
With the current Knicks as a parallel, strong wing defense is the best way to cover for a small guard defensively. Between Hunter (6’8″ with a 7’2″ wingspan) and Reddish (6’8″ with a 7’0.5″ wingspan), Wingstop should have proven to a great fit around Young.
Hunter was on his way to just maybe living up to that billing, until a knee injury shortened his sophomore season in 2020-21. Multiple setbacks ultimately sapped his athleticism, and he now looks to be on the back end of his NBA career.
To be completely frank, Reddish never even set foot down that path. He didn’t seem likely to accept a complementary role on offense, and his defensively attentiveness and motor waxed and waned like the phases of the moon.
Reddish (just turned 27) is currently set to play in Lithuania for the upcoming season.
Onyeka Okongwu was the pick here at sixth overall. While it’s not ideal to draft a backup center this high in the draft, in the years since grabbing a starting spot, he’s transformed into one of the league’s best stretch centers.
Although he has his critics when it comes to measuring up with other starting centers on traditional contributions like rim protection and rebounding, coming away with a serviceable player is fine, I guess.
Jalen Johnson at 20th overall. Great pick, no notes.
Here’s where things really begin to get wicked.
AJ Griffin slipped from being a lottery selection down into the Hawks’ lap at 16 this draft. Playing time was sparce to begin his career, but he ended his rookie season on a solid note, showcasing his easy shooting motion and clearly NBA-ready body.
His sophomore season didn’t go to plan, however. After a trade and brief stint with the Houston Rockets’ summer league team, Griffin retired from basketball altogether in 2024. He is currently pursuing a career in ministry.
Maybe there’s a comeback in store for Kobe Bufkin yet, but this one is already another wasted draft pick for the Hawks.
After being selected 15th overall, Bufkin suffered a thumb injury and a labrum tear in his first couple of seasons in Atlanta. He has since been traded, waived, and is currently signed to the New Orleans Pelicans after some time with the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
It’s rare when the number one overall pick is on a different team than the one that drafted him just two years into his career (non-Andrew Wiggins or Markelle Fultz division). Number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher is now trying to establish himself with the Dallas Mavericks after his playing time dwindled to zero with the Hawks last season.
Not every one of those picks would or should have produced high-level, franchise foundation types of players. Unearthing Jalen Johnson at 20 was a stroke of luck to be sure.
But to not come away with even long-term contributors out of the 2019, 2022, 2023 or 2024 drafts (including no. 1, no. 4 and no. 10 overall picks) has done real damage to a program trying to draft and develop their way into contention.
As a result, the Hawks have had to turn towards free agency and the trade market to find depth in the form of Dyson Daniels, Nickel Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum. And maybe the team can continue the form they found after the All-Star break last season and carry it into the upcoming season.
Teams like the Thunder used their assets to stockpile and develop young and exciting talent that helped lead them to the 2025 title. A team like Knicks instead decided to send their first-round picks elsewhere to bring in Karl Anthony-Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges and others.
But in either scenario, those firsts were used and not flushed down the toilet.
The Hawks have essentially lit a handful of first-round picks on fire, and partly as a result they sit here for another season outside the inner circle of contenders.
President of basketball operations Onsi Saleh has repeated that the Hawks still are not “one player away” and reiterated his intent to continue building his development program. But one thing is clear: the Hawks will remain more than one player away if they can’t quickly turn around their poor first-round draft record.
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