The Hawks address the media ahead of the new season.
ATLANTA – Fortunes and identities change quickly in the NBA. Just this time last year, the future of the Atlanta Hawks was tied in large part to Trae Young, their All-Star, and Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.
And now, they’re both gone as the Hawks move forward with a retooled cast and more optimism than a year ago. This has much to do with Jalen Johnson being on the heels of a breakout season and the amount of quality depth the Hawks surrounded him with during a busy offseason.
“It’s important to build and continue the evolution,” said coach Quin Snyder.
After winning 46 games and reaching the playoffs for the first time in three years, the Hawks return with their main core, plus a handful of acquired help that should figure prominently in the rotation. Snyder can play nine or maybe 10 players per night.
Obviously, then, the Hawks will enter camp and the upcoming season with lots of optimism and a team that should be more physical and also more diverse offensively.
Here are five takeaways from the Hawks’ media day:
1. D stands for Daniels, Dort and defensive duo
When the leading scorer from the opposing team squares up against the Hawks this season, he will most likely see one defender or another in his grill and neither will be a particularly pleasant sight.
The Hawk in question will either be:
An alert and opportunistic player with sharp anticipatory skills and an appetite for stripping away the ball and cutting off passing lanes.
Or a tough, physical player who relishes contact and will stick to you like a bad reputation.
As Johnson said about his teammates, while shaking his head with delight at the thought: “Pick your poison.”
The Hawks are the rare team with a pair of All-Defensive first team members in Dyson Daniels and the newly acquired Lu Dort. They are game-disruptors if not game-changers, capable of making even elite scorers work hard for every bucket. And on their best night, Daniels and Dort will force those scorers into poor shooting percentage nights that could dictate the outcome in Atlanta’s favor.
Even better, when Daniels and Dort are on the floor together, the top two scorers from opposing teams will be on alert.
And there’s a third player to the equation in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the reigning Most Improved Player who will give the Hawks a trio of dangerous perimeter defenders.
Scary hours otw 😈 pic.twitter.com/ZTggI353x5
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) September 28, 2026
Alexander-Walker is most familiar with Dort; both are from Canada, were National Team members and competed on opposite sides in the NBA, until now.
“He doesn’t have that fear,” said Alexander-Walker. “He keeps coming. The thing about Lu is he doesn’t back down. An (opposing) team’s best player will say OK, I know I’m going to have to deal with it not being easy.”
The Hawks acquired Dort this summer from Oklahoma City, where Dort routinely took the toughest assignments. He was All-Defensive first team in 2025, along with Daniels, who also made second team last season.
Daniels led the league in steals in 2025 and finished second last season. Both will make defensive switches moot because there will be no advantage for the opposing ball handler in those situations.
Dort said about Daniels: “I can’t wait to learn from him. We can learn from each other.”
2. Championship mentality
A bonus in the deals with OKC that brought Dort and Aaron Wiggins is their experience of being winners. Both played major roles on OKC’s 2025 championship team and the Hawks, mainly comprised of young players, lacked that element last season.
“Anytime you can add players that have been part of that development process, which those guys went through at OKC, the fact that they have that experience, is something our guys can tap into … that’s one of the reasons we wanted to add them to our team,” said Snyder.
Wiggins had his best season then, as a valuable reserve who averaged 12 points in 23 minutes, before suffering a decline almost across the board in 2025-26. The Hawks remain convinced he’ll revert back to form. Dort, too, had declines but most were with his shooting. Both are just 27, though.
Dort said he and Wiggins intend to bring the mindset they had with the Thunder.
“The talent and potential is here,” said Dort. “I’m not the biggest vocal guy but when I say something, I mean it.”
Wiggins said the Hawks “remind me of my second and third year at OKC. There’s the excitement and the feeling of wanting to be a better team. I bring that energy which is contagious. Everyone (here) wants to win.”
3. Johnson ready to bounce back
Last season was an experience with drastic swing moods for Jalen Johnson. He was a first-time All-Star, quite the journey by a former G-Leaguer, who’s just 24 and now entering his sixth season.
For our city 🏙️ pic.twitter.com/DgpLfTxl5F
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) September 28, 2026
But 2026 ended uncomfortably when Johnson was underwhelming against the eventual champion Knicks when the Hawks were ousted in the first round after blowing a 2-1 lead.
It was all part of the learning process for Johnson in the role of being the team centerpiece and franchise player.
He said: “I learned a lot from the playoffs. There was a lot a took away from it, good and bad. It was hard for me to watch, and something I didn’t want to watch.”
Johnson averaged over 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the regular season as he successfully assumed the mantle from Young and helped Atlanta go 20-6 after the All-Star break. The Hawks anticipated much of the same in the playoffs, but Johnson had curious stretches where he wasn’t aggressive and ceded most of the important moments to CJ McCollum against the Knicks.
“At the end of the day, I want to win championships,” he said. “Playoffs is where you need to be at your best.”
4. Big man void
The Hawks improved almost across the board by adding to their depth and defense and backcourt during the offseason. Everything was addressed except the center position, where 6-10 Onyeka Okongwu will once again command most of the minutes.
Atlanta was dealt a setback when second-round pick and seven-footer Henri Veesaar suffered a season-ending knee injury during offseason workouts.
Snyder didn’t appear too concerned about the big man situation, saying: “Rim protection can be an important thing, and rim prevention can also be important,” stressing his team’s ability to keep players from the paint.
There were reports that the Hawks might be among teams with interest in Jalen Duren, the Pistons’ center who has not reported to camp in Detroit while awaiting a new contract.
In that sense …
5. Flexibility is their biggest strength
When Saleh took the top personnel job a summer ago, his goal was to keep the Hawks prepared and ready for anything both on and off the court.
This team is flexible from a player standpoint; Snyder can put multiple lineups on the floor with various styles, depending on the opponent and the matchups.
“We really do feel like we got better,” said Saleh. “We’re going to be a very competitive team this season. That’s the expectation.”
Even better, the Hawks’ payroll flexibility brings many options. Dort, CJ McCollum and Jock Landale are on expiring contracts. No one on the roster makes more than $30 million a season. And the Hawks are well below the apron threshold.
The Hawks can easily make deals by the trade deadline, and next summer will be even easier to add payroll.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
