The Atlanta Hawks open their season Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, and they do it with a roster that looks built for more than just making noise. Atlanta spent the offseason taking a different route than a lot of Eastern Conference teams: three rookies arrived, Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins came in via trade, and CJ McCollum and Jock Landale were brought back to pair with the core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
That setup leaves one big question hanging over the whole season: is this the group that pushes Atlanta forward, or is there still another layer of roster work to do?
Johnson sits right at the center of that answer. He has improved every season in the NBA, growing into an All-Star and a Third-Team All-NBA selection.
He’s one of the league’s best passing bigs, a terror in transition, and a strong defensive rebounder. At the same time, the playoffs exposed him in a way the regular season didn’t.
The New York Knicks’ physical defense - with OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges on him - slowed down his transition game and forced him into more half-court scoring, something he struggled with in his first true postseason run as the No. 1 option.
Even so, the feeling around Atlanta is that Johnson can answer that challenge. The Hawks built this team to find out whether there’s another level in his game, and the expectation here is that he takes that next step as both a scorer and a ball-handler.
The second big piece is the bench, which was a problem when the season reached its most important stretch. Atlanta’s postseason rotation ended up featuring Jonathan Kuminga, Gabe Vincent, Jock Landale, and Mouhamed Gueye, but the fit never quite clicked.
Landale got hurt, Vincent was below average, Kuminga wasn’t a clean fit, and Gueye was forced into a center role after Landale’s injury. That showed up against the Knicks, and it showed up badly.
The Hawks clearly set out to fix that this offseason, and the preseason has pointed in a better direction. Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Kingston Flemings, and Landale are expected to be the top four players off the bench to start the season, with Gueye expected to join that group once he returns from injury. That may not make Atlanta the owner of the best bench in the league, but it does look a lot stronger than what they had last spring.
There’s also the question of what comes next. Atlanta’s roster construction leaves the door open for a bigger swing, and the team has the kind of movable salary that can matter when the trade market heats up.
CJ McCollum is at $21 million, Dort at $17.7 million, Landale at $14 million, Dorian Finney-Smith at $14.1 million with a non-guaranteed contract for 2027-2028, and Gueye added together give the Hawks more than $60 million in expiring deals. If Atlanta wants to make a move before the trade deadline, it has the flexibility to do it.
If not, the offseason could be the next opening to create cap space and reshape the group then.
Either way, this team is going to come up in trade conversations.
The on-court case for optimism is real. Atlanta finished 20-6 down the stretch last season, earned the No. 6 seed, and avoided the play-in tournament for the first time since 2021.
During that run, the Hawks had one of the league’s best starting lineups and one of its better defenses. Add in the improved depth and another year of development, and there’s plenty of reason to think they can get back there.
Still, the path back won’t be simple. The Knicks are the defending champions, Boston’s roster is loaded, and Detroit is bringing back most of its 60-win team.
Philly, Toronto, Miami, and Cleveland all made significant trades, Washington is banking on Trae Young and Anthony Davis lifting its young talent, Indiana has Tyrese Haliburton back, and Orlando has a new head coach trying to turn talent into something more. The East is stacked, and it’s going to make every step harder for Atlanta.
Depth remains a strength, but it comes with a warning label. If Landale or Dort misses time, the Hawks could feel it fast.
Landale’s injury already hurt the team late last season, and the third center on the roster is rookie Zuby Ejiofor. Atlanta likes Ejiofor and his upside, but that would be a lot to ask if Landale or Okongwu goes down.
Dort is also the key backup at both forward spots while Gueye is still out, and if he misses time, the Hawks would be leaning on Corey Kispert and Asa Newell, which would make life much tougher for the second unit defensively.
For all the moving parts, one thing seems clear: this team’s identity is going to be defense. That was the calling card late last season, and it should be again this year.
The trio of Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dort may have some questions on the offensive end, but they are going to be a headache for opponents every night. Wiggins and Flemings should help on that side too, even if they’re not operating at that same level.
The Hawks may not be the Thunder or the Spurs defensively, but they should be very good.
In Other News...
Hawks Get A Chance To Answer Last Year's Orlando Frustration
Last spring, the Hawks learned how thin the margins can be in a playoff chase when Jock Landale went down against Orlando and never made it back in time for the first-round series with the Knicks. Atlanta never quite had the size or physical edge it wanted in that matchup, and the absence of a useful frontcourt piece lingered as one of those what-ifs that can hang around long after the season ends.
Now the schedule has brought the Magic back into view, and Landale is in a far better spot heading into the rematch. He has looked much more comfortable in preseason and is expected to be available, giving Atlanta a chance to see whether a healthier, more physical rotation can help it answer some of the frustration that started in that game last year. [Read more 🡒]
Lu Dort Faces An Early Hawks Test That Really Matters
The season opener against Orlando already carries a little extra weight for Atlanta, not just because it is a divisional game, but because the Magic are one of the few early opponents whose playoff outlook looks close to the Hawks'. For Lu Dort, it is also a first real chance to show how quickly he can slot into Atlanta's plans after being brought in for the kind of rugged, position-versatile defense that can travel in any matchup.
Dort's value should be obvious right away against Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, two Orlando pieces the Hawks will need to deal with over the course of the night. The bigger question is how smoothly everything fits around him, because Atlanta has reasons to want Dort on the floor and reasons to keep an eye on what happens when his offensive game is part of the equation in a game where every possession matters. [Read more 🡒]
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Opens With A Chance To Burn Orlando Again
The Hawks are getting a familiar opening-night test, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker will have a chance to pick up right where he left off against Orlando. Atlanta starts the 2026-27 season against a Magic team that he handled well a year ago, when his rise into Most Improved Player territory helped establish him as one of the leagues more uncomfortable matchups for Orlando.
The bigger wrinkle is that the Magic are bringing back most of the same core, which makes this feel less like a fresh scouting report and more like a continuation of an old problem. The coaching change from Jamahl Mosley to Sean Sweeney adds a new voice on the sideline, but Atlanta still has reason to expect the same type of physical, familiar opener, with Alexander-Walker again positioned to set the tone early. [Read more 🡒]