Jalen Johnson didn’t just show up at All-Star Weekend-he made a statement. Surrounded by elite talent, the Atlanta Hawks forward looked right at home, flashing the kind of versatility and poise that suggests he’s ready for a bigger spotlight. And while it was just a few short bursts of action, what we saw from Johnson should have the Hawks front office thinking hard about what comes next.
Across three mini-games totaling 19 minutes, Johnson put up 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. But what really stood out?
He didn’t just coast on offense-he brought some defensive bite to a game that usually treats defense like an optional drill. With two steals and a block, Johnson showed he wasn’t there just to jog through a glorified layup line.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t your typical All-Star Game. Yes, it still leaned heavily into offense, but there was at least a hint of effort on the defensive end-enough to separate those who were just filling space from those who were actively impacting the game. Johnson fell firmly into the latter category.
What made his performance even more impressive was how seamlessly he fit in with the high-level talent around him. Some stars struggle when they’re not the focal point-players like Trae Young or Luka Dončić often need the ball in their hands to be effective.
Johnson, on the other hand, scaled his game to the moment. He played within the flow, made smart decisions, and still found ways to leave his mark.
That adaptability is gold in today’s NBA, especially for a team like Atlanta that’s trying to retool on the fly.
But here’s the rub: for Johnson to truly thrive, the Hawks need to find him a co-star. Not just a solid player.
A legit, top-tier partner who can create, defend, and elevate the team in meaningful ways. That’s been the missing piece in Atlanta for decades.
The franchise’s history with superstar pairings is, frankly, thin. Bob Pettit was a generational talent, but he ran into the buzzsaw that was Bill Russell’s Celtics-arguably the greatest dynasty in sports history. Hard to fault anyone for coming up short against that machine.
Then came Dominique Wilkins, another transcendent scorer who never quite had the help he needed. During his peak years in the mid-80s, he had just one All-Star teammate: Doc Rivers. And while Rivers was a solid player, he wasn’t the kind of running mate who could push a team over the top against the likes of Bird’s Celtics or the Bad Boy Pistons.
Fast forward to the Trae Young era. For all of Young’s offensive brilliance, the Hawks never managed to find him a true co-star.
There were flashes of promise-especially with Jalen Johnson emerging-but the timing never aligned. Johnson’s breakout came in his third season, but injuries derailed much of 2023-24 and 2024-25.
And this season, even with Johnson healthy, the would-be trio of Kristaps Porziņģis, Trae Young, and Johnson barely saw the court together, logging just 27 combined games. Eventually, the Hawks had to pivot, sending Young to Washington and officially turning the page to the Johnson era.
Now, it’s on General Manager Onsi Saleh to make sure that era doesn’t go to waste. The good news?
He’s got tools to work with-plenty of draft capital and a clean cap sheet. That’s the kind of flexibility front offices dream about.
But the challenge is real: find the right player. Not just someone who can score, but someone who can complement Johnson’s game on both ends of the floor.
Someone who can take pressure off him without taking the ball out of his hands entirely.
Because here’s the thing-Johnson isn’t the kind of player you build around by default. He’s the kind of player who can elevate a great team to something special, but only if he’s put in the right role. Asking him to carry too much, like the Hawks have done at times this season, risks burning him out before his prime even hits full stride.
What we saw at All-Star Weekend was a glimpse of what Johnson can be when he’s surrounded by talent, when he’s allowed to play his game without having to do everything. The Hawks have a rare opportunity to build something around that. But they’ve got to get it right.
Otherwise, Jalen Johnson could go down as yet another great player in Atlanta’s long line of almosts-a face of an era that never quite found its footing.