The Hawks may not be the first team that comes to mind when you talk about elite perimeter shooting, but the pieces are starting to line up in a way that makes the conversation real. If Atlanta is going to take a meaningful step under Quin Snyder next season, one path runs straight through the three-point line.
That matters because leading the NBA in 3P% has not exactly been a shortcut to a championship run. The Nuggets topped the league last season and were gone in the first round.
The Bucks did it in 2024-25 and also exited in round one. In the last five regular seasons, only the 2021-22 Miami Heat got beyond the second round after finishing first in 3P%.
Still, the teams that finish at the top usually belong in the postseason picture. With the exception of a Bucks group hit by injuries, the other recent leaders won at least 50 games and had real hopes of making a deeper run. Being one of the best shooting teams in the league is not a guarantee, but it is usually a sign that a team belongs in the conversation.
For Atlanta, that would be a meaningful marker in Snyder’s tenure. The Hawks have not won 50 games under him yet, and the East is expected to be a grind again. If they can emerge as one of the league’s best shooting teams from deep, that would be a major step.
The progress has already been there, even if the leap to No. 1 still looks ambitious. In Snyder’s first season, Atlanta ranked 17th in 3P% while taking the seventh-most threes.
Last season, the Hawks slipped to 18th in accuracy on the 15th-highest volume. Injuries played a part, with Jalen Johnson sidelined, Trae Young dealing with lingering Achilles tendinitis, and Bogdan Bogdanovic regressing after previously proving himself as a reliable shooter.
The roster changes changed the look of the offense in a hurry. Moving on from Young and bringing in CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker gave Atlanta a different kind of shooting profile.
The Hawks jumped to fifth in 3P% while taking the ninth-most threes in the league. McCollum and Alexander-Walker both ranked in the 89th and 97th percentile, respectively, for three-point attempts, and each shot better than 37% on that kind of volume.
Atlanta was never inside the top three in 3P% before or after the All-Star break, though. Before the break, the Hawks shot 37% from deep.
After it, they were at 37.4%. That level usually lands somewhere around fifth to 10th in the league, which is a long way from the 39% or so a team would probably need to finish first.
Even so, Atlanta did not get a full season of McCollum, and Alexander-Walker could be even better in his second year. That gives the Hawks a sturdy baseline.
The other thing working in Atlanta’s favor is how much more modern the center spot has become. Bigs are no longer just there to occupy space.
The Knicks won a championship with Karl-Anthony Towns as arguably the greatest shooting big man ever. The Celtics won with Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford stretching the floor.
Chet Holmgren, Nikola Jokic and Brook Lopez were also major reasons their teams finished as the NBA’s 3P% leader.
Onyeka Okongwu may give the Hawks something in that mold. He went from 32.4% on two attempts per game to 37.6% on 5.2 attempts a night.
He was steady almost all season long; December 2025 was the only month in which he dipped below 38% from three. Every one of his makes came off assists, which only adds to his value as a pressure-release option in the offense.
There is more shooting depth behind him, too. Jock Landale hit 39.1% from deep after arriving in Atlanta.
Zuby Ejiofor and Asa Newell both flashed some ability from long range in college or Summer League. It is possible Atlanta ends up with all three of its centers - Landale, Ejiofor and Okongwu - shooting better than 30% from deep, which would help push the team toward the top of the league rankings.
Dyson Daniels is also a strong candidate to bounce back. His 18.8% on 1.5 attempts per game last season was brutal, and it is hard to imagine that number sticking.
With better spacing and natural growth, he should be closer to the 33-34% he posted in his first season in Atlanta. For a player expected to log starting minutes, that would be a huge lift.
There is also room for improvement from Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins. Both have already shown they can shoot above 38% from deep on meaningful volume, and both slipped to around 35% last season.
Bigger roles in Atlanta could help them get back up. They should also benefit from Jalen Johnson’s passing gravity, and while he is not SGA, defenders are likely to give them less attention while focusing on NAW and CJ.
Kingston Flemings could also emerge as a plus shooter as a rookie.
Put it all together, and Atlanta has a quietly strong case to become one of the league’s top three-point teams. There is only so far the Hawks can lean on that identity, but the ingredients are there for a season where their shooting becomes a real weapon in the East.
In Other News...
Hawks Season May Come Down To One Problem Around Jalen Johnson
Atlantas path this season looks a lot like the one it took a year ago: stay deep, keep the roster balanced and trust internal growth to do the heavy lifting. After winning 46 games and making a playoff run that stretched the eventual champions to six games, the Hawks mostly resisted big offseason swings, choosing instead to round out the rotation and bank on development from the players already in place.
That puts a premium on the next step from Jalen Johnson, along with the other young pieces expected to shape the lineup around him. If the shooting and defensive work from that group comes along, Atlantas depth could look like a strength again. If it doesnt, the Hawks may find themselves leaning on the same questions that followed them into last spring, only with even less margin for error. [Read more 🡒]