The Hawks are coming off a 46-win season, a playoff berth and a six-game push against the eventual NBA champions. That kind of run says Atlanta is moving the right way, but it also puts the spotlight on the next step: internal growth.
Atlanta didn’t swing big this offseason. Instead, the front office focused on adding depth, and that strategy only pays off if the new and returning pieces actually level up.
With Jalen Johnson carrying most of the load, the Hawks’ range of outcomes is wide. If the supporting cast pops, this team can push toward 50 wins.
If it doesn’t, Atlanta could have a hard time getting to 40 in a loaded Eastern Conference.
Luguentz Dort is one of the most intriguing swing pieces on the roster. His last two seasons in Oklahoma City told very different stories.
He was a key rotation player during the Thunder’s championship run, delivered in the Finals and handled tough defensive assignments. Then last season, his game dipped hard.
His three-point percentage fell from 41.2% on 5.8 attempts per game to 34.4% on 5.4 attempts, and Oklahoma City actually defended better with him off the floor, posting a 109.5 defensive rating with him on and 103.6 without him.
Injuries were part of the picture, so there’s at least some room to believe last season wasn’t the full story. But Atlanta is asking him to do this in a different environment, without the shooting and defensive help he had in Oklahoma City. Dyson Daniels can defend, and Onyeka Okongwu has his moments, but the Hawks don’t have Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso or Chet Holmgren behind Dort.
If Dort can get back to the kind of shooting he showed in the two seasons when he topped 39% from deep in OKC, while still giving Atlanta solid perimeter defense, that changes the equation. It would help the Hawks build a defense that can hold up on the perimeter without wrecking spacing on offense.
That matters because Daniels and Dort were both limited shooters last season, which makes it tough to play them together for long stretches. And Atlanta needs more on that end after ranking last in opponent FG% during the 2026 postseason.
Daniels is another major variable. He earned a $100 million dollar contract because Atlanta believed he could shoot at an average level while bringing elite defense and playmaking.
That part of the bet did not cash in his first season after getting paid. He hit just 18.8% from deep on 1.5 attempts, which let defenses ignore him and made life harder for the Hawks’ offense.
A jump to the 34-35% range from three would help, but the passing growth may matter just as much. Daniels is already one of the NBA’s best guard rebounders, ranking in the 98th percentile or better in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game, and he averaged a career-high 5.9 assists last season.
Even so, there’s more he can give as a creator. He finished with only 3 rim assists per game, which ranked in the 47th percentile, and he was on the ball for just 21.3% of his minutes, a mark that sat in the 10th percentile among point guards.
Atlanta would benefit from giving him more chances to initiate.
The third name is Asa Newell’s teammate in the frontcourt mix, Ebuka Ejiofor. While Kingston Flemings was the higher pick, Ejiofor looks like the more immediate help for Atlanta because of his rebounding, defense and experience.
The Hawks don’t have many proven frontcourt options behind Johnson and Okongwu. Jock Landale showed a few encouraging flashes, and Asa Newell’s sophomore season started decently in Summer League, but Ejiofor brings a different level of promise.
At St. John’s, Ejiofor posted a 12.1% offensive rebounding rate, which landed in the 80th percentile among bigs.
He also protected the rim well with his 7'2 wingspan, blocked 2.1 shots per game and showed enough mobility to survive on quicker perimeter matchups. There’s some skill to work with too.
He has hit above 42% from midrange for two straight seasons, reached 46% from midrange as a junior and shot 71.8% from the free-throw line on solid volume. He also showed passing feel, finishing his senior season with a 23% assist rate and standing out as St.
John’s best playmaking big.
Ejiofor’s size, strength, age and skill set should give him a real shot to become a usable backup for Johnson or Okongwu fairly quickly. His role should be simpler in the NBA, which could let his rebounding, shot blocking and passing show up more clearly. If he can provide real minutes when Johnson rests or misses time, that would be a meaningful boost for Atlanta over the course of the season.
In Other News...
Hawks May Have One Swing Skill That Changes Everything Under Quin Snyder
Under Quin Snyder, the Hawks have kept leaning into one of the leagues most valuable offensive traits: three-point accuracy. The broader history there is encouraging, too, because teams that finish near the top in percentage usually win a lot of games, even if that edge does not always carry them deep into the playoffs. For Atlanta, the real intrigue is how the roster has started to fit that identity, with the groups shooting profile looking sharper and more dangerous than it did before Snyder began molding it.
The next step may come from a place opponents do not always expect. Onyeka Okongwus growing comfort away from the rim gives Atlanta another way to stretch a defense, and if that kind of development holds, it changes the geometry of the floor for everyone else. Add in the new perimeter options around him, and the Hawks could be building toward something more than a hot shooting stretch - they could be assembling one of the leagues most efficient spacing attacks. [Read more 🡒]