Jalen Johnson’s rise has become one of the NBA’s cleaner success stories, and now the Atlanta forward is getting treated like it.
After an All-NBA 2025-26 season, Johnson is being viewed as much more than a breakout name. He’s turned into the kind of player the rest of the league can’t just file away as a nice young piece anymore. For Hawks fans, that’s the part that should land loudest: the franchise centerpiece is starting to get the respect that matches the production.
That growing reputation showed up in a recent ranking from Sports Illustrated’s Liam McKeone, who put Johnson second among the best NBA players under 25. The only player ahead of him: Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama, 22, is coming off his first NBA Finals appearance as San Antonio’s top option, and the source of the ranking makes the comparison feel even more striking. Johnson being placed one slot behind a player described as the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year and arguably the most skilled player in the league says plenty about how high his stock has climbed.
Johnson, 24, is entering his sixth NBA season and, for the first time, doing so as his team’s top option. He took over in the middle of last season after Atlanta traded away Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis, but this is the first year he starts from the top of the card.
McKeone’s list also put Johnson ahead of Cooper Flagg, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero. All three would have their own case to rank above him, but the message from the list is clear: Johnson has moved into elite company, and the league is taking notice.
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