The Atlanta Hawks may not be ready to rip up the rotation just yet, but Kingston Flemings is giving them something to think about.
Atlanta used the No. 8 pick on Flemings with the idea that he could eventually grow into the point guard of the future. The plan was straightforward: bring him along behind CJ McCollum, let him settle in as the backup, and hope he’d be ready to take over next season. That timeline still exists, but Flemings’ recent play is pushing the issue a little earlier than expected.
He hasn’t posted eye-popping numbers every night, and that’s part of why this hasn’t turned into a full-blown debate yet. But the way he’s operating with the second unit - and at times alongside some of the starters - is starting to look like something more. Flemings already has a case as one of the team’s two best ball handlers.
Through this season, he’s averaging 6.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 47% from the field, 36% from three, and 52.4% true shooting. Those are solid numbers, not headline-grabbers. Still, the 23-point, five-assist, five-rebound night against the Miami Heat was the kind of performance that hints at a bigger role if he starts taking on more offensive responsibility.
That Miami game mattered because it showed what Flemings can do when he is more aggressive as a scorer and a lead guard. He doesn’t need to overwhelm the box score to affect the game, but when he’s involved in more of the offense, he gives Atlanta a different kind of pulse.
And that’s where the starting case begins. The biggest argument for Flemings over McCollum is his passing.
McCollum brings plenty to the table, but he isn’t a high-level pass or shot creator. Neither are Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, or Onyeka Okongwu, which helps explain why Jalen Johnson has been forced to absorb so much of the ball-handling load.
That responsibility can also affect what Johnson is able to do on the defensive end.
The numbers back up what the eye test is suggesting. According to hoopsjunkie, Flemings stands out in assist percentage, and he’s outperforming McCollum in that area. Atlanta’s on-court results also improve with Flemings out there, with the Hawks better in every one of those categories when he’s on the floor.
A change does not seem imminent. McCollum is still the veteran in the room, and he’s not been a night-to-night problem for Atlanta. But his 1-for-8 outing with four turnovers against the Cavaliers, paired with Flemings’ strong showing against Miami on Wednesday, has made the conversation harder to ignore.
It may be early, but the Hawks’ point guard future could be arriving sooner than planned.
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The defensive numbers back up what the eye test has already suggested, and they point to a player whose value is rising fast in a new setting. For Atlanta, that makes the deal harder to ignore, especially with Risacher already showing he can affect games without needing the offense to come around first. The only question now is how far this version of him can go if the shooting ever catches up to the defense. [Read more 🡒]
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The sequence most fans latched onto came late in the fourth quarter, when Mitchell wound up with a possession that was supposed to go elsewhere and then came up empty on the ensuing three. Social media quickly turned on the moment, but there was at least some pushback from the broadcast and analysis side, with the suggestion that the play may have gone sideways because of a breakdown in the action rather than a selfish decision. [Read more 🡒]
CJ McCollum Showed Exactly Why The Hawks Still Need Him
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Even with the shot not falling and a few turnovers mixed in, McCollum kept the offense organized when the game tightened up. For a Hawks team still sorting out its late-game identity, nights like this are a reminder of why his presence matters so much, especially when the margin is thin and the possessions get more valuable by the minute. [Read more 🡒]