Quin Snyder has already shown what his system can do in Atlanta, but ESPN’s preseason awards forecast is treating that breakthrough like a footnote.
Last season, Snyder guided one of the most dramatic midyear surges in Hawks history. Atlanta sat at 27-31 and ninth in the East on Feb. 22, then ripped off an 18-2 run from Feb. 22 to April 3 that included an 11-game winning streak. By the end of that stretch, the Hawks were 45-33 and fifth in the conference, the spot they finished in.
That kind of turnaround should have put Snyder squarely in the Coach of the Year conversation. Instead, he drew just two third-place votes and finished ninth in the voting.
The reaction was surprising given how clearly the team’s identity shifted after the Trae Young trade and how effective Snyder’s approach became. That run also earned him a contract extension.
Now, with the new season nearing, ESPN’s “NBA Summer Forecast 2026-27: Predictions of every major award” left Snyder off the list entirely. The five coaches who received votes were Indiana’s Rick Carlisle, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson, Utah’s Will Hardy, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, and Philadelphia’s Nick Nurse.
Part of the reason Snyder is getting overlooked is simple: Atlanta didn’t make the kind of splashy offseason move that grabs headlines. But the Hawks are bringing back almost the same group that finished so strong, and they may actually be deeper than they were a year ago.
Their entire starting five returns. Jock Landale was re-signed, Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins were added as proven winners, and Kingston Flemings and Zubi Ejiofor were drafted with the kind of profiles that should slide into the mix cleanly.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference buzz is going elsewhere. Philadelphia and Miami made superstar additions, Indiana is set to get Tyrese Halliburton back, and New York is coming in with almost its entire championship roster intact. Atlanta doesn’t have the loudest offseason storyline, but that doesn’t change what the Hawks already proved.
The talent around Snyder is still ascending. Jalen Johnson looked like a future All-NBA candidate.
Onyeka Okongwu’s growing ability to stretch the floor was a major part of Atlanta’s rise. Nickeil Alexander-Walker turned heads, too.
All of them now have a full offseason inside Snyder’s system.
Onsi Saleh and Snyder appear aligned on where this roster is headed, and once Snyder was able to fully run the system he wanted, the Hawks found their rhythm. If Atlanta builds on last season’s finish after the Trae Young trade, Snyder won’t be left out of the Coach of the Year picture for long.
In Other News...
Hawks Just Showed How Far This Front Office Is Willing To Go
Jonathan Kumingas brief run in Atlanta is already another example of how aggressively this front office is willing to reshape the roster. He arrived in the deal that brought the Hawks out from under Kristaps Porzingis, a move tied to the veteran centers expiring contract and health concerns, and it quickly became clear the organization was thinking less about a single season than about the larger direction of the team.
Under Onsi Saleh, the Hawks have shown a willingness to make hard choices early, even when that means moving on from a player before the fit has fully taken hold. Kumingas time in Atlanta never lasted long enough to settle into anything, but his departure says plenty about the front offices appetite for maneuvering and the kind of flexibility it wants to preserve going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Final Roster Squeeze Just Got Harder To Ignore
Atlantas roster math already had a tight feel to it, and now the market has removed one more possible escape hatch. Jonathan Kuminga is off the board after choosing the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking another name out of the mix for teams still sorting through the last stages of their offseason plans. For a Hawks group that has been watching the edges of the roster more closely than the headline moves, it only sharpens the pressure on what comes next.
The Hawks are carrying 17 players and still need to trim to 15 before the regular season, a process that could hinge on waiting for key trade-eligibility dates involving certain players. That has left the front office room to hold off for now, but not much room to avoid the issue entirely. No definitive decisions have been made, and with one more potential option gone, the path to opening night looks even less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Just Reopened The Porzingis Trade Debate In A Painful Way
Jonathan Kumingas stint in Atlanta ended quickly enough to make the original Kristaps Porzingis trade feel even more complicated in hindsight. The Hawks brought Kuminga in as part of the deal with Golden State, giving up Porzingis to get him, and he spent just a brief stretch in uniform before the club moved on after his regular-season and playoff run.
Kumingas departure leaves the Hawks back at the same uncomfortable question that followed the trade from the start: what exactly did they get for a player of Porzingis caliber? With Kuminga gone, the deals long-term picture keeps narrowing, and the remaining pieces only sharpen the scrutiny around a move that was always going to be judged by what happened next. [Read more 🡒]