The Atlanta Hawks’ surge after last season’s All-Star break had a lot of moving parts, but Quin Snyder made clear at this year’s media day that one of the biggest reasons for the run was not the flashiest one.
It was CJ McCollum’s defense.
McCollum joined Atlanta in January before the team’s late-season push, and the Hawks quickly looked like one of the NBA’s best teams after the break. They were dangerous on both ends of the floor, and while the young group eventually ran into a more experienced Knicks team in the first round of the postseason, simply getting there showed the toughness of the roster.
Snyder pointed to McCollum’s influence as a major part of that climb, especially in an area fans might not have expected from a veteran entering his 14th NBA season.
Quin went out of his way to praise CJ McCollum's defense upon arriving in Atlanta
- Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) September 28, 2026
McCollum has never been sold as a spectacular defender, but that was never really the point. He’s a veteran who understands how to use what he has, and sometimes defense comes down to effort, timing and knowing how to make life uncomfortable for the other team.
That’s where McCollum helped Atlanta. He could lean on his reputation to get opponents overdribbling, use help defenders to change the rhythm of a possession, or draw less experienced players into forcing things offensively. For a young Hawks group, that kind of presence mattered.
And even if Atlanta’s defense as a whole wasn’t elite all season, McCollum’s leadership helped steady the group.
That role may look different now. The Hawks added several more impressive defenders this offseason, so McCollum’s burden on that end should be smaller. But that doesn’t mean Atlanta can afford for him to fade into the background.
The Hawks do not want a liability anywhere, and recent NBA champions have shown the value of a roster without obvious weak spots. Even when a player isn’t the most skilled defender, effort and team structure can cover for that. The same idea applies on offense, where everyone has to be able to handle the ball, shoot from deep and make the right read when the moment calls for it.
That leaves McCollum, now in year 14, right where Snyder seems to value him most: as a veteran who helps keep Atlanta balanced.
In Other News...
Quin Snyder Just Framed The Hawks Question That Will Define This Season
Quin Snyder has spent the opening stretch of the season making the Hawks priorities sound simple enough: defend well enough to create offense, and then turn those stops into clean, usable possessions at the other end. That idea has shaped the way Atlanta is talking about itself, especially with a roster that was retooled to give the team more versatility around the margins and more options when it wants to change pace.
The challenge, as Snyder framed it, is turning that theory into a nightly habit. Atlanta still has to sort through which lineups can sustain the balance it wants, and the real test will be whether the Hawks can keep their execution sharp enough to make that two-way style hold up for more than short bursts. That part is easy to describe in October. It gets a lot harder once the games start asking for the same answer over and over again. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks May Regret Letting Ryan Nembhard Find A Better Opening
Ryan Nembhards path changed quickly after a brief stop in Atlanta. The 23-year-old guard spent last season with the Dallas Mavericks before the Hawks cut him loose during roster trims, and he has now landed on a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets, a team that can at least dangle a clearer route to the floor.
For Denver, the appeal is obvious. With an aging core and the possibility that injuries could reshape the guard rotation, Nembhard has a chance to matter as bench depth and a source of offense if he earns trust in the rotation. For Atlanta, it is the kind of move that can linger if a player finds a better opening somewhere else, especially when the new team has a more immediate need for what he brings. [Read more 🡒]
Onyeka Okongwu Deadline Could Expose Hawks' Real Center Plan
Onyeka Okongwus next contract talk has become one of the cleaner windows into how the Hawks see their frontcourt. He is eligible for an extension that could run through three years and reach $76.6 million, and the team has until October 19 to work out a deal. Even without a final answer, the timing alone makes this a meaningful marker for Atlanta as it sorts out where Okongwu fits in the long term.
The bigger question is what the deadline says about the center spot overall. If the Hawks move forward with Okongwu, that would reinforce his place in the teams plans. If they do not, the uncertainty only adds weight to recent chatter about Atlantas interest in Jalen Duren and suggests the Hawks may be keeping their options open rather than locking in a single answer. [Read more 🡒]