When the Atlanta Hawks failed to reach the 2025 NBA Playoffs through the Play-In Tournament, familiar storylines began to crop up.
The primary questions appeared to surround 2018 No. 5 pick Trae Young, who has both been on the trade block and admitted to his willingness to play for another franchise if the Hawks can’t win more with him. In these discussions, Young is typically viewed as a victim of circumstance, primarily because he’s of his point production. Yet, Young’s flaws have exacerbated issues like their team defense, which has ranked in the bottom-third of the league in each of the past four seasons.
Frankly, the conversation about Young’s future is still ongoing. The 26-year-old is now eligible to sign a contract extension worth up to $229 million over four years. However, the burning question for the Hawks as they head into the 2025-26 season isn’t if or when he’ll sign an extension to remain in Atlanta.
Do They Really Have A Big 4?
Throughout Young’s career, the running theme has been that the Hawks haven’t got him enough help.
John Collins, who entered the league a year prior to Young, fizzled out. Cam Reddish, drafted 10th overall out of Duke in 2019, didn’t pan out. De’Andre Hunter, taken six spots ahead of Reddish, didn’t quite reach expectations. 2014 No. 2 pick Jabari Parker couldn’t stay off the injury report. Bogdan Bogdanovic, captain of Serbia’s national basketball team, was a tier below a star. Even Dejounte Murray, named an All-Star just months prior to being traded to Atlanta, wasn’t the right fit.
Looking at those players, it can be argued that some franchise cornerstones have done more with less. Nonetheless, Young no longer has to be that guy for the Hawks. Or, at least that’s what they hope.
In 2024-25, 2021 first-round pick Jalen Johnson took another step in his star turn. A point-forward that can score from all three levels and defend multiple positions, he looked like Young’s second-in-command early in the season. Johnson wasn’t Atlanta’s only player who broke out though, with 2022 No. 8 pick Dyson Daniels winning the 2025 Most Improved Player of the Year award. A pickpocket that could make Apollo Robbins jealous, Daniels even came in second in last season’s Defensive Player of the Year race.
This summer, the Hawks also added 2015 No. 4 pick Kristaps Porzingis. Though he’s certainly injury-prone, 7-foot-2 centers who can shoot 36.6 percent from 3 and block 1.8 shots per game are pretty uncommon. Ones with a career scoring average of 19.6 points per game are even more rare.
Now, Atlanta doesn’t just have Young, they have a Big 4. Or, at least that’s what they hope.
Will The Playoff Drought End?
After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, anyone connected to the Hawks probably felt a bit dismayed. Even the most optimistic homers would have had to concede that they were moving in the wrong direction. After all, they had managed to clinch a playoff berth in each of the previous three seasons.
In 2025-26, they should be able to right the ship.
Like last season, Johnson should be expected to ease Young’s burden as a scorer and playmaker. This alone makes Atlanta more dynamic, as they’re not as reliant on one player’s guard skills. Bringing in Porzingis to replace Clint Capela gives them a more effective scorer and rim-protector. The difference between he and Capela’s more traditional skillet also makes the Hawks’ offense more versatile. Due to a five-inch height advantage, he’s even more of a mismatch weapon than Onyeka Okongwu.
In fact, because of Porzingis’s ability to draw bigs out of the paint, Johnson should be more effective. A determined downhill scorer, 23.6 percent of his field goal attempts came in transition, and he converted 66.7 percent of those attempts. He drove to the rim 8.7 times per game, the third-highest mark on the team, making 46.6 percent of those attempts.
Meanwhile, the defense will be buoyed by Daniels, Vit Krejci, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher. Not to be forgotten are forward-centers Mouhamed Gueye and 2025 No. 23 pick Asa Newell, who can make their presence felt at that end as well.
Is Kobe Bufkin Ready?
For the past two seasons, 2023 No. 15 pick Kobe Bufkin has been touted as a tantalizing combo guard. In that time, he’s played just 27 games due to myriad injuries. Yet, Bufkin’s clock can’t keep running forever. The unrealistic nature of a player who hasn’t done much receiving infinite chances aside, keep in mind that the final season of his rookie scale contract (2026-27) has a team option.
Ultimately, this could be Bufkin’s last or penultimate season with the Hawks. That being said, his showing in this year’s Las Vegas Summer League exhibitions may not have answered the biggest question surrounding him. Is he ready for a rotation role?
Kobe Bufkin drops 29 PTS in the Hawks’ #NBA2KSummerLeague opener
Adds 3 REB, 3 AST, & 2 BLK as ATL completes the 4Q comeback over Miami! pic.twitter.com/tionVZSOGe
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2025
Production-wise, he was excellent. Across four games, he averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steal in 26.5 minutes per contest. Still, he was highly inefficient, shooting 35.5 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from 3. Given the level of competition players face in Summer League, that didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. That’s particularly the case for a player who has shot just 37.4 percent from the field and 22.0 percent from 3 in his NBA career.
At this point, the 21-year-old has shown off intriguing offensive tools. He’s an ambidextrous passer and scorer. He’s an instinctive shot-creator. Though naturally quick, he’s aware of how shifting his pace helps him get to the rim. However, he’s sharper at the defensive end. Indeed, his technique, determination and willingness to sacrifice his body are all but beyond reproach.
All in all, he certainly has the potential to play regular minutes and make a consistently positive impact next season. If he can, that wouldn’t just give them more fireworks, it could help Young play fewer minutes. With that in mind, the Hawks franchise cornerstone was diagnosed with right Achilles tendinits in 2024-25.
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