Jalen Johnson’s season-ending shoulder injury changed a lot for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2024-25 season. It derailed their playoff hopes. While Atlanta did not have a candidate to replace Johnson’s production, Mouhamed Gueye took advantage of the opportunity and ended his campaign on the rise. He finished the season as the starting power forward and showed great signs of defensive potential, even in the Hawks’ short postseason appearance. However, even with his encouraging play, Gueye’s position is unclear next season.
Projecting Mouhamed Gueye’s Role Next Season
Gueye Will Have to Carve Out a Role on the Bench
Atlanta’s healthy starting frontcourt in 2026-26 will be Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, so Gueye will see less playing time off the bench. However, he is not the only backup power forward candidate. At the 2025 trade deadline, the Hawks acquired Georges Niang and Caris LeVert from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for De’Andre Hunter. While LeVert’s contract expires this summer, Niang is set to make an additional $8 million for the 2025-26 campaign.
Niang and Gueye offer very different skillsets. The former, a career 40% three-point shooter, spaces the floor and provides a veteran, winning presence. In fact, Niang forward is the winningest player in the NBA since 2020. On the other hand, Niang has clear defensive limitations. He lacks the lateral quickness to stay in front of athletic, ball-handling wings and does not rebound at a high rate. At 31 years of age, Niang does not fit Atlanta’s direction of developing a young, promising core with Trae Young leading the way.
Gueye offers more length, athleticism, and defensive versatility. He showed his defensive potential when he held Paolo Banchero to just 17 points on 4-13 shooting in the opening round of the Play-In Tournament. In addition, the Hawks crumbled defensively in the contest without Gueye.
Stat of the night:
The Hawks had a 103.9 defensive rating in 26 minutes with Mo Gueye on the court.
The Hawks had a 152.3 defensive rating in 22 minutes with Mo Gueye off the court.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) April 16, 2025
In contrast to his defensive prowess, Gueye struggled offensively, averaging six points on 42% shooting. He shot 25% on 2.5 threes attempted per game. However, in the G League, he found the range from deep- 51% on 3.5 attempts. The shooting is there. If Gueye can become a threat to roll to the rim and pop out to the three-point arc, defenses will have to respect him more.
Gueye Could See Backup Center Minutes Next Season
The Hawks lacked size down low without Johnson. Atlanta ranked ninth in rebounding from the start of the campaign to Jan. 23 but dropped to 14th at the end of the season. Johnson was the Hawks’ leading rebounder at 10 boards per game for the season, but Gueye provided much-needed relief on the glass. His best rebounding performance came during the final week of the regular season when he put up a 10-point, 18-rebound double-double against the Philadelphia 76ers. Gueye averaged 4.2 rebounds for the season. Perhaps Gueye’s best defensive attribute is his weakside rim protection, utilizing his athleticism and 7-foot-3-inch wingspan to his advantage. He averaged one block per game, despite playing just 16.2 minutes.
Mo Gueye big time block vs Giannis #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/NwQfkwPZlK
— Coach Ant (@CoachAntG) March 6, 2025
These qualities led head coach Quin Snyder to experiment with Gueye playing behind Okongwu at backup center, in addition to his starting power forward spot. Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr., who both suffered season-ending injuries, are free agents this summer. Gueye could see a time at the backup five if Atlanta does not re-sign either big man or make a move for a free agent. Even though Gueye’s role shrinks next season, he showed promising tools to be a productive power forward/center in Atlanta’s rotation.
Photo credit: © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The post Projecting Mouhamed Gueye’s Role Next Season appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.