Why this season felt different

Take a deep breath and please read this plea for optimism.

It’s a common trope to trot out the “where do the Hawks go from here?” or “the Hawks need to hit the reset button” headlines following another early season exit.

But these are definitively NOT the “same old Hawks”.

I’ll start off by acknowledging that any season that ends without a true berth in the playoffs has to feel disappointing given the presence of four-time All-Star Trae Young. Ostensibly, the Hawks have ‘gone for it’ ever since the extended 2020 offseason. And, of course, they then doubled down on that approach in targeting Dejounte Murray for a trade two offseasons later.

But soon after the disastrously shortsighted trade for the former San Antonio All-Star, the shortcuts in the process quickly became clear. Those corners cuts were obscured by an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but even that team iteration increasingly looks like it was a flashy mansion built on a cracked foundation.

Now, after taking a step back and bringing internal development to the foreground, the Hawks have begun to realize a more sustainable direction for the long term.

In short, this season feels different. A true foundation has been laid, and the build back can (but in no certain terms will) yield longer lasting results. Let’s go through a few reasons why:

Dyson Daniels is the perimeter stopper every team needs…but especially this team

In 2020, the Hawks made a small roster move that isn’t talked about much these days. Hidden among the bigger name signings of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, and Rajon Rondo, Atlanta signed former high lottery pick Kris Dunn to a two-year deal.

Dunn, at the time, was coming off a disappointing rookie contract where he was traded just one year after the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him fifth overall in 2016. While injuries meant that Dunn eventually only suited up for four regular games for the Hawks — 45 minutes plus another 33 in the postseason — the message the Hawks were sending was clear: Trae Young is a target on defense, and we need to take steps to protect him.

Now in 2025, Dunn has blossomed in the role the same Hawks envisioned, just on the Clippers next to James Harden.

That rationale begins to explain why the team felt Murray would fill a similar defensive role — a guard with length who could, in theory, keep Young out of bad situations. But his defensive performance the two years he was here was a far cry from his 2017-18 All-Defensive Team nod.

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Last summer, out went Murray to New Orleans and in came — among other players and draft assets — former lottery pick Dyson Daniels from New Orleans.

I shouldn’t have to recount the incredible impact Daniels made alongside Young in the backcourt. His gaps in the steals and deflections leaderboard speak for themselves.

In short, with Daniels and others on board, the Hawks finished above the bottom-10 in defensive rating for the first time since 2016-17. And while I’m not quite as far on the “defense wins championships” bandwagon as some, most elite teams blend high performance on both sides of the ball to achieve success.

There is still work to do to get the team from the 19th ranked defensive rating they were in 2024-25 into the top 10 going forward, but it’s a relief the Hawks are finally rediscovering the importance of the balance.

The Hawks now have a modern frontcourt

The Hawks were dealt a good bit of fortune in winning the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery with 3% odds with their final self-possessed first-round pick until 2028.

In a class with arguably no good choices for a true franchise cornerstone, the Hawks opted for a French wing/forward who made up for a lack of primary-level ball handling with off ball movement, smarts, hustle, and a high shooting release. While it was a very unconventional first overall pick at the time, Zaccharie Risacher has displayed a ton of modernity in his play style.

In the ‘pace and space’ era of NBA basketball, en vogue are players who both contribute to the spacing by being a true shooting threat but also ones who exploit that space with cuts, screening and rolling, and rim running in transition. There was always going to be an adaptation period for Risacher in his move from JL Bourg in the top level French league — LNB Élite — to the NBA, but once he found his footing, the vision became clearer and clearer.

From November 27 to the end of the season, Risacher shot 39% from three on 4.6 attempts per game and 48% from the field, firmly putting to rest his early shooting efficiency woes. But even more important was his ability to contribute in a variety of areas, whether it be defending at the point of attack, helping and digging on defense, or pressuring opposing defenses off the ball with his movement.

A lot of these contributions are hard to capture in a box score, but it was all too evident when breaking down the tape. The effect it has on a team — the selfless dirty work without much of the glory — should not be taken for granted.

Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu sadly were unable to blossom as a starting pair on the court, but each of their leaps have been noteworthy and might portend a beautiful partnership going forward.

Johnson and Okongwu were named to the same starting lineup just three times this past season, as Okongwu’s elevation to the starting unit almost perfectly (or imperfectly) coincided with Johnson tearing a labrum muscle in his right shoulder.

But Johnson ended the season averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, something that only four others player did this season (two MVP-level players in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic as well as Alperen Sengun and Domantas Sabonis).

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And Okongwu, especially upon being named the starting center, flashed serious passing and shooting chops rare for a big man. He found cutters like Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher with his passing, got up the most threes of his career, and remained very efficient from the field despite the changing shot diet.

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All three players are north of 6’8”, all three players are 24 years of age or younger, and all three players are under team control for at least three more seasons. Coach Quin Snyder can mix and match them on defense, and their versatility on both ends can add diversity to the ways Atlanta can attack opponents.

The league has tended towards skilled forwards and bigs in recent days, and the Hawks now have the makings of one of the more skilled young frontcourts in the league.

Young, hungry, and with a clear timeline in mind

After trading the 32-year-old Bogdan Bogdanovic, the only Hawks left older than 26 (Trae Young’s age) are Clint Capela, Georges Niang, Larry Nance Jr., Garrison Mathews, Terance Mann, and Caris LeVert. Four of those players are free agents after the year, and a fifth (Niang) has just one year left on his contract worth $8.2 million.

The worst place in this league you can be is as an aging roster without true championship aspirations, and so the Hawks smartly pivoted towards youth last summer.

In what was purportedly a retooling year focused on development, the Hawks still won 40 games, four more than the previous season and only one fewer than in 2022-23.

Additionally, the constant rumors surrounding high profile players lessened following the Murray trade, and the team has consistently targeted high character locker room presences with their transactions since.

These intangibles do matters, especially with one big question surrounding the face of the franchise. I detailed earlier that Trae Young is now extension-eligible this summer, and that bit of business looms rather large at this point in time.

Atlanta needs to show its star player that this is somewhere he wants to be for the long haul.

But for those closely monitoring this matter with consternation, you can exhale a bit.

Recently, per both Chris Haynes and Jake L. Fischer, two prominent national NBA insiders, Trae Young is firmly on board with the direction of the Hawks.

Yes, the sudden firing of general manager Landry Fields throws a wrench in what looked like a solid 12 months or more from the front office, and we’ll surely learn more about the new direction from the operations side of things in the days to come.

But this has been a successful season for the Hawks, a franchise that all too often struggles with short term thinking — and one that is frequently in the national spotlight for many reasons other than contending for a trophy.

It’s going to take continued patience and player development to move the Hawks from the middle class to the upper class in the NBA, but I pray that this time they do not skip steps.