2026 Hawks Season Previews

[Jamaaliver]

Atlanta Hawks: 47-35

Over/Under: 46.5

Ever since their conference finals appearance in 2021, the Atlanta Hawks have felt like perennial underachievers, but they're entering 2025-26 with perhaps the best on-paper roster of the Trae Young era (or at least the one that best fits him).

Beyond the wealth of length, athleticism and defense that comes from Dyson Daniels, sophomore Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta added Kristaps Porziņģis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker this summer. The former can protect the rim on one end while pulling bigs away from the rim with his shooting on the other. The latter will be a boost to both the Hawks' second unit and its overall perimeter defense.

Ultimately, though, Atlanta finally living up to expectations may come down to the health of Jalen Johnson, who looked like the team's best player for stretches of 2024-25.

In the 36 games he played prior to an injury ending his season, the 23-year-old averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks. And when he shared the floor with Young, the Hawks were plus-6.1 points per 100 possessions.

Bleacher Report

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2026 NBA Season Preview

Atlanta Hawks

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Prediction: 46-36 (Last year predicted 37-45, actually 40-42)

Additions: Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard, Asa Newell (23rd pick in 2025 Draft), N’Faly Dante

Subtractions: Clint Capela, Caris Levert, Terance Mann, Georges Niang, Larry Nance Jr.

Other:

Outlook: The Hawks had a very good offseason. That being said, I think people are getting a bit over their skis with them. The Hawks’ best move this past summer will not have an impact on their 2026 roster, as it involved swindling the Pelicans out of their 2026 first round pick just to move back 10 spots in the 2025 Draft. Kristaps Porzingis is theoretically a good fit, but I don’t trust him to stay healthy and I also don’t believe he’ll be as impactful outside of Boston. Nickeil is a very nice wing, but is he really a needle mover? Hawks believers would point to rising star Jalen Johnson, second-year wing Zach Risacher, and fifth-year big Onyeka Okongwu as candidates for internal improvement, and that’s certainly fair, but I can’t get to contender status with them. Still, they should be pretty good, and in the East maybe that’s enough.

213 Hoops

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Predictions for Eastern Conference Standings

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1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 59-23
2. New York Knicks: 54-28
3. Orlando Magic: 50-32
4. Atlanta Hawks: 47-35
5. Detroit Pistons: 47-35

The Cavaliers are returning 93% of the minutes from last season's 64-win team, made two defensive offseason moves (adding Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr.) and saw two major conference rivals lose stars (Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton) to season-ending injuries. Yet going into the season, the Cavs and All-Stars Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland are only slight favorites at ESPN BET to win the East over the Knicks.

But when people refer to the East as "wide open" -- a sentiment assuredly going to be heard throughout the next few months -- it's coded language for no confidence in the Cavs. It's not unreasonable; they have underwhelmed in the playoffs in consecutive seasons, and their core remains largely the same, even if injuries played a role both times.

This is reflected in our projections; the Cavs sit at the top, but it's more a matter of default than demand. In fact, generally, there is not much confidence in the relative strength of the East at all. Only three East teams are projected to win more than 47 games. This feels impossible, since last season there were five that finished above that mark, but especially because, inherently, the elite East teams will end up with the easiest schedules.

But the Cavs, Knicks and Magic all have flaws and fragility. There is a definite window for a team like Orlando, fresh off the aggressive move to add Desmond Bane, to gain on the top teams. The same could be said for the Hawks after their own aggressive move to pluck Kristaps Porzingis off the Celtics and add Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The panel sees both making a move in the East but not yet overtaking the top teams.

ESPN.com

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