ATLANTA, Ga. — The Atlanta Hawks open a new NBA season trying to turn last spring’s late surge into something longer, and the roster built to do it is deeper than the one that bowed out in the first round.
Atlanta finished 46-36 a year ago and closed the regular season on a 20-10 run before the New York Knicks, who went on to win the title, ended its playoff stay in the opening round.
Quin Snyder is back for his sixth season on the Atlanta bench. His returning group is led by Jalen Johnson, a first-time All-Star who put up 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists a night, along with Onyeka Okongwu, CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the league’s Most Improved Player.
The front office went shopping for playoff experience. Guards Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins both won a championship with Oklahoma City in 2025, and Dorian Finney-Smith, Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor also join. Zaccharie Risacher, Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield are among the players who left.
Defense on the wings looks like a strength, with Daniels, Dort and Alexander-Walker giving Snyder several ways to guard top scorers. Wiggins, a career 38% shooter from deep, could get a larger scoring role than he had in five seasons out west.
The worry is size. Rookie big man Henri Veesaar is lost for the year with a torn ACL, which thins a center group that already felt short last spring after Jock Landale went down. Okongwu will carry much of the load around the rim.
Home games are played downtown at State Farm Arena, where fans will get their first look at how the new pieces fit with Johnson as the franchise centerpiece.
