The Hawks made a push in the second half of the season and earned the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They changed their trajectory this season by trading Trae Young, and with some additional moves.
Jalen Johnson, who earned his first All-Star selection, is just one of the key pieces who can help turn things around. The Hawks have a revamped roster and a new outlook heading into a critical offseason, which could include a top-five draft pick.
Check out the latest updates from the Hawks here:
Hawks first-year general manager Onsi Saleh finished second in the voting for the NBA’s Executive of the Year award.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens won the award for the second time.
Saleh pulled together a roster that finished the regular season 46-36, good for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. This was an improvement for the Hawks, who had fought for playoff position via the NBA’s play-in tournament the last four seasons. The Hawks missed the playoffs the last two years.
Saleh's moves to improve the roster included the acquisition of one of the most sought-after free agents in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award last week. It also included the dealing of longtime Hawks guard Trae Young for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
McCollum has provided the Hawks with heroic performances in their first-round series against the Knicks, which is tied 2-2 going into Tuesday night’s Game 5.
The native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has positioned the Hawks on solid ground for the future, acquiring a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Saleh and his front office team also built future financial flexibility with their moves at the NBA trade deadline in February.
The voting panel for the 2025-26 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award consisted of basketball executives from NBA teams.
The NBA officially named Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker as a finalist for its Most Improved Player award.
Alexander-Walker has put together a career season in his first year with the Hawks. Over 78 regular-season games, Alexander-Walker averaged 20.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He increased his scoring by 11.4 points per game, the third-highest increase from one season to the next in the past 25 seasons, according to the Hawks, via Elias Sports Bureau.
The 27-year-old has upped his scoring without his shooting efficiency from the perimeter taking a dip. He took a higher volume of 3-point attempts (8.1) while making 39.9%.
Hawks teammate Dyson Daniels won the award last season, becoming the second player in franchise history to earn the honor. If Alexander-Walker wins Most Improved Player, the Hawks would become the first team to have consecutive winners since the award’s creation in the 1985-86 season.
The NBA also named Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija and Pistons center Jalen Duren as finalists for Most Improved Player.
A panel of roughly 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA cast ballots shortly after the end of the regular season. The NBA will announce the winners of each award throughout the playoffs.
Hawks center Jock Landale will miss at least another two weeks with a right high-ankle sprain, the team announced.
The Hawks said they would reevaluate him and provide an update at that time.
The injury forced Landale to miss the final two weeks of the regular season.
The 30-year-old injured his ankle during the fourth quarter of the Hawks' win against the Magic on April 1. He went up for a putback, but Magic center Goga Bitadze dragged him by the arm, pulling him down.
Officials assessed Bitadze a flagrant foul 2 and ejected him.
The Hawks will open their first-round playoff series against the Knicks on Saturday.
The Hawks made a roster move Saturday, waiving guard Caleb Houstan to create an open spot.
With the injury to big man Jock Landale, the Hawks are signing big man Tony Bradley to a deal for the remainder of the season, a league source confirmed.
Bradley played for the Skyhawks, the Hawks' G League affiliate, in 2024-25 before signing with the Pacers.
The NBA announced on Thursday that it named Hawks coach Quin Snyder as the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in March.
Last month, Snyder led the Hawks (44-33) to a 13-2 record and picked up his 500th career win along the way. Two of the Hawks' conference-leading 13 wins came against the top two teams in the East: at the Pistons on March 25 and versus the Celtics on March 30.
The Hawks have put up one of their best seasons since the 2020-21 season when they made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. But their 44 wins this year are the team’s most wins in a single season since 2015-16, including securing 21 road wins, the most road victories in a single season since the 2015-16 season.
This marked the fifth time Snyder earned the Coach of the Month honor, becoming the seventh Hawks head coach to earn the monthly honor.
Over 15 games in March, the Hawks averaged 122.5 points, 44.3 rebounds, including 12.5 offensive boards (third in the East), 30.2 assists (third in the East) and 9.4 steals (third in the East). The Hawks forced an NBA-leading 17.6 turnovers per game and led the league with an average 24.9 points off turnovers. The Hawks' 17.6 forced turnovers per game are their most in a single month since December 2006, per Elias Sports (min. 15 GP).
The Hawks have had the best record in the Eastern Conference and third-best record in the league since they returned from the All-Star Break (18-3). From Feb. 22 through March 18, the Hawks put up an 11-game win streak, with all but one of those victories coming by double digits (March 7 vs. Philadelphia, 125-116, +9).
They became just the second team in NBA history to win 11 consecutive games by nine or more points.
In March, the Hawks put up a perfect 10-0 record at home at State Farm Arena and currently have a 13-game home winning streak. It's the franchise's longest single-season home winning streak since the 1996-97 campaign (20).
This is just the sixth time in Hawks' history the team has won 18 games over a 21-game stretch and the first time doing so since the 2014-15 campaign. Over that time, the Hawks rank second in the NBA in defensive rating (107.3), third in net rating (11.2) and eighth in offensive rating (118.5).
The Hawks also lead the NBA in assists per game (30.3).
The Hawks provided a medical update on center Jock Landale.
The team said that medical staff diagnosed Landale with a right high ankle sprain. Landale will have a reevaluation in approximately two weeks and the Hawks will provide an update at that time.
Landale's injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the Hawks' 130-101 win over the Magic in Orlando, Florida. With 7:31 to play in the game, Magic center Goga Bitadze grabbed Landale by the shoulders as the Hawks center went up for a shot at the basket. As Landale came down, his leg buckled and when he hit the ground, the 30-year-old grabbed his leg and rolled to the side.
Hawks forwards Jalen Johnson and Jonathan Kuminga, as well as guard Dyson Daniels, charged at Bitadze. Daniels then pushed the Magic center as officials rushed to de-escalate the fracas.
They then assessed Bitadze a flagrant two penalty and ejected him from the game. Daniels earned a technical foul.
Landale split a pair of free throws to keep his eligibility for the game but the Hawks ruled him out with a right ankle sprain.
The timeline for Landale's recovery before reevaluation puts a potential return after the regular season concludes on April 12. But reevaluation does not mean Landale could return to play.
The Hawks still have starting center Onyeka Okongwu and they will likely lean a little more heavily on big man Mouhamed Gueye for backup minutes in the final five games of the regular season.
Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
On Thursday, the league announced it named the 24-year-old to the monthly honor for his performance in March, earning his first Player of the Month honor. He became the first Hawks player to win the award since January 2015, when DeMarre Carroll, Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague collectively won the award.
The NBA named Lakers guard Luka Dončić the Western Conference Player of the Month.
Last month, Johnson averaged 22.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.1 steals across 36.1 minutes. He was the sole player in the Eastern Conference to average minimums of 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in March. He was one of only two players in the entire NBA to post those minimums alongside only Nuggets center Nikola Jokić.
On March 16, Johnson posted a 24-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against the Magic, snapping the team's seven-game winning streak. It was Johnson's 15th career triple-double. He became the ninth-youngest player (24 years, 88 days) and ninth-fastest player (245 games) in NBA history to 15 career triple-doubles.
Johnson has 13 triple-doubles this season, the most in a single season in franchise history and tied for the second-most triple-doubles in the league.
He also dished his 1,000th career assist in the Hawks' win over the Kings on March 28. He became the fastest player in franchise history to 3,500 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,000 assists and at 24 years, 100 days. This season, Johnson has 1,552 total points, 698 total rebounds and 548 total assists, one of only two players in the league with at least 1,500 points, 500 boards and 500 assists.
Through 68 games, Johnson has averaged career highs of 22.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 8.1 assists this season, in addition to 1.3 steals.
Johnson is on pace to become just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a single season. He ranks fifth in assists per game this season, seventh in rebounds per game and 19th in points per game. He is on pace to be the first player in Hawks' history to rank top 20 in all three categories.
Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker was a finalist for Eastern Conference Player of the Month, averaging 22.7 points on 52.8% overall shooting, 46.8% shooting from 3 and 94.2% from the free-throw line. He also has averaged 3.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
He became the first player in the league to average at least 20.0 points on .500/.400/.900 shooting splits in a single month since Kawhi Leonard in January 2024 (min. 15 GP) and the first Hawk to do so in franchise history (min. 10 GP), per Elias Sports.
The Hawks have filled their last two-way roster spot. On Wednesday, the Hawks announced that they signed guard Keshon (pronounced KEY-shonn) Gilbert to a two-way deal.
The team now has a full roster with 15 players on standard contracts and three players on two-way deals.
Gilbert played in three games for the Wizards while on a 10-day contract from Feb. 6-16. But he spent much of his time with the Wizards suiting up for the Capital City Go-Go, their G League affiliate.
In 37 games, Gilbert averaged 15.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals. He posted a 25-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double — his first career triple-double — in a win over the Westchester Knicks. Gilbert joins new teammate and Hawks two-way guard RayJ Dennis as one of only eight players in the NBA G League to tally at least 25 points, 10 boards and 10 assists.
The Hawks have plenty of depth at guard, but the 22-year-old, who played at both UNLV and Iowa State, enters the Hawks system as the team looks ahead to the future.
Here’s a look at the Hawks roster.
Guards
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker*
- Dyson Daniels*
- RayJ Dennis (two-way)
- Keshon Gilbert (two-way)
- Buddy Hield
- CJ McCollum*
- Gabe Vincent
- Keaton Wallace
Forwards
- Mouhamed Gueye
- Caleb Houstan
- Corey Kispert
- Jonathan Kuminga
- Jalen Johnson*
- Asa Newell
- Zaccharie Risacher
Centers
- Jock Landale
- Christian Koloko (two-way)
- Onyeka Okongwu
* Indicates Hawks starter
The Hawks have released their injury report ahead of their final meeting against the Wizards on Thursday. The team listed Jalen Johnson (left hip flexor irritation), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (left foot sprain) and Zaccharie Risacher (right hip contusion) as questionable.
All three players had some bumps in Tuesday's matchup against the Wizards.
Johnson exited Tuesday's game midway through the first quarter after he seemingly tweaked something in his left hip. The team eventually ruled him out of the game with a left hip flexor injury. On Wednesday, the Hawks officially specified the issue as left hip flexor irritation.
Alexander-Walker's injury occurred near the end of the third quarter. Replays in State Farm Arena showed that Alexander-Walker stepped on the foot of a Wizards player before falling and holding his own foot.
The Hawks called a timeout, and with the help of teammates, he got to his feet and walked to the Hawks' bench on his own. He returned to the game after the timeout and played through the first half of the fourth quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Risacher got caught in a screen and tripped over the leg of the Wizards' Anthony Gill. Risacher went down hard, falling on his right hip.
Officials ended up whistling Risacher for his second foul of the game. But during the dead ball, the second-year forward needed several minutes to get to his feet. The 20-year-old ended up playing a game-high 28 minutes.
The Hawks and Wizards tip off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at State Farm Arena.
The Hawks have made a change to their starting lineup. On Sunday, the team moved veteran guard CJ McCollum to the starting group in place of second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher.
The move comes as the Hawks continue to evaluate their new players and try to make a push toward the postseason.
The Hawks have closed games with McCollum, along with Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, which has been one of the team's most productive groupings.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks have a +18.7 differential with that lineup across 166 possessions, versus the +3.1 differential with Risacher in the lineup.
McCollum has averaged 19 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists since joining the Hawks, and he's made 37.4% of his shots from 3.
The team has also opted to move Risacher to the second unit in hopes of giving the 20-year-old forward a reset. Risacher has had an up-and-down season, as he's tried to figure out his role in the team's new landscape.
The increased usage rates of Johnson, Okongwu and Daniels, as well as the several changes to the roster, have not made things easy for Risacher.
Across 44 games, Risacher has averaged 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.
About the Author
