ATLANTA — After a flurry of offseason moves and a reshaping of the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks are poised to be a factor this year.
And while four-time NBA All-Star guard Trae Young is still the team’s fulcrum, a second player on his level will need to emerge if the Hawks are to fulfill expectations.
Enter Jalen Johnson.
The 6-foot-9, 219-pound forward is entering his fifth pro season coming off a torn labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery last January and ended his season. He lasted only 36 games, but he continued his ascent with career-high per-game averages in points (18.9), rebounds (10.0), steals (1.6), blocks (1.0) and minutes (35.7).
“I’m just excited for a basketball game,” Johnson said at the team’s practice facility Thursday. “It’s been a long time since January, so I’m excited to get out on the court, preseason, training camp. I’m excited to be full go and fully healthy going into the season.”
Johnson spent part of his summer training with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James after he was cleared to resume basketball activities. He said his conditioning is up to par, and he has worked most on his shooting in the offseason. The first few days of training camp have been spent getting acclimated to the new rotational players the Hawks have acquired, such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard and Kristaps Porzingas.
And while Johnson is trying to fit in with them, Hawks coach Quin Snyder feels the newcomers will fit in nicely with Johnson.
“Other guys on the team benefit from Jalen because of his playmaking ability. Jalen is such a good passer and willing passer that he’s ready to playmake even more,” Snyder said, adding that, with the new lineup, Johnson “will be in spacing situations where he can just catch and shoot. We want him to do that, just to let it fly. We trust him in that regard.”
Johnson shot 35.5% from 3-point range during the 2023-24 season, but that number dipped to 31.2% last season. Should his outside shooting become more reliable, it will open up his ability to drive. Johnson is one of the Hawks’ best at getting out and finishing in transition, and has been since he came into the league.
Snyder said he has noticed in the early part of training camp that Johnson has been more focused on defensive details, which shows his maturation as a player. Johnson hasn’t been able to experience a full season in his two years as a starter. He played 56 games in 2023-24 because of ankle and wrist injuries, then missed 46 games last season.
“The key for any young player in getting better is to embrace the things they need to work on, just to be painfully honest with yourself about how can I get better and then to work,” Snyder said. “He’s done a real good job in the portions of the season, early in the season that he did play, I think he’s been able to take that and really work on things and apply them.”
Snyder described Johnson as hungry to play and has hopes he will continue to progress and be a key component of the team this season.
“We’ve got a lot of things rolling in the right direction,” Johnson said. “We’re just looking to continue to build on arguably the best roster on paper that this team’s had in a couple of years.”