The Atlanta Hawks have gone a different way from the last offseason where they have bought in new talent rather than focussing on retention. It may have been a mistake for the Hawks to go that path as the Eastern Conference improved last season. It appears to have improved again this offseason but then so have the Hawks, especially their backcourt.
As such, there is a huge amount of new numbers to look through. A good place to start is at the lowest number allowed on a basketball jersey, the number 0. Last season we all remember that Delon Wright took zero. This season this number belongs to Frank Kaminsky.
Jalen Johnson still has the No. 1 but it is two-way player Trent Forrest who has taken No. 2. This belonged to Sharife Cooper last season so they are keeping this number in the two-way point guard fold.
The next big change for the Atlanta Hawks is at No. 3
Hawks fans are used to the No. 3 being on the back of Red Velvet, Kevin Huerter. However, this season Aaron Holiday has taken over this number which means we will not see it on the floor anywhere near as much.
Then there is the No. 4 which was not seen much last season as it was on the back of Skylar Mays. It is more likely to get regular court time this season as it is on the back of Maurice Harkless who is a veteran presence that the Hawks will look to on defense.
This is the same for the No. 5 which is going to be worn by their new superstar Dejounte Murray. He is going to have a much greater impact on the team than the previous wearer Kevin Knox who only sported it for a short time after the Cam Reddish trade.
Jersey numbers for the new Hawks:
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) September 22, 2022
0: Frank Kaminsky
2: Trent Forrest
3: Aaron Holiday
4: Mo Harkless
5: Dejounte Murray
7: Jarrett Culver
8: Justin Holiday
14: AJ Griffin
22: Tyrese Martin
25: Tyson Etienne
30: Chris Silva
31: Malik Ellison
32: Armoni Brooks
Jarrett Culver takes the No. 7 over from Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Justin Holiday takes over the No. 8 from Danilo Gallinari. There is a good chance that Holiday will be as important as Gallinari to the second unit, just on the opposite end of the floor. This is one above Holiday’s No. 7 which wore during his time with the Hawks originally.
Of the rookie, AJ Griffin takes No. 14 which Malcolm Hill briefly sported last season and Tyrese Martin takes Reddish’s number wearing No. 22. It is unlikely that any other of the players going into training camp will make the final roster.