The Atlanta Hawks finished last season with a 46-36 record. It was their first winning campaign since 2021-2022 when they went 43-39. They earned the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and took the eventual champions, the New York Knicks, to six games in the first round of the playoffs. Now, Atlanta wants to take an even bigger step, improving in an even tougher East in 2026-27.
The Hawks are bringing back their core pieces from last season's success to continue their ascent up the standings and make a stronger playoff push. The latest ESPN projection suggests Atlanta will get this opportunity in a tough Eastern Conference this upcoming campaign.
ESPN has Hawks earning a playoff spot next season
ESPN released its "NBA Summer Forecast 2026-27: Projections for East and West standings" piece on August 24. NBA reporter Jamal Collier predicted Atlanta to finish as the No. 6 seed next season with a 47-35 record.
While this would not be a huge step up in the win department, tougher competition and the new lottery system could decrease league-wide win totals. In fact, Collier has the Boston Celtics finishing with just one more win than Atlanta.
He projected the Miami Heat one spot behind the Hawks with the same record, even though they traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo and signed Klay Thompson this summer.
Collier has the Toronto Raptors as the No. 8 seed and the Indiana Pacers as the No. 9 seed. Both teams received major boosts this offseason. Toronto reacquired Kawhi Leonard, while Tyrese Haliburton returns for Indiana after missing all of last season due to a torn Achilles tendon.
All three of these franchises made big moves this summer. In contrast, Atlanta held firm, counting on internal development and adding important depth pieces to strengthen its bench, including Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins. The Hawks valued future draft capital and financial flexibility over a risky win-now move.
Several franchises, like the Heat, Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Philadelphia 76ers, went all in for a championship this season. If the Hawks make the right big move when these older teams start to fizzle out, they can put themselves in a perfect position to rise to the top of the Eastern Conference, establishing themselves as championship contenders.
Hawks have options to make a big move before the trade deadline
The Hawks have a lot of expired contracts coming off the books next summer. CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, Mouhamed Gueye, and Dort are all set to become free agents. This frees up a lot of money for Atlanta to sign a big-name free agent.
However, if the Hawks sit in prime position for a deep postseason run around the trade deadline, they could package these players in a trade to match salary for a disgruntled star.
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