The Atlanta Hawks have ended a three-year postseason drought by securing their highest winning percentage since 2021 and their most wins since 2016. It's a remarkable feat on multiple levels, including the fact that Atlanta traded its franchise player in January.
The context that makes their postseason appearance most impressive, however, is that they had to outlast a division full of teams that defined the Play-In Tournament.
At least one Southeast Division team will have competed on every day that the 2026 Play-In Tournament was held. That began when the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Miami Heat in an instant classic of a Play-In opener, and continued when the Orlando Magic fell to the Philadelphia 76ers.
On the third and final day of the Play-In Tournament, Charlotte is now scheduled to compete against Orlando to secure the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Play-In Tournament has admittedly proven divisive, but the Southeast Division played a direct role in legitimizing it in 2025-26. Each of the three teams that competed in it finished the regular season with an above-.500 record and remained in the hunt for the division title until April.
The fact that the Hawks outlasted three different Play-In teams, as well as one that is guaranteed to be a playoff team, speaks volumes to how great their season was.
Four Southeast Division teams made the Playoffs or Play-In
Though divisions may not directly impact postseason seeding as much as they once did, the Hawks played 16 games against Southeast Division opponents. They amassed a 9-7 record during those outings that played a direct role in their overall success.
That includes critical victories over the 45-37 Orlando Magic on Mar. 16 and Apr. 1 that helped the Hawks clinch a postseason appearance.
Had Atlanta lost one of those games and no other results changed, it would've been the Magic that won the Southeast Division. That crucial context is not only impressive in regard to the Hawks' ability to win important games, but essential to where they currently stand.
Atlanta made the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference—and losing even one of those games to Orlando would've meant they'd have been tasked with going through the Play-In Tournament.
With Charlotte and Orlando now competing for the No. 8 seed, the playoffs have inevitably circled right back around to the Southeast Division. Atlanta may not ultimately encounter a division rival in the postseason, but their path to it has been defined by the divisional hurdles they overcame.
Though no division is truly bad, the fact that the Southeast Division produced four of the top 10 teams in the Eastern Conference is no small feat.
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