The Atlanta Hawks are Exhibit A of how the NBA has changed in almost no time at all. The era of the ball-dominant guards whose usage rates surged through the roof and whose style of play meant dribbling out the shot clock has seemingly come and gone before Trae Young could reach his prime.
Though Atlanta only recently operated as the last of a dying breed, their evolution has been a sudden epitomization of the new NBA.
Rewind the time to 2020-21 and the Hawks were playing in the Eastern Conference Finals due to Young's heroics. Young, who's listed at 6'2", produced a usage rate of 32.0 that only scratched the surface of how his ball-dominant style influenced Atlanta's trajectory.
The Hawks ranked No. 25 in passes made that season at 274.1. That number was an accurate reflection of how Young tended to create everything for just about everyone around him.
Unfortunately, the Hawks followed that trip to the Conference Finals by winning no more than 43 games in any of the next four seasons. The star-centric approach they took lost its luster, as Young's numbers continued to be gaudy but the team results ultimately failed to prove ideal.
With the shift from Young to Jalen Johnson as the franchise player, however, the Hawks have embraced the new reality: Teams need multiple sources of high-level offense to compete in 2025-26.
Teams can't get away with playing through one player anymore
Luka Doncic has the Los Angeles Lakers at 49-26 and leads the NBA in usage rate at 36.8, but he's also one of three players on his team averaging at least 20.9 points and 5.6 assists. Nikola Jokic is No. 1 in the Assocition in assists and No. 8 in points, but he's No. 10 in usage rate.
Furthermore, Jokic's teammate Jamal Murray is averaging 25.5 points per game and Denver has seven different players averaging at least 11.6.
Denver and Los Angeles are examples of what Atlanta now epitomizes: The need to create multiple entry points on offense. Playing through just one star is no longer a sustainable formula, as defenses have improved, offenses have become more diverse, and coaches have learned to game plan for the new wave of isolation specialists.
Even if said players are successful individually, winning at a high level requires more than just one player who can create for those around them when the opposition has multiple valid options.
Hawks have the perfect new franchise player in Jalen Johnson
With Johnson at the heart of their success, Atlanta has create a new identity for itself. For one, Johnson is a 6'8" forward averaging 22.9 points and 8.1 assists compared to Young being a 6'2" guard producing superior individual statistics but also having inevitable physical limitations.
That's allowed the Hawks to create new angles that don't require Johnson to set up at the top of the key to generate high-level possessions.
More importantly, the Hawks have four players averaging at least 15.0 points, seven at 10.0 or higher, and nine at 9.0 or more. Rewind by even one season and Atlanta had only two players averaging at least 15.0 points: Young and Johnson.
With the ball moving more freely, size and athleticism along the wings, and a franchise player who's more adept at playing away from the ball, the Hawks are finally meeting the new standard.