If the Atlanta Hawks want to make an immediate leap next season without making a splash move to reach that level, it starts with Jalen Johnson.
Johnson is heading into his fifth NBA season. He has only once made at least 60 appearances, though he did come close, with 56 in 2023-24. This past season, Johnson made 36 appearances before a shoulder injury ended his campaign.
The Hawks were 22-22 when Johnson went down, going 18-20 the rest of the way.
They also notably lost his last three starts. And yet, Johnson was out of the lineup before the Hawks traded Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter.
He never got to play with trade deadline additions Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann. Moreover, his final three games of the season were Okongwu’s first as the Hawks’ full-time starting center.
The lineup of Johnson, Okongwu, Dyson Daniels, Trae Young, and Zaccharie Risacher played 37 possessions together, per Cleaning The Glass.
The group posted an ominous minus-34 net efficiency differential in those possessions.
However, that is more of a referendum on the small sample size than it is of the group’s potential together. It boasts length, defense, and playmaking around Young, who sets the table and benefits from the attention teams must give Johnson.
Jalen Johnson’s return presents questions for Hawks’ breakout players
Johnson’s absence undoubtedly created more opportunities in the offense for Daniels and Risacher, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft. He averaged 15.1 attempts per game before his season-ending injury.
Daniels and Risacher averaged 12.4 and 9.8 FGAs per game, respectively, in that same span. Daniels’ attempts actually fell to 11.9 per game, while Risacher’s rose to 11.0 per game.
Adding Johnson back into the mix will take some of those chances away.
He will allow the Hawks to play a faster pace, which means more possessions and, in theory, opportunities for everyone. But Johnson has taken significant leaps in back-to-back seasons; another could see him take an even larger portion of the offensive pie in Year 5.
Johnson was a Most Improved Player candidate in back-to-back seasons, and his 18.9-10.0-5.0 line on the season belies his true effectiveness during the campaign.
Thanks to the Hawks’ trades and injuries, Johnson was still fifth on the team in minutes.
More importantly, he finished with the second-best on-of differential on the team, behind only his replacement, 2023 second-round big man Mouhamed Gueye. Gueye will also feel the impact of Johnson’s return. A lesser role could suit him well, though.
Getting and staying healthy should be a priority for the Hawks, and that effort starts with Johnson.