Jalen Johnson looked phenomenal in the All-Star game when surrounded by high-level talent. While this is good news for Atlanta Hawks fans, it raises the question of whether the front office will ever find a player talented enough to see this experience in action.
In a combined 19 minutes across three 12-minute games, Johnson dropped 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on 6/9 from the field and 2/4 from deep. While you may shrug at this stat line due to the history of poor defensive effort at the All-Star Game, consider that Johnson also had 2 steals and a block.
While most All-Star Games lack defensive energy, this year’s edition looked more like an AAU game than an All-Star Game; offense was clearly the focal point, but players at least tried on defense.
Johnson benefited greatly from his supporting cast in this game, which isn’t always the case for stars. Players like Trae Young or Luka Doncic become much less valuable when they are forced to share the ball. Johnson’s ability to scale his game down while maintaining his effectiveness bodes well for the future of this Atlanta squad.
But for Johnson to benefit from a strong star duo, the Hawks must actually find a capable co-star – an ever-elusive task the franchise has consistently failed at over its long history.
Onsi Saleh must break the curse and find Johnson a legit co-star
The Hawks franchise has had two true superstars – Bob Pettit and Dominique Wilkins – and one high-level star – Trae Young.
Pettit was never able to best the legendary Bill Russell Celtics, although it’s hard to fault the organization for this. After all, those Celtics are the most dominant dynasty in basketball (and perhaps sports) history. This failing, however, laid the groundwork for a persistent problem.
Decades later, Wilkins was another transcendent superstar who should have experienced playoff glory. However, he never had a supporting cast capable of elevating him over the Larry Bird Celtics or the Bad Boy Pistons. Over his three-season peak (1985-1988), Wilkins had just one All-Star teammate: Doc Rivers (who, let’s be honest, was a pretty weak All-Star).
As we all know, Trae Young never got his co-star either. While Johnson could have been the Robin to Young’s Batman, the two had star-crossed paths. After breaking out in his third NBA season, Johnson was quite injured in 2023-24 and 24-25. While he’s had a healthy year this time, his co-star duo of Kristaps Porzingis and Trae Young played a combined 27 games this season. Ultimately, Atlanta was forced to ship Young to Washington to rebuild for the Johnson era.
Onsi Saleh has a surplus of draft picks and a clean cap sheet, making it easier to find Johnson a running mate. If they can find that perfect player – one who can create his own shot at a high level and hold his own defensively – Johnson will continue to ascend, as he proved this week.
If the Hawks force him into a larger role than he is capable of, as has happened this season, Johnson will soon be past his prime, and Atlanta will remember him as the face of yet another mediocre era.