Many, many Atlanta Hawks fans wanted Aday Mara on their team this summer.
It's truly not difficult to understand why. One of their biggest weaknesses over the past several seasons has been their inability to stand strong in the post. Better teams have been able to take advantage of Atlanta's interior.
As they reshape the roster, however, adding better perimeter defenders will only lessen the impact of not having a traditional big. It's not as needed anymore. Plus, their rookie doesn't look so bad, either.
Kingston Flemings - the eighth-overall pick of the Hawks in the 2026 NBA Draft - already looks extremely comfortable. Even though Mara does as well, Flemings is helping Atlanta address a weakness that may have been more detrimental than their lack of a paint enforcer.
Flemings is a floor general's floor general, and it's been on full display
His first outing against the Memphis Grizzlies, at home, wasn't perfect. It certainly wasn't bad, either.
He finished with 11 points and two assists on 4-11 from the field. In all fairness, he was thrown into the starting lineup in his preseason debut shortly before tip-off, as it was revealed that veteran CJ McCollum would be unable to go.
Since Flemings' debut, Oklahoma City's Aday Mara has had two incredible showings.
On Oct. 6, in 18 minutes of play, he had a near-double-double, putting up 12 points and nine rebounds on a perfect 5-5 from the field.
To make matters worse, and discourse more alarming, he followed it up on the second night of a back-to-back with an even better performance. He stayed perfect, scoring 22 points on 10-10 shooting. Mara has yet to miss a field goal in his first NBA preseason.
The only thing Flemings could do, after two stellar Mara games, is have a standout performance of his own. Luckily for Hawks fans, he did just that.
Flemings caught the attention of many in his second preseason game
It's not surprising to see him look much more comfortable off the bench. He's 19 years old, after all.
Kingston continues to look more and more comfortable
— Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) October 9, 2026
He's controlling the early quarter
Just had a sick fastbreak dunk too
In 20 minutes off the bench against the Spurs, Flemings scored 15 points, adding three rebounds and five assists along with it. He also recorded three steals, and displayed incredible efficiency during his operation.
If he can continue this high-level play in the second unit, giving Atlanta the proper ball-handling boost they've been desperately needing, their decision to pass on Mara won't age as a poor one.
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