The Hawks held their annual Media Day on Monday morning and there was no shortage of intrigue. The new-look roster is heading into the season with high expectations, as the Eastern Conference is as wide-open as it has ever been.
While the quotes from the new additions Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard made headlines, a familiar face revealed a lot of valuable information that went under the radar.
The layout of Media Day was straightforward. Head Coach Quin Snyder began the event by giving his opening remarks, followed by one-by-one player avaliability. I was in attendance covering the event, and by the time it was Jalen Johnson's turn, I had an interesting question prepared for him:
"Jalen, we saw you working out with LeBron this offseason. What can you take away from that? What lessons were you able to learn?"
Johnson did not shy away from showing love to James, crediting him for his humility and revealing that he worked out with him on several occasions this offseason:
"Yeah, I mean working out with him, I worked out with him quite a bit this summer. It's been great. It was great," Johnson continued, "He's somebody that just gives knowledge back, like, there's no ego involved. It's crazy how humble he is, considering what he's done and what he's doing still."
He even detailed what goes on during the workouts and how James has helped his development:
"He just wants to give back. He gives me a crazy amount of knowledge. Even just stopping a workout and pointing something out. Just the fact that I get to share the gym with him, it was really dope."
This response comes as no surprise
Of all the players in the league today, there is no one with more expertise and lessons to give out than LeBron James. Entering his 23rd NBA season, James has to start thinking about passing the torch to the next generation.
While it may be a reach to say Jalen Johnson can take over as one of the league's most elite forwards one day, his game has been compared to that of James on numerous occasions. They have a similar frame and are both excellent in transition. Whenever Johnson has an open lane to the rim or an open court in transition, his resemblance to James is uncanny.
The two will face off against each other twice this season as they are cross-conference opponents. Their first matchup will be at State Farm Arena for Atlanta's tenth game of the season.
It will be interesting to see how they interact both on and off the court after a summer filled with invaluable lessons.