The Atlanta Hawks miss Jalen Johnson; that much goes without saying. But those who do not watch the Hawks regularly may not realize just how much they miss him when he is not on the floor.
Johnson is out for the season with a torn labrum and the surgery to repair it.
Before that, though, he was on an All-Star trajectory after looking like the Most Improved Player in 2023-24 when injury cut that dream short too.
“It took time for everything to click for Johnson, but he finally put the pieces together in 2023-24. The success carried over into this year before a season-ending shoulder injury derailed his stellar campaign,” FanSided’s Lior Lampert wrote on February 27. “But patience is a virtue, and the Hawks learned that in the best way possible with the former No. 20 overall pick.”
Johnson ranked 42nd on FanSided’s Top 100 Players list. That might not seem very high to the casual fan, but Johnson is ranked ahead of some notable players, many of which already have awards – and even championships – on their mantle.
Johnson ranks ahead of Orlando Magic face of the franchise Paolo Banchero.
He is also ahead of fellow forward Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics No. 2 (and quite often 1B) player behind Jayson Tatum.
Johnson is the Hawks’ second-best player. But that does not come with the typical recognition when the team is as underwhelming as the Hawks have been this season. The loss of Johnson has defined the campaign in many ways.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus offered “Jalenless” as his one word to describe the Hawks.
Loss of Jalen Johnson defining Hawks' season
“The Hawks parted with De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanović ahead of the trade deadline but added quality depth in Terance Mann, Caris LeVert and Georges Niang. With no first-round pick in June, Atlanta is pushing for a playoff run,” Pincus wrote on February 26. “Unfortunately, Jalen Johnson won't be back this season with a shoulder injury, limiting the team's upside.
“Without Johnson, the roster doesn't have enough firepower to compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference.”
The Hawks are on their way to their fifth loss in nine games since the trade deadline.
They are safely within the Play-In Tournament field with few challengers emerging from the cellar dwellers. That in and of itself could be viewed as a win for a team that has lost at least two players for the season and may have lost another in Larry Nance Jr.
In the end, rankings are opinions, and everyone has them. But Johnson’s place among the NBA’s top 50 in FanSided’s list shows just how impressive the youngster is when healthy.
The Hawks must figure out how to keep him that way.