Amid the Atlanta Hawks’ exciting offseason, where the team acquired three players who will make an impact in the playoffs, the in-house talent flew under the radar. With preseason basketball underway, however, the NBA community has been reintroduced to the Jalen Johnson experience.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports was particularly inspired by watching Johnson, particularly his electrifying dunk in the preseason game against Memphis. O’Connor said to his guest, Kenny Beecham, “Jalen Johnson in particular at his size, 6’9, with length and versatility, like there's sometimes when you watch Jalen Johnson highlights, Kenny and you squint your eyes and it’s like that looks like LeBron James, just the movement and the size and the fluidity.”
This is high praise for Johnson, but it is not that far-fetched. His athletic prowess is a sight to behold in the open floor, showcasing a phenomenal combination of speed, explosiveness, and vertical. In the halfcourt, Johnson has the mobility to snake his way through help defense and the strength to challenge bigger defenders lurking in the paint.
Johnson will have more opportunities than ever for his physical gifts to shine
Of course, Johnson is not in the same class as James as a player, but the legendary forward built his game around his dominant athletic ability. Johnson has seemingly only become more athletic over the course of his career, perhaps indicating that he could take a few pages from LeBron’s book in his next big leap as a player.
The two players share a similar archetype as jumbo playmaking forwards with a devastatingly explosive first step and vertical leap. Standing 6’9 and 220 pounds, Johnson should not be able to move as fluidly and quickly as he can. The two players also share a relative weakness from three, forcing them to rely on their dominant physical gifts regularly.
Coach Quin Snyder has also made it a point of emphasis to involve Johnson more regularly as an initiator of the offense. With the team working to make Trae Young’s life easier by taking him off the ball as much, Johnson will have more opportunity to shine than ever before this year.
He will also be surrounded by the strongest supporting cast from behind the arc in his career. After four years of having to fight through a crowded paint, Johnson has a team that can play five out with two of the best shooters in the league to support: Luke Kennard and Kristaps Porzingis. With the opposing center on the perimeter to defend Porzingis and Kennard’s man unable to help at the nail, Johnson should enjoy the easiest paint looks of his career this season.
To reiterate, Johnson is not James. But the two share a generational physical profile that benefits from spacing and fast-paced offense. Atlanta has quietly set up Johnson for another statistical breakthrough, even if he doesn’t actually improve as a player.