On Thursday night, the Atlanta Hawks will play Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets in North Carolina.

The Hawks are coming off a 120-117 victory over Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday at State Farm Arena.

Atlanta Hawks Release Jacob Toppin Before Hornets Game

Before the game, the Hawks announced that they had waived Jacob Toppin.

The 25-year-old had been averaging 1.6 points per contest while shooting 66.7% from the field in five games this year.

Via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype: “The Atlanta Hawks have waived two-way forward Jacob Toppin, league sources told @hoopshype. Toppin had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Atlanta opens up a two-way spot in the process.”

Toppin played his college basketball at Kentucky and Rhode Island.

He has spent part of three seasons in the NBA with the Hawks (and New York Knicks).

Over limited playing time, Toppin has career averages of 1.4 points per contest in 31 games (he is also the brother of Indiana Pacers forward Obi).

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In addition to the NBA, Toppin has also spent a lot of time playing in the G League.

This season, he had averages of 18.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 48.6% from the field and 35.7% from three-point range in five games.

Via New York Basketball (in 2023): “The Westchester Knicks are your 2023 G League Showcase Cup Champs 🏆 Jacob Toppin leads all scorers with 23 as the Knicks knock off Elfrid Payton & the top-seeded Indiana Mad Ants in the Final 107-99”

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As for the Hawks, they are currently the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 15-12 record in 27 games.

They have gone 5-5 over their last ten.

Following the Hornets, the Hawks will play their next game on Friday night when they visit Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.

Via Finn Kuehl of twowaytalents.com: “If Atlanta’s going to look in-house with their new two-way slot, would love to see Kobe Johnson or Malik Williams from the Skyhawks get a look. Plenty of interesting names on the open FA market too Rooting for Jacob Toppin making a strong recovery”

The Hawks are coming off a season where they missed the 2025 NBA playoffs.

They lost to the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat in the play-in tournament.