Brendan O’Sullivan provides insight on whether the Atlanta Hawks will make the 2026 NBA playoffs.
The Atlanta Hawks are five years removed from their Eastern Conference Finals run with Trae Young. A lot has changed since then, considering the franchise hasn’t made it past the first round in the past four seasons.
It seems the team is destined for a similar fate again this year. The Hawks are currently the 10th seed with a 1.5-game lead over the Bulls and Bucks. They’re also just a half game behind the surging Hornets, three games behind the Heat and 3.5 back from the Magic.
Despite the East being a relatively weak conference this year, it’s unlikely the Hawks make a push for anything more than a Play-In spot. And that’s not even certain with the Bulls and Bucks closely behind.
DraftKings Sportsbook has Atlanta at +180 to make the playoffs.
There are a number of problems with the Hawks, but most importantly it’s finding their identity. Since that 2021 playoff run, the team hasn’t been as effective with Young leading the offense. The front office opted to trade him for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert— essentially a move to free up cap space in the offseason. This trade begins the Jalen Johnson era in Atlanta, and now the team must build around him.
The roster consists of good talent, but it’s not competent enough to win now, even in a watered-down Eastern Conference. The team also acquired Jonathan Kuminga at the deadline, which is an intriguing addition but he likely won’t play a major role in the 2025-26 season.
Atlanta made the correct move to trade Young and begin the rebuild around Johnson. It’s just a matter of successfully building a playoff roster. As currently constructed, the Hawks aren’t built for the playoffs. They’ll have to win multiple Play-In games to reach the postseason, and I don’t see that happening.