Nothing about Jalen Johnson’s NBA trajectory hinted at the leap he’s delivering now. After years of limited roles and untimely injuries, the 23-year-old has opened the 2025-26 season playing the most complete basketball of his career — and looking every bit like the centerpiece Atlanta hoped he could become.
He is averaging 23.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists — and an even more staggering 25.9, 11.3 and 9.0 over his last 10 games — while helping the Hawks reach a 13-9 record and an 11-6 mark without Trae Young.
For the first time since Young arrived, the Hawks look like a team whose identity may be built around more than one star.
Rise Rooted In The Work Before The Injury
Those inside the league who watched Johnson closely last season insist this leap didn’t come out of nowhere. An Eastern Conference scout said the signs were present long before Johnson’s torn labrum ended his Year-4 campaign.
“He was already tracking toward a breakout before the injury,” the scout said. “He was putting up real production — 19, 10 and 5 — and doing it in ways that translated to winning. That wasn’t a young player flashing. Those were signs of someone learning how to use his size and pace to dictate possessions. The injury slowed the attention he was getting, but not the growth.”
A Western Conference scout said Year 5 is simply a continuation of the momentum Johnson had built.
“He already understood how to impact the game in Year 4,” the scout said. “Now the responsibilities have expanded and the execution has gone up with them. This is one of the best Year-5 leaps I’ve seen from a wing in years. He’s controlling tempo, initiating offense, rebounding, pushing transition and taking on real defensive matchups. Most wings plateau by this point; he’s still building.”
With Young sidelined, the Hawks shifted more halfcourt creation onto Johnson — and discovered a far more advanced offensive organizer than they expected. His pace control, decision-making and ability to manipulate defenses have all taken a step forward.
A second Eastern Conference scout said Johnson’s improvement as a processor has elevated the entire offense.
“He’s reading the game with far more maturity,” the scout said. “The decision-making is cleaner, the pace is steadier, and he knows when to get off the ball versus when to impose himself. Last year he was a matchup problem; this year he’s a matchup problem who understands the solutions. The next steps are about refinement — adding the pull-up three, improving the floater, tightening the isolation counters — but he’s already operating at a level where those additions would make him incredibly difficult to guard.”
The numbers reflect that growth. Johnson ranks near the top of the league in total passes and potential assists, and the Hawks increasingly run late-game actions through him.
Long-Term Bet Already Paying Off
Part of Johnson’s rise is tied to the fact he hasn’t sacrificed the physical work that once defined his value: rebounding in traffic, switching across positions, sprinting in transition and taking primary defensive matchups even as his offensive duties expand.
A second Western Conference scout said that combination of usage and motor is rare.
“He impacts winning in every category,” the scout said. “He guards multiple spots, competes on the glass, runs the floor hard and still does the dirty work most rising stars eventually dial back. And then on top of all that, he’s initiating offense like a lead creator. The contract looks like a home run because he’s playing like a star now and still has room to grow. When a forward makes a leap like this in Year 5, it changes your timeline.”
That contract — a fully guaranteed five-year, $150 million rookie-scale extension signed Oct. 21, 2024 — begins next season. What once looked like a strong value for a rising starter now appears to be one of the most team-friendly deals in the league.
The Eastern Conference scout said Atlanta showed foresight.
“They locked in a player who was already making real year-to-year jumps,” the scout said. “You hope for leaps like this when you extend a forward with his profile, but you rarely get one this dramatic.”
Johnson’s breakout received its defining moment in a double-overtime win over the 76ers, when he delivered 41 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, drilling two threes in the second overtime to close out the game.
“It was good. It was a tough, grit-it-out win,” Johnson said. “We just did what we needed to do down the stretch.”
A Western Conference scout said that game revealed everything that has changed.
“That showed the poise, the playmaking, the physical presence and the willingness to take on responsibility,” the scout said. “That’s what a team-leading forward looks like.”
A second Eastern Conference scout said it was simply confirmation of a larger truth.
“He’s changed who they can be,” the scout said. “When a player improves this significantly, it alters the entire direction of a franchise.”
Can This Work With Trae Young?
Atlanta’s 11-6 record without Young has generated natural questions about the long-term structure of the roster, but Young himself has welcomed Johnson’s rise.
Recently, Young praised Johnson’s evolution on his “From the Point” podcast.
“That boy is a star… he has even more room for growth. What you’re seeing from him now is just the tip of the iceberg. Obviously, he’s been carrying us throughout this run and putting up crazy numbers and playing super efficient,” Young said.
Some scouts believe the pairing can thrive if the Hawks structure the offense intentionally. The Eastern Conference scout said the differences in their strengths could be complementary.
“Both guys tilt defenses differently,” the scout said. “Trae bends the floor with shooting and passing, and Jalen bends it with size and force. If they commit to sharing initiator duties and build spacing around them, it absolutely can work.”
A Western Conference scout said Young’s gravity could enhance Johnson even further.
“Trae draws the toughest coverage every night,” the scout said. “That gives Jalen cleaner lanes, easier reads and less loaded-up help. As long as Jalen stays involved as a playmaker, the offense can run through both.”
One alignment several scouts highlighted was Johnson operating in the short roll. If teams blitz Young, Johnson catching the ball with a four-on-three advantage and a downhill runway could flip defensive pressure into mismatches or easy reads.
But the fit isn’t universally viewed as seamless. The second Eastern Conference scout said usage is the core tension.
“Trae needs the ball to be Trae, and Jalen has taken this leap because he’s had more control,” the scout said. “Someone will lose touches, and that changes who Jalen is right now.”
The second Western Conference scout said the long-term question is broader than Xs and Os.
“Their strengths don’t overlap, but their needs might,” the scout said. “You can make it work short term, but long term you have to ask if it’s the cleanest structure. Sometimes two good players don’t create the best shape.”
What Comes Next?
Johnson hasn’t just elevated Atlanta — he’s expanded what the organization is allowed to imagine. He has become a two-way engine, a foundational piece and a player whose rise is forcing the franchise to reconsider both its present and its future.
For the first time in years, the Hawks aren’t built around one star. They are built around two — or at least a choice.
Either way, Johnson has changed the direction.
Kyle Curran is a sports and gambling journalist who specialises in Poker, WWE and Boxing. He conducts interviews for PokerScout with talent around the world and has years of experience in the industry. His interviews have been covered in newspapers and magazines such as Athlon Sport, BleacherReport, NewsWeek and many more. Kyle offers enthusiasm and knowledge on all forms of gambling and sports, portraying it in his interviews.
- Photos – IMAGN
