One of the (very) few bright spots for the Atlanta Hawks this year has been the play of third-year power forward Jalen Johnson, who has blossomed into arguably the team’s second-best player this year behind only Trae Young. Johnson is currently out of the lineup as he deals with an ankle injury, but the former Duke Blue Devil is already showing great promise and is perhaps the only reason for Hawks fans to tune in to watch in what has otherwise been a lost campaign.
Recently, Johnson broke down his winning mentality, and how studying other great players has motivated him to improve his game as a whole.
“I watch a lot of guys who do everything,” said Johnson, per NBA insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “That’s my mindset. I don’t want to have there be a lapse of why I can’t finish out a game. I want to be at least solid in every department, whatever that may be. And then eventually just keep building on that, just keep adding bits and pieces.”
At his best, Johnson profiles as a potential Ben Simmons-gone-right type player who can pretty much do everything on the basketball court. Perhaps the best current comparison for Johnson is power forward Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets, who recently played a key role in helping that team win last year’s NBA Championship, but at just 22 years old, it’s not crazy to think that an All-Star appearance (or many) could be on the horizon for Jalen Johnson.
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