Atlanta Hawks Face Massive Questions After Landing Top NBA Draft Pick

The Atlanta Hawks won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday, securing the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. Despite having only a 3% chance of winning, the Hawks beat the odds and jumped from the 10th position to the top spot.

The team has secured the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history. “It was a shock,” Hawks General Manager Landry Fields said. “You look at the percentages, but when I first saw it wasn’t us between 10 and 12 that launched us into the top 4, so I was like, all right we got a real shot at this thing. Bit of a surprise, but a lot of excitement.”

The Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs rounded out the top four, while the Detroit Pistons, who had the worst record this season, fell to the fifth pick. The draft, which will take place on June 26-27 in Brooklyn, offers a talented pool of players.

French big man Alex Sarr is projected to go No. 1 to Atlanta in many mock drafts. However, this year’s class is defined by its lack of a consensus No. 1 pick, making the draft unpredictable and exciting.

Fields emphasized the importance of the No. 1 pick, saying, “It’s a nice tool for us to continue to build out what we’re doing… It’s exciting.”

The Hawks’ win sets them up for an exciting offseason, with big decisions to make regarding their backcourt and how to utilize the No. 1 pick.

The team has some big decisions to make, including whether to break up its backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Now Fields will have to decide how to utilize the No. 1 overall pick.

Fields shot down the notion that this year’s draft class is “weak” because of the lack of consensus in the top talent. “Every draft class has great players in it,” Fields said. “Our group has been fantastic. There’s been a whole lot of trust, they put in the work. So we’ll lean into our process and take it from there.”

The Hawks haven’t won a postseason series since a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They got knocked out in the first round in 2022 and 2023 and didn’t advance past the play-in tournament this season. The No. 1 pick could be a turning point for the team, offering a chance to build around a talented young player.