Hawks Select Kingston Flemings At No. 8

Flemings wasn’t included in the first 60-player mock draft that ESPN published last June, but quickly rose up draft boards as he got off to a hot start to his college career with the Cougars. Over the course of the 2025/26 season, the San Antonio native averaged 16.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 31.7 minutes per game across 37 appearances (all starts), posting a strong shooting line of .476/.387/.845.

A consensus second-team All-American, Flemings displayed explosiveness and quickness for Houston and made an impact on both ends of the court as a freshman. He helped lead the team to a pair of NCAA tournament wins before the Cougars were eliminated in the Sweet 16, then decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility to go pro.

While Flemings was very impressive as a freshman, some scouts have concerns about his size, as he didn’t measure particularly well at the combine, leading some to question how well he’ll be able to hold up defensively at the NBA level. Another question mark about Flemings is his outside shot — his shooting splits are more than respectable on the surface, but he spent a lot of time in the mid-range in college, only attempting 2.9 threes per contest.

Flemings reportedly has a strong work ethic and was well-regarded by his teammates at Houston. Ahead of the first round, the 19-year-old published an open letter to NBA general managers on The Players’ Tribune, detailing how being hit by a car at age four shaped his outlook on life and explaining why he believes he’s capable of becoming a Hall-of-Famer.

Flemings is considered a true point guard and could be the replacement for Trae Young, whom the Hawks traded to Washington in January for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Veteran combo guard McCollum finished last season as a starter and recently signed a one-year, $21MM extension that covers 2026/27. However, he’ll be 35 in September and is obviously on a short-term deal.

The Hawks opted against using a traditional point guard after the Young trade (and even before that, since Young was injured for most of the season), instead relying on a fairly egalitarian offensive system with Jalen Johnson as the primary play-maker — the 6’8″ small forward averaged 22.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG and 7.9 APG en route to third-team All-NBA honors. Flemings will have a chance to be a long-term complement to Johnson.