Who Will Be The Atlanta Hawks' Biggest X-Factor For Championship Contention?

The biggest X-Factor for the Hawks is going to be health. While that applies to every single team that is hoping to compete for a championship, two of the Hawks best players have a history of being injured. Kristaps Porzingis dealt with an illness last season, but his injury history goes back much further than that. The Hawks are counting on him to come in and make a big difference for this team with his shooting and rim protection.

It is not just Porzingis, though. Jalen Johnson has been emerging as one of the NBA's best young talents, but has had a hard time staying on the court. Johnson was in the mix for an All-Star spot last season before being lost for the year with a shoulder injury. For the Hawks to reach their ceiling, both Porzingis and Johnson need to be healthy for most of the season and into the playoffs.

Shooting

The Hawks have been trying to put more shooting around Trae Young this offseason and it is needed. Atlanta got a lot of high-quality looks last season due to Young being one of the best offensive creators in the NBA, but they did not have one of the best shooting percentages in the league. That should change this season with the additions of Kennard, Alexander-Walker, and Porzingis.

Porziņģis averaged 19.5 points, shooting a career-best .412% from three-point territory, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks in 28.8 minutes during the 2024-25 season (.483 FG%, .809 FT%). His .412% from deep ranked 25th in the NBA last season amongst all players and was the second-highest clip amongst all 7-footers, trailing only Karl-Anthony Towns.

He knocked down a career-high tying eight three-pointers twice during the 2024-25 season (Jan. 29 vs. Chicago, April 8 at New York), the only 7-footer in the league to have multiple games with at least eight three-pointers. He owns four career outings with eight made triples, the only 7-footer in league history to have four such games.

Alexander-Walker appeared in 82 games (10 starts) for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2024-25 season, tallying 9.4 points, in addition to career high averages of 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in a career-best 25.3 minutes per game (.438 FG%, .381 3FG%, .780 FT%). The 6-5 guard, who also appeared in all 82 games during the 2023-24 season, is one of only five players in the NBA to see action in every regular-season game in each of the last two seasons, joining Harrison Barnes, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Green and Buddy Hield.

He netted 10-or-more points in a career-high 36 games during the 2024-25 campaign, including five contests with 20-or-more points. Alexander-Walker buried a career-best 141 three-pointers this past season, 125 of which were catch-and-shoot triples, per NBA.com/Stats. He owned a .425 3FG% on catch-and-shoot three-pointers during the 2024-25 season, the 10th-best clip in the league (min. 275 3FGA).

In 65 games (11 starts) for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2024-25 season, Kennard notched 8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 22.6 minutes of action (.478 FG%, .433 3FG%, .895 FT%). The newly-signed Hawk has shot .400%-or-better from three-point land in each of his past five seasons, the only qualified player in the NBA to do so over that time, per Elias Sports.

Kennard owned 27 games with 10-or-more points this past season, including four games with 20-or-more points. He netted a career-high, tying 30 points on 11-14 shooting from the field, including a 7-9 clip from deep, in a win over the Utah Jazz on March 12. The 6-5 guard registered a .522% clip from corner threes during the 2024-25 season, ranking in the 95th percentile for all combo guards, per Cleaning the Glass, while his .433% mark from three-point territory ranked ninth in the NBA last season.

The Middletown, Ohio, native owns the highest three-point percentage amongst all active players in the NBA and the third-highest in NBA history, trailing only Steve Kerr (.454 3FG%) and Hubert Davis (.441 3FG%). He led the NBA in three-point field goal percentage in 2021-22 and 2022-23, becoming just the third player in NBA history to lead the league in three-point field goal percentage in consecutive seasons, joining Kyle Korver (2013-14 and 2014-15) and Jason Kapono (2006-07 and 2007-08), per Elias Sports.

If the Hawks stay healthy and the shooting takes a sizeable leap, they will be able to contend this season.

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