Atlanta Hawks season preview: Opening schedule, win projection and everything to know for 2026-27

The 2026-27 NBA season is here! Check out our team previews, including power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy advice.

East:Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West:Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • LA Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

ATLANTA HAWKS2025-26 finish

Record: 46-36 (6th in the East, lost 4-2 in first round to Knicks)

Offseason moves

Draft: Kingston Flemings (No. 8), Zuby Ejiofor (No. 23), Henri Veesaar (No. 52)

Signings: CJ McCollum (1 year, $21 million extension), Jock Landale (re-signed for 1 year, $14 million)

Trades:Aaron Wiggins (from Thunder), Lu Dort (from Thunder), Dorian Finney-Smith (from Hornets)

Key departures:Zaccharie Risacher (traded to Mavericks), Jonathan Kuminga (signed with Timberwolves)

Current roster

Can Jalen Johnson carry the Hawks roster to new heights? (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERSPreseason Power Rankings: No. 15

What's exciting: The Hawks added enough wings and bigs that some absences in the starting lineup shouldn't wreck the rotation. Dort provides another lockdown defender next to Dyson Daniels. Wiggins is another wing scorer like Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Flemings can support McCollum at point guard. Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson could both take another leap forward this year, and they now have Ejiofor and Jock Landale to support them in the frontcourt. With so much talented depth, head coach Quin Snyder has to be enjoying thinking up all the lineup possibilities.

What's concerning: This team is built to rack up regular-season wins, but what happens when the first action gets snuffed out? That could hold them back from becoming true contenders. McCollum scored 0.82 points per isolation with the Hawks last season, per Synergy. NAW? 0.85. Johnson? 0.78. All three of them finished below the 50th percentile. Every close game doesn't require a one-on-one bucket to win, but it sure is necessary come playoff time. — Kevin O'Connor 

Preseason Power Rankings: How all 30 teams stack up ahead of 2026-27

Fantasy watch

I'm on the fence about Jalen Johnson as a first-round pick. The counting stats look great (22.5/10.3/7.9 last year), but I think I've been underestimating CJ McCollum's impact for 9-cat specifically. In 36 games without CJ, Johnson was 9th in per-game value; 36 games with him, 34th. Not bad, but that's a two-round drop-off. Suffice it to say, the second round is probably more appropriate. — Dan Titus

Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league for the 2026-27 NBA season

2026-27 schedule

Opening week: 10/21 at Magic, 10/23 at Hornets, 10/24 vs. Rockets

Complete schedule

Betting perspective

43.5 — win total

+275 to win division

+6600 to win NBA Finals

Best case, worst case

Best case: No. 3 seed

The defense remains chaotic in the best way, thus fueling an elite transition attack. Half-court growth from Johnson makes him more of a pressure point, making him and his supporting cast more difficult to deal with. A high-octane, egalitarian offense paired with a turnover-forcing defense could absolutely churn out 50 wins.

They did win at a 53-win pace (28-15 from 1/9 onward) following the Trae Young trade, after all.

Worst case: Play-In Tournament

The East is tough, which could put them in the 7-10 range by default. Beyond that, I do wonder what the offense looks like if teams continue to land on switching to flatten them out. Their ability to force turnovers helped offset some of the size (and early season rebounding) issues they had; any slippage in that area could also lower their floor. — Nekias Duncan

Read the full Southeast Division preview