Hawks rookie Kingston Flemings suspended one game for elbowing Pelicans Bryce McGowens

Atlanta Hawks rookie Kingston Flemings threw a cheap-shot elbow to the face of the Pelicans' Bryce McGowens late in the Pelicans' win Saturday night and will serve a one-game suspension without pay, the league announced.

The play came after (not during) a Flemings drive to the rim against McGowens, where McGowens blocked Flemings' layup attempt, leading to a Pelicans transition bucket the other way. Something largely missed by the broadcasts was Flemings elbowing McGowen in the face as they ran back up the court — that got him a technical and ejection.

This is the dirty elbow off the ball that Kingston Flemings hit Bryce McGowens with, and this is why he got ejected.

Both the Pelicans and Hawks broadcasts missed it at first.

So he wasn't ejected for the elbow on the drive. https://t.co/oRY02n7tENpic.twitter.com/LDooVcpvul

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) November 1, 2026

Flemings, the No. 8 pick in last June's draft (and the Hawks hope to be the point guard of the future), is averaging 7.1 points and 4.6 assists a game off the bench for Atlanta, and dropped 23 on Miami in a game last week.