Atlanta Hawks Vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Preview, How to Watch, and Projected Starters For Tonight's SL Game

The Hawks narrowly lost their Summer League opener against the Utah Jazz, but there were tons of encouraging performances to carry over into a matchup with a talented OKC team.

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) reacts after losing to Duke Blue Devils during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action today for their second game of Summer League action.

Although they didn't win their first game of Summer League, they put up a great fight against a very talented Jazz team. The matchup featured three former top-ten picks in Utah's Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey as well as new Hawks point guard Kingston Flemings. Former first-rounders Asa Newell and Zuby Ejiofor also played significant roles for the Hawks and had encouraging games as they fight for significant spots in the rotation next season.

Flemings had 14 points on just 4-16 shooting, but he also dished out nine assists against only one turnover. He brought the intensity on defense as well - he had more steals (4) than the rest of Utah's starters combined (3). Ejiofor's calling card in college was his rebounding and that showed immediately with his seven offensive rebounds. He led all players with 11 rebounds, which is encouraging to see against Kylor Kelley, a seven-foot center. Newell had a solid performance with 15 points and five rebounds even if he did take 15 shots to get them.

They face another tough challenge against OKC's Summer League squad tonight. The Thunder have been one of the best teams in the NBA in large part due to their excellent player development program and Summer League is a great time to exhibit that. However, they got flattened by another great SL team in the Memphis Grizzlies, 111-74. Even so, OKC still has two former first-round picks in Aday Mara at center and Bennett Stirtz at shooting guard.

It's a great opportunity for the Hawks to get their first win of the summer against a quality opponent.

Game Preview

Oct 25, 2025; New York, NY, USA; Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) and St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mara Matchup

In the last game, the premier matchup was between Kingston Flemings and Darryn Peterson, It didn't disappoint - Peterson had 28 points on 4-7 shooting from deep while Flemings dished out nine assists and collected four steals. Both of them impacted the game in different ways, but I'd argue that Flemings' performance showed that he is a more well-rounded player than Peterson right now. Peterson recorded eight turnovers to only two assists and that's in large part due to the excellent defense Flemings was playing on him.

Tonight's game is a big matchup - literally. Aday Mara and Zuby Ejiofor didn't play during March Madness, but they did face off against each other in a late October exhibition game that provided a good sense of the seasons they would eventually have. Ejiofor showed that he was capable of being St. John's best all-around player as he led the team with 24 points while chipping in a team-high six assists against zero turnovers and grabbing six boards. Mara proved that he was worthy of looks at starting center for Michigan with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Ejiofor and Mara are two very different players. Ejiofor is much better guarding in space than Mara. He was able to hang with Ace Bailey on the perimeter and still established a strong defensive presence in the paint. The rebounding potential is also tremendous. However, Mara is a true seven-footer with great instincts as a rim protector and passer. He can swallow shots inside the paint in a way that Zuby can't always do. Utah didn't have anyone in their center rotation as talented as Mara and it'll be interesting to see how Zuby fares against someone who clearly has potential to be a starting center in the NBA.

Backcourt Burners

Iowa's Bennett Stirtz drives to the basket against Bucknell's Jacob Meachem during a game at Casey's Center on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 in Des Moines. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

OKC already had a glut of guards on the roster, but they decided to re-configure their backcourt slightly by swapping out Isaiah Joe for Bennett Stirtz. Even though Memphis blew them out, the Thunder have to feel confident about what they saw from the former Iowa point guard. He only scored 10 points, but he stayed efficient and also dished out four assists against just two turnovers. It was really encouraging to see Stirtz record three steals against a Memphis team with quality players in the backcourt.

They also have Brooks Barnhizer, who had a few flashes last year in the Summer League/G League, and an interesting prospect in former Kentucky guard Otega Oweh. Oweh had a great all-around game for the Thunder with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. It'll be interesting to see how the Thunder deploy all three of these guards to slow down Flemings.

Return of RayJ

Apr 12, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Rayj Dennis (00) looks to pass against Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis (25) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the benefits of Summer League is that it allows for NBA teams to see which veteran players in their development system are too good for Summer League. RayJ Dennis might be steadily making that case. With a team-low 12 minutes, he scored 13 points on 3-5 shooting from deep and dished out three assists. Dennis is a spark off the bench that the Hawks needed to stay in the game against Utah and his performance merits consideration for the starting lineup.

He's 6'2 and 180 lbs, but he hasn't played himself out of a two-way spot for the Hawks thus far and continuing this level of scoring should result in another two-way signing. I'm interested in seeing his chemistry with Flemings, Newell and Ejiofor as his range as a shooter gives them more space to work with.

How to Watch

Today's game will be shown at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and Prime Video.

Projected Starters

G - Kingston Flemings

G - RayJ Dennis

F - Gabe Madsen

F - Asa Newell

C - Zuby Ejiofor