Grading The Atlanta Hawks Selection of St John's PF Zuby Ejiofor At Pick No. 23

The Atlanta Hawks had a very exciting first day of the 2026 NBA Draft.

After a lot of discussion over what they were going to do with the No. 8 overall selection, they stayed with the pick and took Houston point guard Kingston Flemings with the selection.

It's a great pick with tons of upside for Atlanta. However, they weren't done with their day after taking Flemings. With the No. 23 overall selection, they added one of the most productive power forwards in the country in St John's Zuby Ejiofor.

It's a bit of a surprise with Cam Carr on the board, but Ejiofor definitely fits needs on this roster and I like the pick for the Hawks as another backup for Jalen Johnson.

The Excellence of Ejiofor

While I thought the Hawks might have tried to trade up, I can understand why they didn't due to the way the board fell. Multiple intriguing prospects like Labaron Philon, Cam Carr, Jayden Quaintance, Tarris Reed Jr and Zuby Ejiofor fell into the 20s due to somewhat surprising decisions made earlier.

I think the home run bet for the Hawks would have been Quaintance, but the Spurs ruined that dream by taking him at No. 20 overall. The injury history is certainly checkered, but there's very few basketball players under the age of 20 who can defend like he can. He'd have been an excellent fit next to Onyeka Okongwu and it's possible the Hawks could have gotten an elite defensive stopper for practically nothing.

After taking Flemings at No. 8 and solidifying their top four guards, it made a lot of sense for the Hawks to start looking for some depth in the frontcourt. Ejiofor is exactly that.

At almost 6'9 and 245 lbs, Ejiofor is hard to push around. Strength is at a premium in the postseason and the Hawks weren't strong enough to do anything against the bigger roster of the Knicks. That'll be a lot harder to do with Zuby in the fold.

He averaged 2.1 blocks per game in college, so there's some room for him to be a shot-blocker at the next level. Ejiofor isn't an elite defender, but he's got a great motor and there's very few players who crash the glass as hard as he does. He did only average 8.8 rebounds per 36 minutes despite being an older player, but there's no question that he has potential as a dirty-work type of player.

Interestingly, Zuby isn't just a motor guy without any refinement. His passing is surprisingly good for such a big player. He averaged 4.3 assists per 36 minutes and posted an excellent 1.68 AST/TO ratio. The Hawks have been needing more passing options outside of Jalen Johnson - this is a pretty intriguing way to add it.

One big question I have is how the Hawks plan to develop both Ejiofor and Asa Newell, who they selected last season. Newell didn't have an elite rookie season, but he showed legitimate signs of being a shooter and the rebounding potential is also impressive. Could these two players be part of the solution for the long-term rebounding woes that have plagued the Hawks?

It's hard to expect a pick in the 20s to make a major impact in his rookie season, but Zuby's an older prospect. I believe the Hawks will know in the first two seasons if they made the right pick. Regardless, the upside for fixing some of the Hawks' issues as a bench piece makes this a tough pick to grade harshly. I personally would have taken Cameron Carr, but I can't knock the selection since it does make Atlanta a deeper team for 2026-27 in the frontcourt. Frontcourt injuries have plagued this team for too long to be totally dismissive of it.

Grade: B+

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