Could the Atlanta Hawks Be The NBA's Best Shooting Team In 2025-26?

If there's one common thread throughout the Hawks' moves this season, it's clear that they wanted to upgrade their shooting.

They got things started by acquiring Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who shot a career-best 41.2% from behind the arc on 6.0 attempts per game. Even though they traded their best floor spacer from last season in Georges Niang, it's likely that Porzingis will be able to smoothly step into that role while providing the rim protection that Niang lacked. They also drafted Georgia power forward Asa Newell, who may have some untapped potential as a shooter. Newell wasn't a consistent shooter from deep at Georgia, but his shot has looked much better throughout his Summer League stint. In four games of Las Vegas action, Newell averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds on 51% shooting from the field and 42% shooting from three-point range. He shouldn't be expected to repeat those numbers in regular season action, but it's possible Newell could get up to shooting a respectable 34-35% from behind the arc as a rookie.

In free agency, both of the Hawks' big acquisitions are capable shooters on paper. Former Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (NAW) agreed to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd-round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. While acquiring NAW is more of an upgrade for their perimeter defense, the Hawks have to be excited about adding a player that doesn't compromise their spacing. He shot 38.1% from deep on 4.1 attempts last season, so he can certainly be a capable shooter in Atlanta's system. The real prize from a spacing standpoint, though, was adding Luke Kennard on a one-year, $11 million dollar deal. Kennard is a career 43.3% shooter from deep on 4.5 attempts per game, but he shot 43.3% from deep on only four attempts. It could be argued last season was a relative down year for Kennard, which is scary to consider for Atlanta's opponents. Even if Kennard just slots into the Garrison Mathews role, he's still a 6'5 wing who can get hot from deep quickly.

Atlanta's prioritizing the addition of shooters even in their margin moves. They signed former Orlando Magic forward Caleb Houstan to a deal that might return excellent value if Houstan can replicate his production. For his career, Houstan is a 39.1% three-point shooter on 2.9 attempts and he shot a career-best 40% from deep on 2.8 attempts last year. Orlando's offense had practically no spacing last year and Houstan was one of the only players on the roster who garnered some respect as a shooter. It can easily be argued that his numbers would be better if he played on an offense with better spacing and he'll be able to do exactly that in 2025-26. Expecting him to shoot somewhere around 36-37% from deep with an uptick in volume wouldn't be unreasonable given his track record and Atlanta's team context.

However, the two biggest keys towards Atlanta being an elite shooting team next season are Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. Young isn't as consistent of a three-point shooter as one might expect, but he practically alternates between having good and bad shooting seasons from deep. Given that he only shot 34% from deep on high volume while nursing a case of Achilles tendinitis the whole season, it'd be reasonable to expect a better shooting year from Young in 2025-26. Johnson's never been an extremely effective shooter on high volume, but he shot a respectable 35.5% from deep on 3.6 attempts. He won't need to take very many threes if Kennard, NAW and Porzingis all have big roles and that will boost his percentages.

That's all before factoring in growth from Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels. Risacher really struggled to shoot in the first half of his rookie season, but he finished the year with a respectable 35.5% from behind the arc on 4.6 attempts a game. That was due to a scorching hot second half of the season where he shot 40.7% from deep on 5.4 attempts a game. There is a version of Risacher that becomes a high-volume shooter from three-point range and it's possible that he carries some of that shooting over to next season.

Conversley, Daniels likely won't ever be a true high-volume shooter, but he did finish the season shooting 34.4% on limited volume. His second half of the season was his most encouraging from a shooting standpoint - he canned 35.8% of his threes on almost three attempts a game. Daniels just needs to shoot enough to remain on the court.

For some reference, the Bucks led the NBA in the regular season for 3P% by shooting 38.7% as a team. They were able to do that despite playing Giannis, who is a complete non-shooter from deep. Players like Damian Lillard, AJ Green, Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr were critical to their shooting prowess - it's not unreasonable to think that Atlanta has players capable of putting up similar numbers in the regular season.

The Hawks have always had one of the better offenses in the NBA by virtue of having Trae Young, but it's been a while since they've had the spacing to maximize him. If the front office's approach pays off, those days will be firmly in the past.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Rudy Gobert to Celtics, Jaylen Brown to Timberwolves

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Lauri Markkanen to Heat, Jazz Get Andrew Wiggins

25 Years of Hawks Hoops: Building Atlanta’s Modern-Era Dream Starting Lineup (2000-2025)

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends KAT to Dallas, Klay Thompson and P.J. Washington to The Knicks