Has Jonathan Kuminga Made the Hawks A Real Playoff Threat?

The Jonathan Kuminga era is in its honeymoon phase in Atlanta and things are going really well at the moment. The Hawks are 3-0 since Kuminga was available to play and they have improved their record to 31-31, inching them closer to the top six of the Eastern Conference Playoff Standings.

Kumigna has been fantastic in his three games. He tallied 20 points on 7-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench in Sunday's game vs Portland. In his three games with the Hawks Kuminga is averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 26.4 minutes off the bench.

He is the fourth Hawk in franchise history to average 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, 3+ assists, and 1+ steal in their first three games with the team, joining Antione Walker (2004-5), Glenn Robinson (2002-03), and Dominique Wilkins (1982-83).

As good as Kuminga has been, are the Hawks real playoff threats with him?

Looking Ahead to the Postseason

Jonathan Kuminga Atlanta Hawk — Mar 1, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (0) dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Right now, the Hawks are three games behind Philadelphia for the No. 6 seed in the East and 1.5 games behind Orlando and Miami for No. 7 and No. 8. With the favorable schedule ahead of them, it is not out of the question the Hawks make a real move up.

But if they do, are they going to be a threat to win a series?

I don't think we have that answer yet. While Kuminga has been awesome, keep in mind that in that span, the Hawks have played the Wizards twice and the Blazers. Washington barely resembles an NBA team at this point in the season and Portland was 1) missing Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, and Robert Williams III and 2) playing on the second half of a back-to-back with travel. Not to mention, all of these games were at home.

Also, we only have a small sample size of him and Jalen Johnson sharing the floor together, which has been a big question since the Hawks acquired Kuminga.

The next two games might give a better glimpse of what the Hawks might be the rest of the season. They travel to Milwaukee on Wednesday and then they are back at home on Saturday to face the 76ers, the last chance the Hawks have to play Philly. Win both of those games and it will get the attention of the league and make the Hawks as a potential top six team closer to reality.

Right now, I do think that the top teams in the Eastern Conference are poor matchups for Atlanta. The Hawks have struggled with the Pistons this year and their defense and rebounding will likely overwhelm the Hawks. The Knicks, Cavaliers, and Celtics also present tons of issues for the Hawks. Given that the Hawks would almost certainly face one of these teams in the first round, I think it would be an up-hill battle to be really competitive in a playoff series this season.

While I still have my doubts about the Hawks being a playoff threat, this is all about the future, and there is no doubt that the Hawks have won this trade with the Warriors. They were able to get Kuminga for only Kristaps Porzingis, who was hardly ever available for the Hawks. Kuminga has shown that he might be a part of that future, and if he can continue to play like this, Atlanta's future gets that much brighter. My opinion might change over the course of the next 20 games, but I think the Hawks' future is exciting, even if they might not be an actual playoff threat this season.