Injury Update: Atlanta Hawks Jalen Johnson Updates Recovery Process

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson injured his shoulder in a loss to the Toronto Raptors back in January and was lost for the season. It was a big blow to the Hawks, as Johnson was performing at an All-Star level and is one of the best young players in the NBA. The Hawks are still in contention for a playoff spot, but their ceiling seems limited without their second best player.

For the first time since being injured, Johnson spoke with the media yesterday and answered questions about his recovery process and more:

"It has been good, everybody knows that this is a slow process, it has been a good process and I am just trying to take things day-by-day and not look too far ahead because that is all I can control."

This is not the first time that Johnson has been injured for a long period of time and he spoke about how he is approaching this injury and if it is any different from how he approached previous ones:

"I mean, when you are in the league, you are constantly trying to watch your body and seeing how things may need to tweak here or there. I am still learning things, learning new things, we have a great staff that provides great insight and things like that, I have just been trying to take knowledge from a lot of people."

Even though he is not able to be out there on the court, Johnson is still trying to find ways to help his team win:

"I am still trying to play a role on this team even though I am not playing, I still want to have an impact on this team, even if its just in the locker room or at practice or something like that, I am still looking for ways to interact with guys. Obviously I love being around them, I miss being around them all the time."

Jalen Johnson met with us today for the first time since he was ruled out for the season pic.twitter.com/biIXeD5FLa
— jackson caudell (@jacksoncaudell) March 7, 2025

The Hawks defeated the Pacers last night and are No. 8 in the Eastern Conference. They still have hopes of making it to the playoffs despite not having Johnson in the lineup. Hopefully for the Hawks, Johnson returns at full strength next season and picks up right where he left off.

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