Third Year Atlanta Hawks Forward Named As The "Hidden Gem" Of The Team

Apr 18, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) tries to convert a pass behind Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks were not planning on having second-year forward Mouhamed Gueye play a major role on the team this past season, but injuries forced him into action. When Jalen Johnson went down with a season ending injury, as well as injuries to Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr, Gueye was forced to play a lot of minutes at the four and the five for the Hawks after starting the year off in the G-League. When he was drafted in the second round out of Washington State two seasons ago, it was known that Gueye was going to be a project, but there were times last season where you saw glimpses of him becoming the player the Hawks hope he becomes, especially on the defensive end.

A lot of the noise surrounding the Hawks this offseason is about their moves to bring in Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and the shocking trade that got them an unprotected first from the New Orleans Pelicans in next year's draft. That has led to Gueye going under the radar heading into next season, but Bleacher Report's Dan Favale thinks that he is the Hawks' hidden gem on their roster:

"Secondary big-man minutes have the potential to get pretty dicey for the Atlanta Hawks if Kristaps Porziņģis misses his usual amount of time. There isn't much certainty behind Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu unless you think rookie Asa Newell can play a role out of the gate and scale up to center.

Mouhamed Gueye has the potential to render this a non-issue.

Though a lion's share of his minutes come at the 4, his 6'11" frame can handle sliding up to the 5. Opponents shot 8.4 percentage points worse against him inside six feet of the cup last season, and he's averaging over two blocks per 36 minutes through his first two years.

Gueye's offense is both a work-in-progress and teeming with potential. His efficiency is all over the place, and he struggles to finish through contact. But he's shown dribs and drabs of perimeter touch."

Apr 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) looks to shoot a three point shot against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks were +9.4 points better per 100 possessions with Gueye on the floor in 515 total minutes played. The Hawks defense ranked in the 98th percentile in points allowed per 100 possessions (-9.6), in the 81st percentile in effective field goal percentage allowed, 74th percentile in TOV%, 98th percentile in offensive rebounding percentage allowed%, and 80th percentile in free throw percentage allowed. 515 minutes is not a large sample, but those are really good numbers on defense and Atlanta was better on that end when he played as opposed to not.

Gueye also had a 3.3 BLK%, which ranks in the 87th percentile in the NBA, and a 2.3 STL%, which ranked in the 96th percentile. Gueye was effective at blocking shots and creating turnovers when the opponent had the ball, showcasing his defensive ability. Due to Atlanta's lack of size, Gueye had to take on some tough matchups. In the play-in tournament game vs the Orlando Magic, it was up to Gueye to guard Paolo Banchero and he did as good of a job as you can ask a second-year player to do. The numbers speak for themselves and Gueye was a really impactful defensive player last season.

Now, let's talk about the offense. The shooting percentages are not great for a 6'11 big man, shooting just 42% overall from the field and 26% from three, finishing with an EFG% of 49.1%, which is in the 13th percentile in the league. Now, that was to be expected because whether it was coming out of college at Washington State or in the G-League, Gueye was known to be more advanced on the defensive end of the court. The problem for the Hawks became that the other just started completely ignoring Gueye on the offensive end of the court.

There are reasons to believe that Gueye is going to improve on that end though. He shoots fairly well from the free throw line (76%) to make you believe the three-point shooting can at least become reliable and he is athletic enough be a better rim runner with Trae Young and finish better at the rim, which was not a strength of his this season. The lack of experience with the starters was noticeable this season, but with more reps, he became better and there is enough to make you think there is still plenty more to unlock there for Mo.

So what lies ahead? Gueye is going to have to compete for minutes on one of the best rosters in the Eastern Conference, but he still has a pathway to being an impact player on this team. Don't forget about him.