The One Offensive Adjustment the Atlanta Hawks Must Address Before Opening Night

The Atlanta Hawks have added to their team this offseason, but what kind of offensive adjustment would be beneficial to their team ahead of opening night

Apr 6, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reacts on the sideline during the game against the New York Knicks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the Atlanta Hawks are not exactly "running it back" with their same team as last season, there have not been any seismic shifts in their roster. They are going to bring back the same starting five, but now they have some new potential depth pieces off the bench, including No. 8 overall pick Kingston Flemings, former Oklahoma City forwards Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins, and the return of Jock Landale.

Atlanta finished the season 20-6 after the All-Star Break and decided to approach the offseason from a get-younger standpoint in the draft and add some auxiliary pieces on the bench to improve the second unit. Will that pay off in another playoff series, or will the Hawks falter in a new-look Eastern Conference? Only time will tell.

Before the season starts though, the Hawks are going to have to figure out an answer to one of their biggest questions on the offensive end of the floor.

Can Atlanta fix their offensive rebounding?

Mar 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) reaches for a rebound over Memphis Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome (2) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hawks were not a perfect offense by any means last season, especially after the All-Star Break when they went on their run to the playoffs, but they were not terrible in just any one category. When you look at the Hawks profile on that end of the court, there is one thing that stand out and that is the Hawks were a below average offensive rebounding team.

Last season, the Hawks finished tied for 18th in the NBA in offensive rebounding, and because they are returning the bulk of their team from a season ago, minus a few additions, it is fair to wonder if they fixed this problem in the offseason. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks had an offensive rebounding percentage of 27.5%, which ranked in the 20th percentile (AKA not very good).

Here is how each of the Hawks returning players ranked in ORB% (offensive rebounding percentage, stats courtesy of Cleaning the Glass):

• Dyson Daniels- 7.4% (94th percentile for wings)
• CJ McCollum- 3.2% (88th percentile for guards)
• Jock Landale- 9.4% (59th percentile for bigs)
• Jalen Johnson- 4.0% (54th percentile for forwards)
• Asa Newell- 7.9% (52nd percentile for bigs)
• Mouhamed Gueye- 7.4% (45th percentile for bigs)
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker- 2.0% (38th percentile)
• Corey Kispert- 2.7% (33rd percentile for wings)
• Onyeka Okongwu- 6.1% (32nd percentile for bigs)

What about the Hawks new additions?

• Aaron Wiggins- 3.2% (47th percentile for wings)
• Lu Dort- 3.1% (42nd percentile for wings)
• Devin Carter- 5.4% (97th percentile for guards, only 618 minutes on the court)
• Ryan Nembhard- 1.2% (16th percentile for point guards)

Of the new additions, Devin Carter was the only player who had a positive impact on offensive rebounding, but the thing to keep in mind with him is that was a small sample size and he is not guaranteed to be team, much less the court, by the time the season rolls around.

Dort, Wiggins, and Nembhard were either below average offensive rebounders or very bad (Nembhard due to the fact he is 5'11).

I think this is going to be a factor for the Hawks this season. Winning the possession battle is a key element in winning in the NBA and Atlanta was subpar in this area, at least from an offensive rebounding perspective. The Hawks did rank 6th in the league in TOV% (turnover percentage) and 12th in ORB% allowed, so they were not terrible when it came to tilting the possession game in their favor, but this would elevate them even higher if they can figure out how to improve in this area.

I think the best way for that to happen is for Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Jock Landale to elevate their ORB% this season, especially Okongwu since he is going to play starter minutes.

What about the rookies? Of the three, I think that Zuby Ejiofor can help the Hawks the most this season, but his spot in the rotation is not certain, though with the Mouhamed Gueye injury news, he has a chance to play.

This won't be an easy fix unless the Hawks make a substantial addition to their roster between now and then, but these numbers need to be better this season.