Updated Hawks Starting Lineup vs. Wizards: Kingston Flemings Earns First Career Start

Jalen Johnson is missing his second straight game and the Hawks are going to lean on their same starting lineup as last time

Oct 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kingston Flemings (4) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For the second straight game, the Atlanta Hawks are going to be without star forward Jalen Johnson. Johnson is out once again due to an ankle injury and won't get a chance to face former teammate Trae Young tonight in the nation's capital.

When Johnson missed the game on Monday against the Pacers, it was Lu Dort who stepped into the starting lineup for the Hawks. Dort is once again going to be a starter for the Hawks tonight, but Quin Snyder is making a big lineup change at another spot for the Hawks.

Rookie guard Kingston Flemings is going to start in place of CJ McCollum, giving him his first career start in the NBA and making a really big change for the Hawks, as McCollum had been a starter for Atlanta dating back to last season.

While Dort is nowhere near the star level of player that Johnson is, he is going to give the Hawks a strong defender on the perimeter and he is coming off his best shooting game of the year. While the offense has been mostly down for the former Thunder forward, he scored 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from three and was a team best +11 when on the court.

The big question for the Hawks with Dort in the lineup is if he can prevent the Wizards from dominating in the paint, With Anthony Davis playing at a high level and looking to dominate Atlanta inside, Dort needs to be able to handle his assigments on the perimeter and crash the boards and get rebounds.

Hawks starting lineup tonight:

Kingston Flemings
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Dyson Daniels
Jalen Johnson
Onyeka Okongwu

What about the rotation?

The bench was a disaster with Johnson and Jock Landale out on Monday, but they are going to get another shot to show they can carry the Hawks to a win.

Asa Newell and Zuby Ejiofor are likely to see the backup power forward and center minutes again and both are going to need to play better, especially Newell. He scored zero points in 17 minutes and was a -7 in his minutes.

Kingston Flemings is back from his suspension tonight and will certainly be in the lineup for the Hawks, as well as Aaron Wiggins. Wiggins had an off shooting game against the Pacers, but he has been among the Hawks most consistent players this season and I would not expect another performance like that two games in a row.

WIth Johnson out, will Corey Kispert get minutes against his former team? He saw his first real action on Monday and while he did hit four threes, he was a -9 in his minutes and played poor defense.

Atlanta is looking for their second win in a row tonight and to get above .500.