Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is up for challenge of being a franchise star

Trae Young offered farewell words and best wishes to his former Atlanta Hawks teammates in the locker room after they beat the New Orleans Pelicans without him on Jan. 7. This speech came after the news that the four-time NBA All-Star was to be traded to the Washington Wizards.

The reality of that news also hit Jalen Johnson, the Hawks’ star forward who suddenly became the face of the franchise.

“The first thing I thought was just kind of shock it happened,” Johnson told Andscape. “But then I immediately switched gears and understood it’s time. It’s time to take it up even another notch. With him being out, it allowed me to do more things and stuff like that. But once the news came out it was like, ‘It’s go-time now. It’s here. It’s time to go get it.’”

Young was traded to the Wizards officially on Jan. 9 from Atlanta for veteran guards CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Young was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft and averaged 25.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists in 493 regular-season games with Atlanta. The highlight of his Hawks days was leading the franchise to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. The Hawks’ all-time leader in assists and 3-point field goals averaged 19.3 points and 8.9 assists in 10 games this season while hampered by injuries. The Hawks were 18-13 without him.

Johnson, 24, respected Young’s tenure with the Hawks and said he learned about humility and impacting locals from him.

“He’s been there for eight years,” Johnson said about Young. “And all the stuff he’s done for the city and just being a Hawk, there was just a lot of emotions at that time. And I think it was only me, and O [Onyeka Okongwu] that have been around since he’s been here. His speech was good, but like he said, ‘It’s a business at the end of the day.’ And as long as he’s happy, we’re happy.’ ”

With Young sidelined and now in Washington, Johnson has grown into a potential NBA All-Star candidate this season. Johnson is averaging team highs of 23.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists. The 6-foot-8, 219-pounder also ranked seventh in the NBA in rebounds per game and fifth in assists.

Johnson will learn later this month if he is voted in as a first-time Eastern Conference All-Star reserve by the coaches. He believes he has proven his All-Star worth with his all-around game, but seeing it become reality is also believing for him.

“I’ve shown the world my game,” Johnson said. “I am more than just getting out in transition and dunking. That is how people kind of saw me my first couple years. I’m more than just athleticism. People are starting to see what I can really do, and people are respecting my game. My peers are respecting me after the games. And that’s just a sign of respect when you got your peers complimenting you and how far you’ve came. Them just acknowledging my growth and seeing me from year two to now, seeing how much better I got, it’s cool. …

“I feel like it’s kind of hard to think about [All-Star] now. Last [season] I was right there and then the injury [shoulder] happened. I feel it was right there, but it’s kind of hard to just put my mind on it now. Last [season], s— happens. I ain’t taking nothing for granted. I feel like I’ve made a good [All-Star] case. I am trying to prove myself every game. I don’t walk out there and think I’m better than no one. I just go out there and play confident and let my game speak for itself.”

For Johnson, his road to becoming the face of the Hawks has been a motivational one after overcoming adversity.

The Hawks selected Johnson later than he expected with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft out of Duke. He averaged a mere 2.2 points per game in 20 games as a rookie while spending time in the G League during the 2021-22 season, then 5.6 points in his second season. Under head coach Quin Snyder, however, Johnson had a breakthrough 2023-24 season, averaging 16 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 56 games.

Johnson was rewarded with a five-year, $150 million contract extension with the Hawks in October 2024. He showed star potential by averaging 18.9 points and 10 rebounds, along with 1.6 steals and one block per game through 33 games last season before having season-ending surgery on his torn labrum. Now healthy, Johnson has taken his game to the next level playing amongst the elites in the NBA and feels he is up for the challenge of being the Hawks’ star.

“Every step of the journey I’ve embraced, and essentially have made the most of my opportunities,” Johnson said. “It’s something I don’t take for granted. And I’m excited for it. I know the work that I put in. I will be ready for [the challenge].”

Johnson acknowledges that a bigger part of his responsibility now is also leadership and he says he is “still evolving” as a leader and with his voice. The Hawks are deep in talent with Johnson, McCollum, Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2025 NBA Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels, Kristaps Porzingis and 2024 No. 1 NBA draft pick Zaccharie Risacher. Atlanta, however, doesn’t have the NBA spotlight on it as it had with Young on the roster, and has had an up-and-down season with a 20-22 record.

Johnson believes that success is on the horizon for his Hawks in this new era.

“We just have to continue to get better each and every game,” Johnson said. “We can’t look too far ahead or dwell on a bad loss with how young our group is and how we’re evolving every day. If we continue to grow game by game, we can surprise a lot of people. A lot of eyes aren’t necessarily on us.

“A lot of people are writing us off. It’s kind of exciting to have that fuel for all of us, not only myself, to continue to prove people wrong and show them what we can be.”

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