ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Trae Young rose from the bench, shook the hands of his teammates and bid farewell to the 15,993 fans in State Farm Arena midway through the fourth quarter of the Hawks鈥� Jan. 7 win over the Pelicans.
After weeks of anticipation, Atlanta had finalized that sent the four-time NBA All-Star to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Young, the centerpiece the franchise built around for the past seven seasons, had become synonymous with the Hawks. And his departure was only the first domino to fall.
But when the dust settled after all the , what remained was something different: a group of seven players who had started the season together and eight eager new additions who learned to lean on one another, carrying Atlanta out of play-in purgatory and into an outright playoff berth for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
A selfless, unified group is what coach knew was the only path forward for a team that had lost its identity amid a revolving door of player acquisitions and exits.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e had literally about five different iterations of a team,鈥� Snyder said, fresh off the trade deadline. 鈥淭he key thing for us is going to be to continue to grow together.鈥�
Snyder was off with his estimation. Twenty-five different starting lineups have taken the court this season for the Hawks, but heading into a first-round series against the Knicks, the April version is the most cohesive to date.
A 13-2 in March, which brought the Hawks from the familiar cusp of the play-in tournament into the mix for the No. 5 or No. 6 seeds, proved that to be true.
Four of the Hawks’ starting five embarked on the season together: center Onyeka Okongwu, first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson, reigning Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels and new addition Nickeil Alexander-Walker. All of them are having career years.
McCollum, acquired in the Young trade, former No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher in the lineup and brought the veteran presence the team needed. Jonathan Kuminga, when healthy, has established himself as the sixth man.
鈥淭he fact that our group has connected the way they have in a short period of time really speaks to those guys in the locker room,鈥� Snyder said after the Hawks鈥� April 3 win against the Nets. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e embraced one another as much as everything. … We鈥檝e talked about it a lot, the roles are going to evolve and you鈥檙e going to have different things that are available to you at different times. As long as we stay connected and play with the pass, good things can happen.鈥�
That connection will be tested against a team that enters the series with a clear advantage in continuity, built around a core that has played together for years, and in some cases, dating back to college.
Atlanta is banking on momentum to challenge New York’s long-standing chemistry.
鈥淚t takes time to build chemistry. We have a bunch of guys here who are willing to work at things and play basketball the right way,鈥� Okongwu said. 鈥淚’m proud of that.鈥�
鈥淭he new guys have been really good for us,鈥� said. 鈥淣ot just on the floor but in the locker room as well, building chemistry, you know, team meetings, really speaking up. I think our team’s just gelling really well at the moment. Guys know their role now. Everyone’s out there playing really hard. … We know what it takes to win.鈥�
Snyder often credits the full roster buy-in as the reason for the late-season surge.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 who we are,鈥� he said. “When we鈥檙e playing that way and looking for each other, helping each other on the offensive end, whether it鈥檚 a screen or a pass or running for somebody, that鈥檚 when we鈥檙e a more efficient offensive team, and you know, our guys are really making an effort to execute in those situations.鈥�
And perhaps most importantly, Snyder added, it鈥檚 something he’s seen few times in his coaching career.
鈥淲hen you get a group that feels that way and wants to play that way, and is able to put the team in front of themselves individually, I think it鈥檚 a rare thing.鈥�
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