The Atlanta Hawks are projected to be a fringe playoff team in the latest power rankings from Heavy Sports.
The Atlanta Hawks have been praised for their offseason moves, and with any luck, the result will be another playoff appearance in the 2026-27 season.
The challenge for the Hawks is that the Eastern Conference has gotten better this summer, and the race for postseason positioning is going to be extremely crowded.
So, where will Atlanta land? The latest power rankings from Heavy Sports have the team at No. 13 in the NBA.
There are six Eastern Conference teams ahead of the Hawks in the power rankings, which would put the squad in line for a seventh-place finish and play-in bid.
In that scenario, Atlanta would be in a solid position to win a game in the play-in and advance to the first round, but an outright playoff berth would certainly be the preference for the Hawks after they finished sixth in the conference last season behind an extremely strong finish.
For broader context, the Hawks are sandwiched between the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 12) and Indiana Pacers (No. 14) in the power rankings. Those two teams have talent but aren't universally seen as top-tier threats. The Hawks may fall into a similar category.
But even if that is the case, that doesn't mean Atlanta can't take a step forward this season. This was the Hawks' first summer since they traded away star guard Trae Young and pivoted to star forward Jalen Johnson as their new centerpiece. The moves they've made this offseason, while not league-shattering, have been meaningful.
Among the new additions are Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Kingston Flemings -- two championship role players and an exciting new lottery pick. The Hawks have also lost some pieces but have to feel pretty good about the exchanges they've made.
Last season, Atlanta was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but it was the only team in the postseason to push the eventual champion New York Knicks to six games. That is certainly worth something, even though there are bigger goals in mind moving forward.
Hawks wing Corey Kispert has said that the squad feels like it can stand "toe to toe" with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. That certainly isn't going to be an easy task for an organization that hasn't entirely entered "win-now mode" just yet, but having confidence in the building is only going to help the team in its pursuits.
