Atlanta Hawks star Jalen Johnson is clearly a great person.
Atlanta Hawks star Jalen Johnson went viral on Wednesday for his kind gesture to an NBA reporter.
Jameelah Johnson was having trouble asking Jalen Johnson a question during a large media scrum. That's when the Hawks forward took matters into his own hands.
Check it out:
This goes to show how great of a person Jalen Johnson is. Not only is he one of the best players in the NBA, but he's also a kind person off the court.
It's been an incredible year for Jalen Johnson thus far. The Duke product made his first All-Star team and his Hawks are tied with the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2026 playoffs at 1-1.
During the regular season, Jalen Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 48.9% from the field, 35.2% from beyond the arc and 78.8% from the free-throw line. He's undoubtedly one of the top two-way players in the NBA.
The Hawks haven't won a playoff series since 2021. That's the year they went to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It will be fascinating to see if Atlanta can upset New York again. The Hawks beat the Knicks in the first round of the 2021 playoffs in five games as the lower seed.
To beat the Knicks, NBA analyst Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wants to see the Hawks play faster moving forward.
"The Hawks aren't built to win a half-court series," Buckley wrote. "Trading Trae Young for financial flexibility might've been the right long-term angle, but in the short-term, it left Atlanta severely compromised in terms of something-out-of-nothing creators and ignitable shotmakers.
"The flip side is that the Hawks are supposed to be chaos-creators on defense and Formula 1 racers in the open floor. In Game 1, they were neither. They had the fourth-fewest steals of the weekend (five) and nine fewer fast-break points than their opponent (22-13).
"Atlanta needs more live-ball stops that it can turn into runouts and transition chances. Because if this series comes down to cunning and creativity in the half-court, then the Hawks won't stand a chance."
The Hawks were fifth in the NBA this season in pace. Pace factor is an estimate of the number of possessions per 48 minutes by a team.
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