The Athletic projects the Atlanta Hawks to land Duke forward Cameron Boozer at No. 3 and Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie at No. 22 in the 2026 NBA Mock Draft.
The Atlanta Hawks have plenty to address this offseason after losing to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each made meaningful jumps this season to give Atlanta something to build off, and the team is also holding onto a first-round pick from New Orleans that could be used to land a real impact player.
A new 2026 NBA Mock Draft from Sam Vecenie at The Athletic, published this week, slots Atlanta with two picks. One is the top-three selection from the Pelicans, and the other is a late first-round pick that gives the Hawks an opportunity to swing for the backcourt of the future.
No. 3 Pick: Cameron Boozer, Duke (via New Orleans)
Atlanta is projected to land Duke forward Cameron Boozer with the No. 3 pick, a 6-foot-9 prospect who will end up in the city through the Pelicans selection that was sent over in last year's draft-night swap.
The 18-year-old earned national player of the year honors after putting up 22.5 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists per game for the Blue Devils. Some consider Boozer the safest bet in the class to develop into a highly productive player.
The big argument scouts keep having on Boozer is about his size and the kind of player he tops out as. At a likely 6-foot-9 with about a 7-foot wingspan, his build is closer to Kevin Love's than Jokić's.
He also did not help the cause in March, hitting 44 percent of his shots and just 32 percent from deep in Duke's biggest tournament games.
A frontcourt of Boozer, Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu would have a chance to be one of the East's most skilled groups, with a versatile mix of size, passing, scoring, and rebounding from day one.
Projected No. 22 Pick: Ebuka Okorie, Stanford (via Cleveland)
Atlanta's other projected pick lands at No. 22, a slot acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the mock pegging Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie to the Hawks at 6-foot-2.
After trading Trae Young at the deadline, the front office is still searching for its next floor general, and this projection treats Okorie as a possible answer.
As a freshman, he averaged 23.2 points on 46.5 percent shooting overall, with 35.4 percent from 3 and 83.2 percent at the stripe. Okorie lives in attack mode, slipping through seams that most guards his height never get to.
The concerns hit just as hard. He hit just 52 percent of his rim attempts in half-court sets per Synergy, and 7.3 free-throw trips per game did much of the rest to inflate his efficiency.
There is also a chance this projection ages poorly within a month or two, since Okorie could be testing the process and ultimately heading back to school for 2027.