Jalen Johnson shares how embracing patience and trusting his grind fueled his explosive NBA ascent, transforming setbacks into championship-level play.
Jalen Johnson says his breakout season isn’t the result of a sudden transformation but of learning when to slow down and trust the work.
Johnson has emerged as one of the league’s top candidates for Most Improved Player of the Year and is positioning himself as a legitimate All-Star through the first month of the season. He has averaged 22.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 14 games—numbers that reflect one of the most complete two-way ascents in the NBA.
His rise comes after a years-long stretch of turbulence that included a draft slide, a humbling G League stint and a season-ending shoulder injury that halted what had been his initial breakthrough. Now, with Atlanta leaning heavily on him in Trae Young’s absence, Johnson is producing at a level that has reshaped his trajectory and reputation across the league.
Johnson explained the shift in a recent interview, saying the biggest change was adopting patience and eliminating the urge to rush his development.
“Don’t rush nothing,” Johnson told Andscape. “If you don’t rush nothing and you trust your process and truly embrace the grind and not just say words about it, but actually be about your actions, it’s just a matter of time.”
He added that the confidence behind his leap comes from the work he has already poured into his game.
“I know my game. I know the work I put in. I know it’s going to eventually be up there and people are going to start to take recognition.”
Johnson’s journey began with expectations that never materialized during his injury-interrupted freshman season at Duke. Leaving midseason to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft, he said, became a moment of reflection and humility.
“I’m grateful that experience happened,” Johnson said. “Just humbling to kind of start back at ground zero and rebuilding your way up.”
His arrival in Atlanta brought new challenges. Selected 20th despite projections that placed him in the lottery conversation, he spent his rookie year bouncing between the bench and the College Park Skyhawks, where he struggled with frustration and outside noise. Johnson said that assignment forced him to confront the gap between perception and reality.
“It was kind of like a reality check,” Johnson said. “You’re not who you think you are yet, so you got to go down here, you got to put in the work and you got to do your time down here.”
Everything shifted with the arrival of head coach Quin Snyder, who instilled confidence and accountability that Johnson said transformed his outlook.
“Quin was really that guy that believed in me,” Johnson said.
Snyder described Johnson as a player whose ambition has always been clear.
“There’s a big part of him that wants to be really, really good,” Snyder said.
Johnson carried that mindset through the summer, where he trained in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James. He said the on-court drills were secondary to observing how James prepared.
“My time in the gym with him, I just enjoyed any knowledge he gave me,” Johnson said.
Now, with Young sidelined and Atlanta relying on Johnson as its lead creator, he has embraced the responsibility without trying to mimic anyone else.
“I can’t do the things Trae does,” Johnson said. “I’ve just got to continue to play my game, continue to be the all-around player that I am.”
He turns 24 next month with his profile rising, his numbers climbing, and league observers increasingly mentioning his name in the All-Star and Most Improved conversations. Johnson said none of it will change the mindset that got him here.
“Hard work really does pay off,” he said. “I truly believe that work will outshine anything.”