Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor reflected on their first Atlanta Hawks training camp and the areas they are focused on improving.
Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor finished their first NBA training camp Friday, when the Atlanta Hawks closed four days of practice at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Both rookies and Hawks coach Quin Snyder discussed the week with Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Atlanta drafted Flemings eighth overall out of Houston on June 23. Ejiofor went 23rd out of St. John's, with a pick the Hawks held from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two worked out with LeBron James during the offseason before reporting to camp.
Atlanta's younger players have a better feel for one another than might be expected, Snyder said, because they have been together since the start of summer.
"They wanna learn, and I think it's important not to overload them," Snyder said. "I always worry about expectations, particularly when you're on a team that has some pretty good vets that's had a little bit of success, and I think it'll be important for us with those guys to define success properly. And for me, what I'm seeing right now on the court is that."
Flemings Focused on Defense
Flemings scored 594 points as a freshman, a Houston record for a first-year player. He led the Cougars in scoring, assists, and steals and became the first Houston freshman to earn All-America honors.
Defense is where camp challenged Flemings most, and he still thinks he did pretty well.
"I would probably say rotations, really," Flemings said. "Rotations, [and] just being more physical on ball.
"I think times when I lose physicality, people start getting downhill or fighting over screens," Flemings continued. "So, I think definitely working through those things and then just continue to get better every single day. But I think I did pretty good."
Ejiofor averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 blocks as a senior while shooting 53.6 percent from the field. He won Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He was also named Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament.
St. John's went 18-2 in league play for the second straight season.
Ejiofor Embraces the Competition
Rookie training camp left Ejiofor with plenty to be excited about this season.
"It was great competition from everybody," Ejiofor said. "So, as far as rookie training camp goes, I have a lot to be excited about this upcoming season. And guys were really competitive, and that's something you want out of training camp."
Sliding his feet on the perimeter is nothing new for Ejiofor, and camp gave him plenty of guards to slide against.
"We got a lot of guys on the team that's really crafty with the ball, like CJ and Keshon [Gilbert], RayJ [Dennis] and Kingston, guys that's really tight with the ball," Ejiofor explained. "So just being able to just slide my feet, relying on my intangibles, something that I'm really used to."
Gilbert and Dennis are in camp on two-way contracts.
A roster with veteran guards gives Flemings a lot of different people to learn from.
"Coach wants me to play fast, just like everyone," Flemings explained. "Play fast, guard, be myself, really. We have a lot of great players on this team. I can learn from a lot of different people: Nickeil [Alexander-Walker], Dyson [Daniels], CJ [McCollum]. So having vets like that is definitely important. So I'm excited."
McCollum, 34, holds a career average of 19.5 points per game.
Hawks Turn Toward Preseason
Henri Veesaar, Atlanta's third draft pick, tore the ACL in his right knee during a Sept. 15 workout. The Hawks acquired the 52nd pick from the LA Clippers on draft night for the 57th pick and cash and used it on the North Carolina center. The team announced the injury Sept. 21 and said Veesaar would have surgery in October and was expected to miss the 2026-27 season. He averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 31 games for the Tar Heels.
Atlanta hosts the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at 7 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena. Three days later, the Hawks play the San Antonio Spurs in Flemings' hometown.
