Former Hawks guard Jeff Teague said Atlanta needs and deserves AJ Dybantsa in the 2026 NBA Draft after the Knicks closed out Game 6 with a 140-89 win.
Former Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague said his old team should land AJ Dybantsa in the 2026 NBA Draft after Atlanta's season ended with a 140-89 home loss to the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their first-round series Thursday night.
Teague, the host of the Club 520 podcast, made the comments on Friday's edition of his "520 in the Morning" show following the Knicks' 4-2 series win. The closeout in Atlanta produced the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history at 47 points.
"Let's be for real we lost our franchise player this year, he got traded," Teague said. "Our franchise player got traded at the deadline and still made the playoffs. Now we need a new franchise player. So, AJ Dybantsa. We need AJ Dybantsa, we deserve AJ Dybantsa."
The franchise player reference is to Trae Young, whom the Hawks dealt to the Washington Wizards on January 7 in a trade that returned CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Atlanta still reached the postseason and built a 2-1 series lead before dropping the final three games by an average of 32 points.
Game 6 was decided early. The Knicks led 40-15 after the first quarter and 83-36 at halftime, and the margin reached 61 before the visitors' bench closed it out. Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Dybantsa, the BYU freshman, has been widely projected as one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft alongside Duke's Cam Boozer and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. The Hawks enter the lottery with their own first-round pick plus the most favorable first-rounder between Milwaukee and New Orleans, giving general manager Onsi Saleh real flexibility heading into draft night.
Teague spent the early part of his NBA career with the Hawks after Atlanta selected him 19th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The 2026 NBA Draft is set for June. The Hawks enter the offseason with roster and coaching staff evaluations ahead.
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