Kingston Flemings Reveals How Brennan High Pulled Off Surprise Jersey Retirement

Kingston Flemings went back to Brennan High School on Oct. 7 thinking he was there to film something for ESPN. Brennan retired his jersey that night instead, with his Atlanta Hawks teammates already in the seats.

The ceremony in San Antonio made Flemings the second basketball player in school history to have his number retired, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, who coached him for one season, was there too.

Flemings walked through how the night came together after the Hawks practiced Wednesday, two days before Atlanta closes the preseason in Dallas.

Bits of it had looked off to him beforehand. He did not put them together until the doors opened.

"I was surprised, honestly. I honestly had no clue," Flemings said. "I had bits and pieces of, like, things were a little weird, and I was like, I wonder what's going on, but I had no idea it was going to be that at all. So it was definitely a great surprise, seeing all the Hawks guys there. I definitely wouldn't have expected that, but [it] was a fun surprise, and I'm grateful for it."

The Hawks were in San Antonio for a preseason game the next night at Frost Bank Center. Flemings came off the bench and scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, with five assists and three steals in 20 minutes. Atlanta trailed 39-20 after one quarter and won 123-116.

It was his only game in his hometown until Atlanta returns to Frost Bank Center on Dec. 27.

His AAU team does not practice on Wednesdays. That was the detail that tipped him off once he got to the building.

"My brother actually, he said we had this thing with ESPN, because before the draft, we were doing this thing with ESPN. So he was like, all you have to do is film anything," Flemings explained. "And I was like, it's weird before game day, and I didn't think about it. And my agent hadn't told me something, and she tells me everything. My agent [Erica] told me everything, so I was a little iffy on that."

Flemings said the scene at the school made it clear something bigger was happening.

"But when I showed up, there's a bunch of cars, and then in the hallways, usually on Wednesdays, my AAU team, we don't practice on Wednesdays," Flemings continued. "And there was kids running in the hall, little kids, and I knew them. I was like, why are they here? They don't live near there either. So I was like, why are they here? And I walked in, I was looking all iffy, looked inside. Everyone was inside. Everyone was in the seats. So it was definitely a crazy moment."

Flemings won the Gatorade Texas Boys Basketball Player of the Year award at Brennan in 2025. His sister, Bella Flemings, won the girls' award at the same school, KSAT reported.

As a senior, he averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. He also averaged 2.9 steals for a Brennan team that went 33-3 and reached the Class 6A Division I state semifinals.

He spent one season at Houston. Flemings averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists for the Cougars and shot 38.7% from 3-point range. His 594 points set the program record for a freshman.

Atlanta drafted him eighth overall on June 23.

Through four preseason games, Flemings has started twice. He had 11 points in the 132-123 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 5, eight in the 119-117 win at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 10, and seven points with seven assists in Monday's 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He started that night with nine Hawks ruled out, including CJ McCollum, Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Luguentz Dort.

The Hawks are 3-1 in the preseason. They play the Dallas Mavericks on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at American Airlines Center, then open the regular season Oct. 21 at the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. ET.