NBA players believe Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is the most underrated player in the league.
NBA players have voted Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson as the most underrated player in the league.
The Athletic's anonymous NBA player poll came out on Wednesday. 151 votes were cast for the most underrated player in the league and Johnson received 4.0% of the votes. He tied with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.
"Johnson was one of the league’s breakout players this season, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference," The Athletic wrote. "He avoided major injuries to play in 72 games, and his production improved, averaging career bests of 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, with a career-high 13 triple-doubles. Notably, he did not receive a single “Underrated” vote last season, which may be explained by playing in only 36 games that year due to injuries."
During the regular season, Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 48.9% from the field, 35.2% from beyond the arc and 78.8% from the free-throw line. He's undoubtedly one of the top two-way players in the NBA.
The Hawks went 46-36 and were the sixth seed in the 2026 Eastern Conference playoffs. They faced the New York Knicks in the first round and took a 2-1 lead in the series.
However, the Knicks won Games 4, 5 and 6 to end Atlanta's season. Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in the six-game series.
The Hawks are building around Johnson in the post-Trae Young era. The 24-year-old is only going to get better, and unless Victor Wembanyama requests a trade from the San Antonio Spurs, makes it known he wants to play for Atlanta and the Spurs ask for Johnson in return, Johnson should spend the rest of his NBA career with the Hawks.
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