Quin Snyder Explains Why He Kept Trusting Jalen Johnson Despite Foul Trouble

Jalen Johnson finished Wednesday night with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 personal fouls. He played 27:48. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 132-125 at Kia Center, and Johnson was a plus-8.

All 14 of his rebounds came on the defensive end. No one on either team had more than 7 besides him, and Atlanta outrebounded Orlando 42-39.

Only Onyeka Okongwu, with 7, had more assists for the Hawks.

Johnson went 7-of-19 from the field, missed all 4 of his 3-point attempts, and made 6 of his 7 free throws.

Atlanta was called for 30 fouls. Luguentz Dort also finished with 5, and Dyson Daniels and Aaron Wiggins each had 4. Hawks coach Quin Snyder said about half his team ended up with four or five.

"I don't think his fouls were a function of him being physical," Snyder said. "Ironically, I think for our group, had we been more physical in certain situations, we might not have got ourselves in positions where we did foul. Had we helped each other more? Had we been a little more disciplined? So I just want him to compete. I think he did."

"We got him back in early in the third," Snyder continued. "Sometimes you wait and wait and wait trying to overthink it. But I'd rather have him playing. Sometimes that gets flipped on you, and it's the wrong decision ... When you compete defensively over a period of time, he'll start to figure some of those things out, too. But I like the effort."

Orlando scored 33 points in the first quarter and led by 5 after one. Snyder said the early mistakes came on rotations and missed box-outs.

"We had about as many breakdowns as we could have in the first quarter," Snyder explained. "Like, we decided to, like, break down on everything. It's like we were making a teaching edit, whether it was a rotation or a missed block out. And I think it's early in the year. So you're going to have some of that."

"But us communicating, that's what you need to have until your habits kind of come together like that," Snyder added. "And I did think there were times when we had some good possessions where we really competed."

Johnson is coming off his fifth NBA season. He made his first All-Star team in February and was named third-team All-NBA in May.

Last season, he averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists across 72 games, all career highs. He shot 48.9% from the field and 35.2% from 3-point range and finished with 49 double-doubles.

His 13 triple-doubles set a franchise single-season record. The previous mark belonged to Bill Bridges, from 1969-70.

Johnson took over as Atlanta's primary playmaker after the Hawks traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in January. Atlanta went 46-36 and lost to the New York Knicks in six games in the first round.

Onsi Saleh, the Hawks' president of basketball operations, said last week that Johnson still has another one or two levels to reach.

The Hawks drafted him 20th overall out of Duke in 2021. His five-year, $150 million rookie-scale extension, agreed to on Oct. 21, 2024, kicked in last season and is fully guaranteed.

A torn labrum in his left shoulder ended his 2024-25 season after 36 games.

Johnson sat out Atlanta's Oct. 8 preseason game at San Antonio. Two nights later, he scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in a 119-117 win at the Indiana Pacers.

In the preseason finale Friday, he had 20 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes of a 135-111 win at the Dallas Mavericks. He went 9-of-11 at the free-throw line that night.

Over the summer, Johnson invited rookies Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor to work out with him in Los Angeles, according to Snyder.

Atlanta visits the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The game tips at 7 p.m. ET.