The Atlanta Hawks appear interested by two Michigan teammates as the 2026 NBA Draft approaches.
The Atlanta Hawks have a few picks at their disposal in the 2026 NBA Draft, and it appears that they're doing their homework ahead of the two-day event.
According to a report from college basketball reporter Vince Wolfram, draft prospects Yaxel Lendeborg and Roddy Gayle Jr. — teammates from the University of Michigan — were in the building for the Hawks as of Tuesday morning.
The Hawks currently have three picks in the upcoming draft. They are scheduled to pick at No. 8, No. 23 and No. 57 overall. That will give the team some options to load up on young talent, and the team appears ready, as more than 20 prospects have worked out with Atlanta, per Rookie Wire.
Lendeborg and Gayle were national champions with Michigan this past season and are now looking to parlay that success into their NBA careers. Both players are older prospects but did enough in college to get on pro radars.
Lendeborg, a possible lottery pick, took home all sorts of personal accolades during his collegiate career. This past season, the forward averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc.
He also brings a lot to the table on the defensive end and could become a two-way force in the NBA.
Gayle, meanwhile, could be a second-round pick or undrafted target. Although the guard started plenty of games in his collegiate career, he primarily came off the bench during Michigan's national championship season.
He made the most of his role, averaging 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Earlier in his collegiate career, he averaged as many as 13.5 points per game when he was at Ohio State University.
It's unclear if the Hawks are thinking of targeting both Lendeborg and Gayle in the upcoming draft, but it would certainly make for a fun storyline if the two college teammates ended up on the same NBA squad.
Atlanta is looking to ensure that its future looks bright after a tumultuous 2025-26 season that included a shifting roster and a playoff bid that ended with a first-round series loss to the New York Knicks. The offseason will give the Hawks a chance to make some moves, and the draft is as good a chance as any to bring in some new talent in hopes of taking a step in the right direction.
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