Bleacher Report selected Atlanta Hawks star Jalen Johnson sixth overall in a combined redraft of the 2021 through 2025 NBA draft classes.
The Atlanta Hawks landed a franchise-caliber player with the 20th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft in superstar forward Jalen Johnson. A new Bleacher Report article suggests that if you combined the 2021 through 2025 draft classes and redrafted them today, Johnson would go sixth overall.
That's high praise. Out of five consecutive draft classes, Bleacher Report views Johnson as the sixth player it would choose to build around moving forward.
Is that accurate?
Jalen Johnson Ranks No. 6 In Bleacher Report Five-Year Redraft
To answer that question, you'd need to look at some of the players immediately ahead of and behind Johnson. Let's look at the top five first.
Bleacher Report's Five-Year Redraft Top Five
- Victor Wembanyama
- Cooper Flagg
- Cade Cunningham
- Dylan Harper
- Scottie Barnes
There it is.
You can certainly quibble with their choices. Flagg and Harper have limited bodies of work. Still, if you're projecting from their rookie years, these are reasonable rankings. This author might take Cunningham second, but Flagg would go next, so that's a nitpick.
If Johnson has a case over any of these guys, it's probably Harper. It's a bit bold to select a sophomore coming off an 11.8-point, 3.9-assist season over a 24-year-old who just averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.
Those numbers helped Johnson earn the first All-NBA selection of his career.
Still, raw statistical output isn't everything. Harper is playing alongside the universal first choice in this exercise, so his numbers are naturally limited. Anyone watching the Spurs last year saw a future star.
You could pick Johnson as high as fourth, but the sixth overall placement is fair from this perspective.
Is there anyone below Johnson who deserves his spot?
Jalen Johnson Deserves His Place Among NBA's Best Young Stars
The five players immediately below Johnson are Jalen Williams, Evan Mobley, Chet Holmgren, Franz Wagner and Brandon Miller. That's a talented crop, but none have been as offensively prolific as Johnson.
You could make a case for Williams. He's a comfortably better defender than Johnson. Unfortunately, his injury-ravaged 2025-26 season makes him a tougher sell over someone like Johnson.
Above all else, it should be noted that the margins are thin here. Some fans will be shocked to find former No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero all the way down at No. 16, but he could easily leap several spots with a strong 2026-27 season. That's just one example.
For now, Johnson is appropriately ranked here. That's a huge deal for the Hawks. Atlanta selected him 20th overall and has since watched him become an All-Star, an All-NBA player and the centerpiece of its offense.
The Hawks are also benefiting from having Johnson locked into a five-year, $150 million contract that now looks increasingly valuable as his standing around the league rises.
They landed approximately the sixth-most desirable player from five consecutive draft classes with the 20th overall pick:
That's a franchise-changing development.
