The Hawks have surged to a 16-3 record since the All-Star break and 12 straight wins in a row at home. That streak will be put to test tonight against the Boston Celtics as they look to salvage a 2-2 season split against the rivals up north.
But elsewhere, there are other positive developments. Let’s quickly go through the status of the draft picks for the Hawks in the 2026 NBA Draft
The (second to last) superpick update
As you’ll remember, the Hawks traded down from 13 to 23 in the 2025 NBA Draft in order to pick up an unprotected pick swap
from the New Orleans Pelicans that involved the Milwaukee Bucks.
In essence, the Hawks gained the right to choose whichever 2026 first-round pick between the Pelicans and the Bucks was more favorable to them. While at the time it seemed unlikely that the Pelicans would find their way into the muddled West playoffs, it seemed very possible that Giannis Antetokounmpo could nearly singlehandedly drag the Bucks into the East playoffs.
Well, with his injury issues this season plus a surprisingly competitive Eastern Conference in 2025-26, the fortune gods have smiled upon the Hawks.
On Tuesday, the Knicks dealt the Pelicans a loss which officially eliminated them from the postseason. And then on Saturday, the Spurs body slammed the Bucks out of the postseason as well. Those two events today (just about) means that both the Pelicans and Bucks will finish out of the playoffs with two of the ten worst records in the league — delivering two solid chances for the Hawks to strike it rich in the lottery.
As of Sunday morning, the Pelicans tentatively owned the seventh worst record and the Bucks the 10th worst record (with no real path beyond winning out to pass the Warriors in 11th). That equates to just over a 40% chance of jumping into the top four on lottery day, May 10.
This could give the Hawks an elite talent from one of the most loaded draft classes in recent memory. Pretty good if you ask me.
Other picks that involve the Hawks
The Hawks dealt first-round pick swap rights to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the package to acquire Dejounte Murray back in 2022. If the Hawks make the playoffs (either outright or through the Play-In Tournament), then logically the Spurs can’t get any higher than the 15th overall pick. With the Hawks currently in the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference, that would mean the 19th overall pick for the Spurs.
The least favorable pick swapped with the Spurs (who have the second-best record in the league) was later flipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the De’Andre Hunter deal. That means, the Hawks get the most favorable between the outcome of the Spurs swap and the Cavaliers’ first-round pick.
As of Sunday morning, the Cavs’ record would give the Hawks the 23rd overall pick — and there’s virtually no chance of them falling into the lottery given the high chance they qualify for the playoffs with a top six record in the East.
The good news: the Hawks also acquired a 2026 second-round pick during the 2025 draft week in trading for Kristaps Porzingis by sending out Terance Mann and Georges Niang (something that cost them the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft — Drake Powell of the Nets).
The bad news: it’s a complicated pick swap that will see the Hawks get the least favorable of a bunch of teams and the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are surprisingly quite good this season, so this pick will end up being one of the final ones in the entire draft (right now 57th overall).
