The Hawks are still reckoning with a disastrous end to their season, but that ending shouldn’t obscure the progress the organization made in course of the past 12 months.
Despite major in-season roster turnover, the team won 46 games and returned to the playoffs after two seasons of eliminations in the Play-In Tournament. Jalen Johnson earned his first career All-Star nod — and he may yet make an All-NBA team. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the acquisition of the offseason, going from bench role player
to key starter and earning Most Improved Player in the process.
It’s one thing for fans and local media to take note of the team’s accomplishments. But it’s another for the league to take notice.
And two bits of news over the last week have now reinforced the notion that the perception of this front office have changed for the better.
The NBA Executive of the Year award has been handed out every year since 1972-73 in an effort to recognize an outstanding front office decision maker over the course of a season. While Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics President of Operations, was recently named the winner for the 2025-26 season, a familiar name finished second in the voting.
Onsi Saleh, Atlanta Hawks general manager, finished second in Executive of the Year voting in just his first year on the job as the top executive in the front office structure:
Saleh was recognized, in part, for pulling off a big draft asset transaction during the last draft for a lottery superpick, bringing in Alexander-Walker in a sign-and-trade using the mid-level exception, and netting key player CJ McCollum in the Trae Young trade — among other successful moves.
But recognition doesn’t stop at the top of the organizational chart. Bryson Graham stepped into a senior vice president of basketball operations position last offseason after spending 15 years in the New Orleans Pelicans organization.
Now, the Chicago Bulls have tapped Graham to be, presumably, the top signal caller in their program:
Graham was instrumental in the widely lauded superpick acquisition due to his deep knowledge of the Pelicans’ draft assets. Additionally, he’s reportedly had a keen eye for scouting basketball talent, although the Hawks were largely unable to tap into that skill due to his short stint here in Atlanta.
Both of these news tidbits now lend credence toward the notion that the Hawks’ front office is well respected around the league. That hasn’t always been the case, but the new regime has clearly changed views around the NBA for the better.
That’s something to be celebrated — even as the front office loses a key piece in Bryson Graham.
