The Atlanta Hawks got their 2026-2027 season started off on the right foot last night, beating the Orlando Magic 132-125 on the road, collecting their 5th straight win against Orlando, dating back to last season. For two teams that are expected to be close in the standings and competing for the division title, this was a big win for Atlanta, even if it is just one game out of eighty-two.

When looking at how the players performed last night, who stood out for the Hawks?

Starters

CJ McCollum: B
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: A
Dyson Daniels: A
Jalen Johnson: C+
Onyeka Okongwu: C+

Alexander-Walker and Daniels were the clear standouts from last night's game, though it was tough to judge Johnson because of the early foul trouble that he was in, which resulted in him playing only nearly 28 minutes, which is low for a star player.

McCollum played the fewest minutes of any of the Hawks starters, but he was really efficient with the minutes that he did play. He shot 7-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from three, finishing with 19 points, three assists, and three rebounds. If McCollum plays like this, he gives the Hawks plenty of chances to win.

Alexander-Walker was the hero of the game for Atlanta. He scored 31 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-8 from three, including two big three-pointers late in the fourth quarter. On top of that, he played really strong defense. If he is going to play like this, it might be another big season for the Hawks.

Daniels had a very typical performance for himself. He did a lot of little things right, playing elite defense while scoring 20 points, reeling in four rebounds, and racking up three assists, while also collecting five steals. It was a fantastic game for him and something to build on to start the year.

Johnson finished the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds and six assists. Those are solid numbers for just around 28 minutes played, but he was not very efficient shooting from the field in this game, going just 7-for-19 from the field and 0-for-4 from three. The defense was touch and go as well. When this is considered a subpar performance, you know you are an All-Star level player.

Onyeka Okongwu did a lot of little things right as well, but nothing to really standout. He finished the game with eight points, seven assists, and five rebounds, shooting 3-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from three. Expect better shooting days in the future for Okongwu.

Daniels, Okongwu, and Alexander-Walker finished tied for the team best +10 in their minutes.

Bench

Aaron Wiggins: B+
Lu Dort: C
Jock Landale: C+
Kingston Flemings: C-

Wiggins was the star off the bench for the Hawks, but they did not get much production elsewhere from the other players.

Wiggins finished the night with 16 points and shot 3-for-5 from three while also playing good defense. I think that Wiggins is a major breakout candidate this season and tonight showed why.

The rest of the bench could not make a major impact.

Dort battled foul trouble and finished with eight points on 2-for-7 shooting and four rebounds. His defense was solid, but not game changing. I am sure that he is going to be fine and make a bigger impact as the season goes along, but last night was not that night.

Landale scored 10 points, but only pulled in two rebounds and missed his only three point attempt of the game.

Flemings had some nice moments on the defensive end during his NBA debut, but was 0-for-5 from the field and did not score a point, but he did have four rebounds and three assists. Flemings had better outings during the preseason, but as a reminder, he is a 19-year-old rookie point guard and there are going to be a lot of ups and downs for him this season, as is the case for many rookies.

This was expected to be a nine-man rotation and the Hawks stuck with that for this opening game vs the Magic. I think that is going to be the case until Mouhamed Gueye comes back, but that date is not known right now.