In late February, FanSided released an update of NBA99, the site's ranking of the best players in the NBA right now. This is a malleable document that takes on regular updates but, in the most recent edition, four members of the 2024-25 Atlanta Hawks made the cut.
Below, we will tackle whether the rankings were too high, too low, or just right, at least from the opinion of one Hawks-informed writer.
Onyeka Okongwu - No. 88
First, I was genuinely surprised and encouraged to see Okongwu listed in the top 99 at all. Okongwu was not a full-time starter at any point over his first four NBA seasons, but the Hawks "flipped the switch" on Jan. 20, inserting Okongwu into the starting lineup, where he projects to stay for a long while.
In 21 games as a starter this season, Okongwu is averaging 14.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game with 65.1 percent true shooting for the Hawks. Those are extremely encouraging numbers for both Okongwu and the team, and Atlanta has been able to run its offense through Okongwu as a hub when needed.
He will always be at least somewhat limited by his lack of size (Okongwu is listed at 6-foot-9 and that might be generous), but he does have impressive strength and the wingspan of a player who is taller than Okongwu is. Moreover, it seems as if Okongwu has been around forever, given that he was drafted as a one-and-done out of USC, but he just turned 24 in December.
If one assumes that the sample of the last six weeks is sustainable, then a No. 88 ranking is more than appropriate and could be too low in short order. However, it is a little bit difficult to weigh that six-week sample over the four-plus seasons before it, and I would probably have Okongwu a touch lower on the list ... for now.
Dyson Daniels - No. 72
This also applies to Okongwu in some respects, simply because he is in a different role at this juncture, but Daniels is an especially challenging player to rank. In short, Daniels has been playing at a top-50 level in recent weeks, and that is fairly clear by both traditional and advanced metrics. With that said, Daniels is not yet a finished product on offense and, after two relatively modest seasons as a bench player in New Orleans, the sample isn't enormous.
First things first, Daniels has been the best perimeter defender in the NBA this season. To be fair, there are other contenders (Kris Dunn, Toumani Camara, etc.) for this crown, but Daniels' combination of productivity, workload, and versatility is unmatched. He is currently lapping the league in steals, averaging 3.02 per game. The closest competitor to Daniels is averaging less than 1.9 per game, with Daniels beating the field by more than 60 percent. That is, of course, absolutely outrageous, and Daniels has a similar lead in overall deflections.
That alone is enough to garner appropriate attention for Daniels, but he is also taking on a massive defensive workload for the Hawks. He combines the ability to be a defensive playmaker with impressive foul avoidance and the capability of staying solid against elite offensive players. Long story short, Daniels is comfortably one of the ten most valuable defenders in the sport, which is high praise for a non-big in today's league.
At the same time, his defensive bonafides might be able to take him to No. 72, but his recent offensive breakout is what pushes him further up the board. For the season, Daniels is averaging 14.0 points and 4.1 assists per game despite only 18 percent usage. Those numbers are highly encouraging for a third-year guard in the biggest role of his career, but Daniels has taken things to a new level since mid-January.
Since Jan. 18 (21 games), Daniels is averaging 15.7 points and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range. No one would mistake Daniels for Steph Curry at this juncture, but his confidence appears to be growing as a perimeter shooter, and Daniels is clearly evolving as a secondary creator and, at times, a primary initiator when Trae Young is off the floor.
From an impact standpoint, Daniels is better than No. 72 in the league already and, even if you issue an adjustment for the "first-year breakout" corollary, this feels a touch low.
Jalen Johnson - No. 42
If I had to guess, fans who do not watch the Hawks often may have been surprised by this ranking. After all, Jalen Johnson is not a household name to casual fans, and he is ahead of players like Zion Williamson, Paolo Banchero, Jaylen Brown, and Jamal Murray. Without nitpicking too much, I'd have Johnson behind a couple of those guys but also ahead of a couple of players listed before him.
So, spoiler, this is a "just right" situation.
Johnson suffered a torn labrum that ended his 2024-25 season after just 36 games, which is highly unfortunate. When he went down, however, Johnson was one of only four NBA players averaging at least 10 rebounds and five assists per game, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Domantas Sabonis. That isn't bad company to keep, particularly when Johnson was also averaging 18.9 points per game and providing above-average defense at the power forward spot.
In short, Johnson was enjoying a full-fledged breakout in his fourth season, but he'll have to wait to pick it up again in October. He is still a top-50 player already, and Johnson is 23 years old.
Trae Young - No. 17
In covering the Hawks for more than a decade and covering every game of Young's career, I am honestly wired to look and see where Young lands on any list of player rankings. On the vast majority of occasions, I find myself rolling my eyes as Young is listed (considerably) too low, often accompanied with an ill-informed missive about "efficiency" or the Hawks being limited by his shortcomings.
Well, none of that happened here. Young at No. 17 is appropriate, at least my view, and I certainly can't argue that it's too low.
I do think that, judging by other publications, this ranking will be met with skepticism, but frankly, I don't understand it. All Trae Young does is operate as the best passing guard in the NBA (I'd give the nod to Jokic overall, but he's the only one) and do it while averaging 25.3 points per game for his career.
Did you know that Trae Young is No. 3 all-time in assists per game behind only Magic Johnson and John Stockton? Did you know that Trae Young's assist average has gone up in every single season of his career? Did you know that, while he'll never be a good defender, Young has clearly improved on that end of the floor on an annual basis?
Maybe you didn't, because the consensus seemed to harden on Young and decide that he simply "can't win" or something... even with a conference finals appearance under his belt and a postseason berth in four straight seasons. Nevertheless.
Trae Young is very good. That might be controversial to some, but not to NBA99. Hat-tip on that.