The 2026 NBA Draft is now in the books and the next part of the offseason is set to begin. In the moments and days after the draft, every class is analyzed and critiqued, with winners and losers being named, and I think it is a rather easy call to name the Atlanta Hawks as one of the big winners of this year's draft. Why they are winnersMar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) goes in for a dunk against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn ImagesTruthfully, we are not going to know the winners and losers of this draft until we see the careers of these players start to pan out. But it is hard not to like what the Hawks did. They stuck to their board, took the best players available who also happened to fill needs, and my biggest takeaway is that they remained patient. Coming into the draft, the Hawks were mentioned frequently as a team that was "open for business" and was one of the most active teams when it came to trade discussions surrounding both of their picks. Now, we don't know which kinds of trades were discussed and what potential deals could have been made, but the Hawks let the board fall to them and ended up taking three really talented players. Kingston Flemings is going to be the crown jewel of the class and could be one of the most important pieces for this franchise going forward. The lightning-quick guard plays with toughness on both ends of the court and his competitiveness is something that drew the Hawks to him in the draft process according to President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh: "Just the level of competitor he was and like the leadership qualities that he portrays as well. He really, like his teammates at Houston, would run through a brick wall for the guy. And he'd do the same for each and every one of them. Like the feedback we got from the coaches there as well, just A plus human being. You couldn't ask for a better person in your locker room, somebody to integrate with the group that we have right now."The Hawks have a young core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Onyeka Okongwu already, and Flemings should fit in well with this group. Ejiofor was a bit of a surprise pick, but when you take a deeper look, it is easy to see why the Hawks wanted him. While he does not have the positional size for someone that might be asked to play center (Hawks view him as a combo big), Ejiofor has something else the Hawks need. In the playoffs, physicality was king and the Knicks played with a certain edge and motor that the Hawks could not unlock. Now, one rookie is not going to come in and change that, but Ejiofor's motor and energy were two reasons that the Hawks loved about him according to Saleh: "I mean, Zuby is, the guy's a beast. If you guys seen him play at St. John's, like, you're talking about a guy that switches one through five, can guard point guards, can guard bigs, can guard big wings. Like, it doesn't really matter. I think with him, it's like the high-level processing he has offensively is just like he makes the right play every single time. He's a really good passer for his size, giant wingspan, could do all that stuff."There were some out there that were hoping the Hawks would select North Carolina center Henri Veesaar with the No. 23 pick, but he fell to No. 52, and Atlanta decided that they were going to go get him. Veesaar fills a need for the Hawks at center, giving them more size than Ejiofor, as well as more proven shooting from the perimeter. Veesaar's fall was one of the topics of the second round and for the Hawks to come away with a first round talent that late in the draft could prove to be vital down the line. Now, we have to see how these players fit and how they progress over their career (we should get a glimpse next week in Summer League), but getting three first round level players with three picks in a draft is good business. The Hawks are wanting to build out this team through the draft, internal development, and opportunistic moves. Saleh and the Hawks stayed patient and let the board fall to them in this draft. Sometimes teams are not aggressive enough or are far too aggressive, but in this case, I think Atlanta got it right and have three players that could become big contributors down the line. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow