The landscape of the Eastern Conference has changed dramatically over the past few months. It began with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics rupturing his right Achilles in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers did the same in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Both stars are expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season, leaving the conference wide open for another contender to rise.
Knowing this, Atlanta made it their mission to improve around the margins this offseason, cementing themselves as one of the teams who could make some noise.