While the Atlanta Hawks did not jump into the top four of the 2026 NBA Draft, they were able to add one of the most talented guards in the draft to their team.
Rumors were flying around left and right about whether the Hawks would trade up or down on draft night, but they followed their board and stayed at No. 8 and selected Houston point guard Kingston Flemings. Flemings was a part of one of the most talented freshmen classes to ever come into the NBA draft and he has All-Star level potential and Atlanta hopes that he can come in and be an important piece of their bench, learn behind CJ McCollum this season, and turn into their starting point guard in the future.
Flemings is not a perfect prospect though and like every player, it might take a while before he reaches his full ceiling.
Player comparisions are not easy, but what are the right ones for Fleming?
Anthony is a solid backup point guard in the NBA and has made a pretty good career out of that.
At his best, Anthony is a below average three-point shooter and solid floor general and I think at worst, that is the kind of player that Flemings can be. Those were the kinds of questions about him as a prospect and during Summer League, he played up to that. He was excellent at guiding the offense and finding the open man while running the floor, but he struggled finishing at the rim and was not a great three-point shooter.
Anthony is a career 34% three-point shooter (41% from the floor) and has a career-average of 3.8 assists per game. A profile like that is what I think Flemings would be at the bare minimum in the NBA.
Remember Brandon Knight? At his best, Knight was a border-line level All-Star point guard and I think that is the most likely outcome for Flemings.
Knight was a streaky three-point shooter during his career in the NBA. During the 2014-2015 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Knight shot 41% from three, but he had several seasons where he was hovering between 30-35%. Both players are built similarly from a height-weight standpoint and he played over a decade in the NBA.
A difference between the two players is that Knight was a better scorer than passer at his peak in the NBA and I think that Flemings will be more of a pass first type point guard than a scorer.
The high-end comparison that gets thrown out a lot for Flemings is De'Aaron Fox, but I think there is a world in which Flemings is more like Maxey than Fox, which would be a better outcome for the Hawks I believe.
Maxey has turned into one of the true elite guards in the NBA. He uses his speed to get to the rack and finish and he has stretched his range to turn into a dangerous pull up shooter. He does not let his size get in the way of him being an impact defender, as he is one of the top steal artists in the league.
Is this a likely outcome? Perhaps not. Even if a player turns into an All-Star and a reliable player, but they don't hit the ceiling some thought they had when they were drafted. I think at his best, Flemings will be a great transition guard with his speed, develop a dangerous three-point shot, and not let his lack of size be a problem on the defensive end.
Atlanta is hoping they landed a star point guard and only time will tell if they got one.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hawks/onsi as Three Player Comps For Kingston Flemings: Floor, Median, and Ceiling .
