NBA 2K27 Surprises Fans with Unexpected Hawks Boosts—Is a Franchise Revival Coming?

Yes, it’s that point in the offseason where there isn’t much to talk about, but NBA 2K always comes through at the right moment. NBA 2K27 is set to release on Sept. 4 (Aug. 26 early access), and for the entire month leading up to the date, the company always gives tidbits of either new game modes, fresh face scans, and player ratings.

One of the first things that they decided to release this year was attribute ratings, and several Atlanta Hawks players were part of the list. Here are some of the attributes where those players rank top 10 in the game.

Jalen Johnson – No. 2 in driving dunk

In all honesty, this should come as no surprise, as Jalen Johnson is hard to stop when he has a head full of steam. Adding to that, he’s caught a couple of poster dunks throughout the past few years that some people won’t forget, and it’s obvious that NBA 2K didn’t need to be reminded.

Johnson’s driving dunk is rated at a 96 overall, and he’s just behind Anthony Edwards for the No. 1 spot. This is the perfect spot to put Johnson, and he’ll show at times during this upcoming season why he’s rated so high when it comes to throwing the ball down. It might even motivate him to participate in the dunk contest.

Kingston Flemings – No. 10 in speed with ball

Having a rookie in this category is huge, especially when looking around the league and thinking about all the other fast players. Most of the players on this list are point guards, and Flemings fits right in with them after realizing how fast he actually is. One of the things that was mentioned about Flemings coming out of the draft was his speed, and he’s said that he models his game after guards like Derrick Rose and Tyrese Maxey.

Maxey has already found himself on this list at No. 2, and Rose has always been known as one of the more athletic guards to play the game. Flemings’ speed with ball is a 90 overall, and he’ll be blowing past a lot of defenders in real life and on the game.

Dyson Daniels – No. 4 in perimeter defense

This is another rating that shouldn’t be a surprise, but it could almost feel disrespectful in a sense. Dyson Daniels has proved over the past two seasons that he’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, so much that he could be rated higher than fourth on the list.

Ausar Thompson, Derrick White and OG Anunoby are all ranked above him, and it’s well deserved. Daniels’ perimeter defense is a 94 overall in the game, and he’ll continue to be a pest on the floor. It is a little surprising that Lu Dort didn’t make the top 10 in this category, but his former teammate, Cason Wallace, cracked the list.

Dyson Daniels – No. 4 in steals

Daniels may need to be ranked top 10 in all defensive categories, and it is also not a surprise that he’s high on this list. At the same time, he could have a high rating in this category, considering the fact that he averaged the most steals per game last season, which was also tied with Ausar Thompson. Some of the players on the top list in this rating weren’t even top 10 in steals per game last season.