Friends. Foes. Admirers. Hate readers.
It’s Tuesday — and everything’s looking pretty rosy for (most of) Atlanta’s sports teams.
Let’s ride the high.
Quick links: All-Star Allisha | Georgia’s recruiting run | Michael Penix Jr. Street
LET HIM COOK
What … what is this? This feeling?
The Atlanta Hawks … going for it? Making moves that are both very good and very rational? And garnering universal praise for it?
Just two months into the job, general manager Onsi Saleh has seemingly found a rift in the time-basketball continuum and jumped right through it.
- The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie: “Onsi Saleh might be REALLY good at this.”
- ESPN’s Shams Charania: “When I talk to people around the league, they say the Hawks and the Rockets are cooking.”
- Yahoo’s Dan Devine: “I like the Hawks looking at Trae Young and thinking, ‘OK, well, if he’s gonna be little and have the ball all the time, let’s surround him with huge guys who play defense and don’t need the ball that much.’”
- Local podcast host Robby Kalland: “Been awhile since I found myself feeling this positive about a Hawks offseason.”
Odd! Unusual! And fantastic.
Here’s what has folks aflutter: After landing big man Kristaps Porzingis and pulling off a trade that netted both Asa Newell and a potential 2026 lottery selection, Saleh and crew aced the first night of free agency, adding:
👋 Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a well-regarded wing who plays defense and hits 3s. He’s 26 and reportedly set to ink a four-year, $62 million deal.
👋 And Luke Kennard, a bona fide sharpshooter (think north 40% from 3) most recently with the Grizzlies.
They’re both role players with playoff experience and the type of depth that contenders covet. In the span of a week, the Hawks have dramatically improved their defense and their shooting (even with longtime Atlantan Clint Capela and wing Caris LeVert reportedly on their way out).
They are, undoubtedly, attempting to build around Young.
All of which leads to one question: Do the Hawks really need to hire a president of basketball operations?
Or can we let Saleh handle it from here?
BONUS QUIZ!
Want to try your hand at this new quiz about Hawks draft history?
Give it a go, but be warned: It’s pretty tough. Your boy only mustered a five out of 10.
ALL-STAR ALLISHA
She’s the WNBA’s fifth-leading scorer. She looks cool in goggles.
And now she’s an All-Star game starter.
⭐ Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray got the nod last night, parlaying her career-best season (19.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game) into the honor.
It’ll be her third career All-Star appearance but her first time starting — and the first time any Dream player has gotten that chance since Angel McCoughtry in 2018.
- Last season, Gray won both the skills challenge and the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend.
We’ll find out if any Dream teammates will join the All-Star starters in Indianapolis when reserves are announced Sunday.
HOT ON THE TRAIL
Georgia football burning up the recruiting trail is … not an uncommon occurrence. But gracious: 10 commitments from class of 2026 recruits in nine days?
The Bulldogs are on an extra hellacious heater.
The latest commitments came Monday from PJ Dean (a four-star defensive line prospect and one of several brotherly connections in the class) and Preston Carey (a four-star defensive line prospect from Florida’s IMG Academy).
📈 Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class now has 26 members — and sits at No. 2 in the country, according to 247Sports.
THE BIG NUMBER: .645
The Braves, meanwhile, are decidedly *not* on a heater.
The Angels come to town tonight to kick off a three-game series that’s more or less a must-win for Atlanta. Because all of them are at this point.
📉 The number above is the (steep) winning percentage the Braves would have to post going forward in order to match the total of 89 wins that barely got them into the playoffs in 2024.
More reasonably depressing stats here, via our friend Chad Bishop.
ALSO INTERESTING
🤔 Downtown businesses and restaurants say the city’s Club World Cup matches have been a bit of a mixed bag, economically speaking.
- Borussia Dortmund and Monterrey play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight at 9. A quarterfinal match Saturday will close things out for Atlanta.
🤨 A former DeKalb County basketball coach fired after being accused of spanking a student says it’s “not right” and he wants his job back.
😤 Is James Pearce Jr. the Falcons’ top candidate for defensive rookie of the year? One analyst says yes … which feels like Jalon Walker slander to me.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Dade City, Florida (north of Tampa, population about 7,000), recently honored Falcons quarterback and hometown hero Michael Penix Jr. by naming a street after him.
In return, he opened a youth football camp.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
That (street) sign is not just a sign. It's a symbol to the next generation that dreams can come true if you work hard. Michael Penix Jr. represents a relentless spirit, who sometimes was overlooked and sometimes was an underdog but succeeded because he persevered and refused to give up."
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Before taking over the AJC's Sports Daily newsletter, Tyler Estep spent two years writing the A.M. ATL newsletter. A Gwinnett County native and University of Georgia graduate, he has been with the AJC since 2015 and previously worked as a reporter on the breaking news, hyperlocal and local government teams.
