Why the Hawks should draft Houston point guard Kingston Flemings

He can score. He can create shots for teammates. He can get to the basket. He can defend and he has solid character.

And he’s a point guard.

Kingston Flemings from the University of Houston makes a lot of sense for the Hawks if they keep their No. 8 overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft, which starts Tuesday.

Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh has said he will make his picks (the Hawks also have the Nos. 23 and 57 selections) based on the best player available as opposed to need.

But Flemings, a second-team All-American this past season as a freshman, could be both. ESPN rates him as the No. 8 draft prospect. CBS Sports slots him at No. 7.

“Worst-case scenario, he’s a really good backup, but he’s more than likely going to be a good starter in the NBA for a long time as long as he stays healthy,” an NBA scout told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he’s a really good player.”

The 6-foot-3 Flemings distinguished himself in his sole college season, averaging 16.1 points, 5.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He was one of the top all-around guards in Division I.

The scout described him as explosive and a great defender with a high basketball IQ and feel for the game. His shooting is something of a question mark — the scout noted “a funky release” — but he still made 38.7% of his 3-point shots (though he only averaged 2.9 attempts per game). Still, it is not something that a coaching staff that has developed the past two Most Improved Player Award winners can’t address.

Plus, he’s only 19 years old. There’s a lot of runway for him. And, even better, he wants to improve.

“This is the lowest I’m going to be as long as I’m in the NBA,” Flemings told Andscape at the NBA predraft camp. “As the year goes on, as the days go on, I’ll just constantly get better, just compete all the time.”

He has been hailed, too, for never transferring high schools or AAU teams as his star rose in San Antonio, an increasingly rare show of loyalty. His thriving at Houston with old-school coach Kelvin Sampson also says something about his maturity level.

“He’s just one of those kinds of people that a lot of people feel good about and trust,” the scout said.

And even better, the Hawks have a need for someone with Flemings’ explosiveness and ability to get into the paint. That vulnerability was exposed by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks in their first-round series loss in six games, particularly when the Knicks found a way to slow down guard CJ McCollum.

In the final three games of the series against the Knicks, which the Hawks lost by a combined 96 points, they averaged 41.3 points in the paint compared with their season average of 51.7. During the series, they averaged 22.2 assists, way off their regular season average of 30.1, which led the NBA.

A point guard who can explode to the basket to either score or set up teammates — a skill that Flemings demonstrated consistently with the Cougars — would be valuable for any team, but certainly the Hawks. It wouldn’t be outlandish for the Hawks to start the 34-year-old McCollum — whose one-year extension was reported Sunday — this year and then see if they’re ready to put the team in Flemings’ hands starting in 2027.