Hawks’ Flemings ready to get back on the court with Summer League on horizon

One week ago, Hawks guard Kingston Flemings’ life changed.

Now, just a couple of days separate the 19-year-old from his Summer League debut on Saturday when the Hawks open the annual summer tournament in Salt Lake City.

For Flemings, he’s just ready to get back to the court and competition after a three-month break.

“Just playing, I mean, my last game was (against) Illinois,” Flemings said.

“I don’t even know when that game was — sometime in April, I think. So, it’s been a while since I played actual 5-on-5. So I’m just excited to go out there and play, play with my guys, and go out there and get a win.”

The Hawks haven’t given any indication on how many games Flemings will play at Summer League in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. But Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh indicated that he wanted the team’s young players to get experience.

It’s competition Flemings is ready to embrace, especially when it comes to the quicker pace of NBA play.

“It’s definitely a thing you got to adjust to, but I mean, I want to play fast too,” Flemings said. “So, learning how to play fast in practice and in games, just trying to consistently get better.

“I mean, I’m not going to be an All-NBA type of player the first game. It’s not how it is. So, trying to go out there and get better the way they can, and the Hawks play pretty fast, and I like playing fast, so just trying to get better and get more accustomed to it, for sure.”

Though Flemings will have some adjusting to do, the Hawks valued his ability to process the game and make the right decisions.

While at Houston, Flemings averaged just 1.8 turnovers per game in 37 games. He also didn’t take low-quality shots, making 38.7% of his shots from deep.

But the San Antonio, Texas native said shooting is an area he’s looking to improve.

“Just trying to take (more) 3s, really,” he said. “And I was just talking to coach (Quin Snyder) about that — taking the open 3s I have, you know, getting in the paint.

“I’m a great paint touch guy, so he says, ‘Continue to get in the paint and defend.’ So, just trying to show that I can do those things and just consistently get better to prove myself.”

While Flemings has seen a shift in his life over the last seven days and has a lot of adjusting ahead of him, the recent Georgia weather has not been a big change.