Jaylen Johnson joins LeBron James in an ultra-rare NBA birthday club
Tree Young may have made his long-awaited comeback since injuring his knee Thursday night against the Charlotte Hornets, but he is Atlanta Hawks have become Jalen Johnson‘s team in his absence and that continued with Young still on a minutes restriction. Johnson, who turned 24 on Thursday, showed off his birthday as he tried to carry the Hawks on his back as they battled uphill all night.
Despite the Hawks’ 133-126 loss to the Hornets, Johnson put up monster stats that made the game so close to begin with. The Hawks star had 43 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists along with a steal and a block – narrowly missing what would have been his fifth straight triple-double.
By posting such stats on his birthday, Johnson became just the second player in NBA history to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on their special day, joining LeBron James in that exclusive club, as per Hawks PR on X (formerly Twitter). James has accomplished that feat twice, and in a neat bit of coincidence, he did so against the Hawks on both occasions 13 years apart (2009 and 2022).
Johnson is emerging as one of the best all-around power forwards in the league, and the Hawks will need to balance the offensive load between him and Young once the latter hits full speed.
Jaylen Johnson of the Hawks will be an All-Star, health permitting
Johnson piles up the stats every night, and while he’s not the most experienced scorer, he’s been bearing the insult of Jastrebov with his dribbling, cutting and dribbling game. On the season, he is now averaging 22.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists per contest, essentially guaranteeing him a spot on the All-Star roster.
Johnson’s efficiency has taken a hit in recent games (he went 16-27 in their loss to the Hornets, which is very efficient), so Young’s return could be beneficial for him as well.
2025-12-19 02:57:00
