While the Atlanta Hawks are losing De’Andre Hunter for a few weeks due to a knee injury, they’re set to get a key player back in the lineup when they face the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. Youngster Jalen Johnson will return after missing a month with a wrist injury, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Things had been trending in this direction for Johnson, and now the Hawks will welcome back one of their most promising young players.

Jalen Johnson’s breakout season
Trae Young spoke out on a Hawks budding star on Tuesday

Jalen Johnson is in his third season as a first-round pick out of Duke. After barely playing as a rookie, Johnson got a bit more playing time in Year 2, showing flashes of his potential. Year 3 was turning into a full-blown breakout campaign for the 22-year-old with John Collins finally out of the picture, only for the injury to strike.

Johnson was averaging 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and a block in 29.9 minutes per game before he went down with the wrist injury. He’s shooting 59.4% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range on the season, numbers well above last season.

The Hawks moved to 8-7 in 2023-24 with a win over the Washington Wizards on the night Johnson went down. It has been a struggle for Atlanta since, as the team now sits at a woeful 12-17. That has them outside the play-in tournament picture in the Eastern Conference, percentage points behind the Bulls for the No. 10 seed.

Chicago has surged up the standings in recent weeks with Zach LaVine out of the lineup. The Bulls are coming off a dud of a performance against a shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers team, but they’re 8-4 since LaVine went down.

The Hawks are hoping Jalen Johnson’s return will spark them like he did earlier this season. Trae Young is putting up huge numbers, but it’s not resulting in wins. Quin Snyder’s team needs to turn it around soon.