Jalen Johnson Is Headed to All-Star Weekend — And It’s Right on Time

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is officially an NBA All-Star.

Johnson was named a reserve for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, announced Sunday on NBC/Peacock ahead of Sunday Night Basketball. Seven players from each conference were selected by NBA head coaches, and this one feels less like a surprise and more like a long-overdue acknowledgment of what Johnson has been doing all season.

At just 24 years old, Johnson becomes the fourth-youngest Hawk since the franchise moved to Atlanta to earn his first All-Star nod. And the numbers tell the story loud and clear.

Johnson is posting career highs across the board, averaging 23.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.0 assists, along with 1.3 steals in 35.6 minutes per game. He’s one of only two players in the entire NBA averaging at least 23 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, and the only player in the Eastern Conference doing it.

League-wide, Johnson ranks 21st in scoring, seventh in rebounding, and fourth in assists. Only one other qualified player sits top-25 in all three categories: Luka Dončić. That’s the company he’s keeping right now.

Consistency has been just as impressive as the production. Johnson leads the NBA with 32 double-doubles this season and has already stacked up eight triple-doubles — the most in a single season in Hawks franchise history. Those eight triple-doubles are also the most by any Eastern Conference player this season and second-most in the league overall.

December was where things really shifted into historic territory.

Johnson averaged a 25-point triple-double for the entire month, putting up 25.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 10.1 assists. That made him just the seventh player in NBA history to average a 25-point triple-double over a full month, joining a list that includes Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Wilt Chamberlain, and LeBron James.

Then there was December 5 against Denver — a night that still doesn’t sound real.

Johnson finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to ever hit those numbers in a single game. He recorded the triple-double in just 16 minutes and 44 seconds, making it the second-fastest triple-double in the play-by-play era, trailing only Nikola Jokić.

The season has also been a steady stream of personal bests. Johnson set career highs in points (43), rebounds (18), assists (16), and steals (7) this year. His 43-point explosion came on his 24th birthday, when he also grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out nine assists — making him only the second player in NBA history to post 40+ points, 10+ rebounds, and five+ assists on his birthday, joining LeBron James.

The recognition started rolling in earlier this season when Johnson was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Nov. 10–16. He led Atlanta to a perfect 4-0 road trip against Western Conference teams, marking the first time the Hawks have ever swept a four-game West Coast trip since the NBA adopted conference alignment in 1970-71.

Now, the league has officially caught up.

The 75th NBA All-Star Game will be held February 15 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, airing at 5 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock, and will debut the new U.S. vs. World format.

Jalen Johnson didn’t just make the All-Star team — he made it undeniable.

And for Atlanta, this moment feels like the beginning, not the peak.

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