On Wednesday, the Hawks pulled off a massive upset in the NBA Cup, beating the Knicks 108-100 and advancing to the tournament’s semifinal. While Trae Young was at his stellar best, the star of the show was De’Andre Hunter. The forward scored 24 points off the bench to lead Atlanta to a surprise win and punch his team’s ticket to Las Vegas. Charles Barkley was thoroughly impressed with the 27-year-old’s performance and predicted he was on the verge of stardom.
Advertisement
During the post-game coverage on Inside the NBA, the Hall of Famer claimed that Hunter is finally coming of age. He added that he’s finally turning into the star he always knew he would be. Barkley said,
“De’Andre Hunter is gonna be an All-Star in this league. I guarantee it. That guy on that team, he’s gonna be the next All-Star on the Hawks.”
His take sounds reactionary. However, that isn’t the case. Barkley has always been high on the forward and his potential. Back in 2022, he backed Hunter to become one of the best players in the NBA. He bullishly claimed that the forward and Young would form an elite 1-2 punch. He had said,
“DeAndre Hunter is going to be the second-best player on the Hawks. He’s going to be great.”
For nearly two years, Barkley’s prediction has looked silly. Make no mistake, Hunter has been a reliable role player for the Hawks. But an All-Star? He came nowhere close to hitting those levels. But the tide is finally turning. The forward is living up to Barkley’s billing of him and the Hall of Famer couldn’t be more pleased.
De’Andre Hunter is in the running for the Most Improved Player award
Hunter’s 2023-24 campaign was as innocuous as it could have been. He averaged 15.6 points on 45.9% shooting, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, good numbers, but not exactly groundbreaking. The Hawks, in general, weren’t that interesting. They finished 10th in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs.
The team was expected to sink further after losing Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans in the offseason. However, that hasn’t been the case. They are 14-12 and firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot. Trae Young, as always, is leading by example. But Hunter’s coming of age has played a massive role in Atlanta’s surprisingly good start to the campaign.
The forward is averaging a career-high 19.6 points on 48.3% shooting. He has been one of the best three-point shooters in the league this season, banking 44.6% of his shot attempts. Hunter has forced the league to take notice of him over the past two weeks.
Since the Hawks’ surprise win over the Cavaliers at the tail-end of November, He has averaged 22.4 points in only 28.4 minutes per game. He has shot an astonishing 51.9% from beyond the arc, by far the best shooting stretch of his career.
The turnaround is impressive, to say the least. But is it enough to earn an All-Star nod? Unfortunately not. But he should take solace in being among the frontrunners to win the Most Improved Player award.
His next goal should be to continue playing at this level for the rest of the season. A good training camp and a strong start next year and there’s a good chance he could be in the running to earn his first All-Star nod. At least that’s what Charles Barkley’s hoping for. He cannot wait to gloat about being the first to believe in Hunter and rub it in everyone’s face.
