The first year player looks to make a bigger splash in 2024-25.
Seth Lundy wasn’t able to see the floor for the Hawks a ton this past season, but he represents a couple of key focuses for the new coaching and development regime here.
It’s sometimes cliche to put try to put players’ play styles in neat little boxes, but Lundy is everything you would want in a ‘3-and-D’ wing. He’s unbothered about catching and shooting – equally so with a hand in his face versus left wide open – and is always hustling and making plays on the defensive end.
Lundy was drafted in the second round out of Penn State after a four-year career. He signed to a two-way contract in the summer, and spent the majority of his time with the College Park Skyhawks. With the Hawks, he only saw 52 total minutes in nine games. But for the Skyhawks, Lundy averaged 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game while shooting 51% from the field and 42% from three in 12 contests.
Under Quin Snyder and company, the Hawks prioritize a modern style of defending where aggressive hedging and recovering from the bigs is the norm. This puts a lot of responsibility on backside or weakside players to momentarily step out on rollers and cutters and prevent easy buckets.
Lundy’s activity and 6-foot-10 wingspan regularly creates havoc on all sizes of matchups — something the 27th-ranked defense from a year ago will need in spades. Lundy often flashes his ability to blow up plays, whether by getting his hands on loose balls or swatting shots ranging from the weakside.
Here’s a great defensive possession from the rookie — stepping out to force the awkward dribble drive then contesting the shot near the rim.
Three-point shooting is also a prized asset under Snyder – a way to space the floor around high volume creators. Between the Hawks and the Skyhawks, over half of Lundy’s field goal attempts were from beyond the arc. And he owns a full arsenal of long range shots — off movement, spotting up, and pulling up off the dribble to name a few.
Lundy shot 3-for-13 (23%) from three with the senior team, but it’s not hard to imagine that with a larger sample size, he would profile as close to the 42% three-point shooter he was in College Park.
“I talked to Kyle [Korver, assistant general manager], and he told me every time he sees me, it looks like I got better,” Lundy talked about his growth this season. “He said just keep striving in that direction. He said ‘I feel like you’re just a consistent shooter with how you play. My aggression on defense. Just keep developing those skills and the future is real bright,’ for me. So just staying healthy, that’s the most important [thing]. And just being able to perform every night is key for me.”
Seth Lundy was set back by a couple of injury spells and finished the year sidelined, unable to see out the season with the Skyhawks — hence just 12 games of action in the G League. But the two-way impact is very promising, as is the willingness to accept his role and thrive in it.
“I feel like overall this season was a great experience for me,” Lundy said during exit interviews. “I got to learn a lot. Obviously, I battled with some injuries. That’s the number one thing for me this offseason – for me to get healthy so I can reach my full potential.”
My expectation is that Lundy is brought back on another two-way deal and that we’ll see him in Las Vegas with the Atlanta Hawks Summer League team for the second year in a row.