2024-25 Atlanta Hawks player preview: Vít Krejčí

After bursting onto the scene last season, Vít Krejčí will look to build upon his stellar play in 2024-25.

Is there a more beloved 11th man in the NBA?

Vít Krejčí only played in 22 games on a two-way contract for the Atlanta Hawks last season*, though that was all he needed to win over the Hawks’ fandom, as the passion, flair, and determination that he brought to the court provided a much-needed glimmer of joy during the final stretch of a dreary 2023-24 season. Krejčí signed a 4-year deal to keep him in Atlanta this summer, and while he’s likely a long-shot to appear in the opening night rotation, he will be a reliable option to fill in at the ‘2’ or ‘3’ in the event of an injury and should serve as an excellent depth piece for the Hawks this season.

*The majority of which came after the All-Star Break, a notoriously difficult period to evaluate players due to the fact that there are games against team’s whose fates have already been decided for the season, and may be incentivized to play less than full-strength lineups in order to rest their stars for the Playoffs, develop their younger players, or boost their odds of securing a higher draft pick.

A pass-first player with a shaky jump-shot and questionable defensive chops through his first two seasons in the NBA, Krejčí started the 2023-24 season as a free agent before Atlanta snapped him up on a two-way contract last December. The Hawks were familiar with Krejčí’s game, as he had made 29 appearances for them the season prior, but felt that he still needed some more time to develop, and he began his second stint in Atlanta with the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawk’s G-League affiliate.

After suffering a left shoulder subluxation that kept him out for the entirety of January, Krejčí shouldered (sorry) more ball-handling duties for the Skyhawks in February, and averaged 9.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists over his final 10 games in the G-League before an injury to Jalen Johnson against the Cavaliers on March 6 opened up a window of opportunity for him to make an impact in an NBA rotation.

Krejčí* drew a surprise start in Atlanta’s next game against Memphis, going 1-for-5 from the floor and handing out five assists in 22 minutes in an ugly 99-92 win. Then, against New Orleans on March 10, he pulled off what might have been the play of the season: going behind-the-back, then turning on the razzle-dazzle (befuddling new teammate, Larry Nance Jr., in the process) to find Capela for a dunk.

*Who had played just five NBA minutes that year up until that point in the season

I could watch this play on a loop for hours.

With Saddiq Bey unfortunately suffering a torn ACL later on in the same game against New Orleans further depleting Atlanta’s depth on the wing, Krejčí’s spot in the rotation was secure, and he averaged nearly 30 minutes a night over the next 16 games during a critical portion of the season for the Hawks as they fought to avoid missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2020.

While Krejčí’s per-game box score stats from last season won’t blow anyone away — 6.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 24.6 minutes per game — he looked much more confident in his three-point stroke, shooting 41.2% from deep on 3.1 attempts per-game, and consistently impressed with his passing ability.

Though Krejčí’s usage rate (9.8%) was actually the lowest on the entire team, his unselfish style of play* really helped grease the wheels for the offense, with Atlanta scoring a whopping 1.23 points-per-possession** in Krejčí’s 512 (non-garbage time) minutes, a mark which ranked in the 94th percentile relative to other 5-man lineups with at least 100 possessions played last season, per cleaningtheglass.

*Assist-to-Usage ratio of 1.12 which ranked in the 95th percentile amongst Forwards last season

**It is worth noting that Atlanta saw a significant uptick in three-point volume, and an equally significant (likely unsustainable) jump accuracy during these minutes, however I am choosing to push this to the side and be happy for Vít anyways.

Krejčí also showed signs of growth on defense as well last season, an area of his game that is going to be a real swing factor when it comes to his long-term future in the league, and while his foul-rate is a touch high, he took on some really tough matchups last season, and at 6’8” with a 7’ wingspan, has the size and length to be a nuisance on the defensive end of the floor.

Speaking on how he can build upon his performance from last year at media day, Krejčí said:

“[Last season] gave me a lot more confidence. Coming into this year I have a lot more confidence. But still, I know how I achieved that. Just playing simple and playing great defense, that’s what coach wants me to do, and that’s what I want to do. Keep stuff simple, play hard every single possession and guard.”

On the areas of his game that he’s looking to make the biggest leap in this season, he said:

“Being more consistent shooting, and making the right plays. That still comes from the experience, you know more and more games, and we’ve been working a lot on my shot this year, especially with Kyle [Korver] in the beginning of the summer, and it feels really awesome. I just gotta get consistent with it and keep chipping away.”

Though Krejčí will face some stiff competition for minutes this season, he showed what kind of player he is last season, and I expect for him to make the most of his time on the court whenever he is called upon in 2024-25.

I look forward to seeing more plays like the one below this season.

Note: All statistics/videos used in this article are from pbpstats.com, nba.com/stats, basketballreference.com or cleaningtheglass.com.