The Atlanta Hawks aren’t expected to be amongst the league’s elite this year. Since a surprising Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2021, they have yet to win a playoff series. During the offseason, the team dealt former All-Star Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans.
There’s still hope for a Play-In Tournament berth though. In large part, that’s due to some teams expected to be non-competitive in the East, such as the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. Atlanta beat said Brooklyn team in their regular season opener on Wednesday by the score of 120-116.
In that game, guard Kobe Bufkin was unavailable to play. With the update provided on Thursday, it seems as if he won’t be available to play for quite a few more games.
2023 NBA First Round Pick Suffers Second Shoulder Dislocation
Bufkin Also Sustained The Injury Prior To Summer League
Unfortunately, it may be a while before the Hawks and their fans are able to see Bufkin on a basketball court. Atlanta announced on Thursday that the second-year player has sustained a dislocated right shoulder. It’s not the first time that injury has occurred to his right shoulder since the 2023-24 season came to a close.
Bufkin, who turned 21 years old on September 21, missed all of the 2024 Summer League. A dislocated right shoulder suffered in practice forced him to sit out. While disappointing, Bufkin rehabbed to ensure that he could at least be ready to start the beginning of the regular season.
It looked like that would be the case for Bufkin until last weekend. Last Saturday, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard once again injured his right shoulder. It was announced that Bufkin would not dress for their game on Wednesday against the Nets. It’s now known that he will be out far longer than just the regular season opener, although no official timetable has been revealed yet. It continues what has been bad injury luck for Bufkin since being drafted.
Also Was Injured For Much Of His Rookie Season
The Hawks selected Bufkin with the first pick outside of the lottery (15th overall) in the 2023 NBA Draft. Prior to being drafted, Bufkin spent two years playing collegiately for the Michigan Wolverines. In his sophomore season, he was named Third Team All-Big Ten. He parlayed that successful year with the Wolverines into entering his name for the draft.
It wasn’t shoulder injuries that sidelined Bufkin during his rookie season of 2023-24. First, he fractured his thumb in early November. Later in early March, Bufkin sprained his left big toe, an injury that sidelined him nearly a month.
Altogether, Bufkin only received action in 17 games for a total of 196 minutes for the Hawks last season. He posted averages of 4.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. In his brief NBA time, Bufkin shot 37.0% from the field, 22.5% from three-point territory, and 4-8 from the charity stripe.
Bufkin also played in 14 games for the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate. Playing 31.9 minutes per contest, Bufkin averaged 23.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals with the G League team. His shooting splits were .446/.356/.829.
