Portland Trail Blazers fans didn't enjoy the Game 1 result of their first-round series against the Spurs, but what is enjoyable is watching beloved legend CJ McCollum cook for the Hawks. What they'd enjoy even more is seeing him go off for Portland, but that era ended four years ago.
McCollum spent a few years with the Pelicans and half a year in the nation's capital before the Wizards sent him to the Hawks as part of the Trae Young deal. The 34-year-old didn't get the memo that he was supposed to be nothing more than a throw-in.
Quin Snyder moved CJ McCollum into the starting lineup at the end of February, and that switch helped them have one of the best starting fives in the league with a 21.6 net rating. The Hawks climbed up to No. 6 in the East, setting up for a first-round showdown against New York.
McCollum had a team-high 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from three in Atlanta's 113-102 Game 1 loss. He turned around in Game 2 and finished with 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, hitting clutch shots down the stretch to give the Hawks the 107-106 win, tying the series at 1-1.
CJ AGAIN 🛟 pic.twitter.com/SSSY7QW5aq
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 21, 2026
CJ McCollum is turning back the clock with the Hawks
McCollum averaged at least 20 points per game in the three full seasons he spent in New Orleans, and in his two postseason appearances with the team, he averaged 22.2 points (2022) and 17.8 points (2024). In the first half of the season with the Wizards, he averaged 18.8 points, so it's not like he rolled up to Atlanta washed up or anything. You would've thought so if you only paid attention to the discourse surrounding the Young trade.
What is true is that CJ wasn't supposed to be the Hawks' top option in the playoffs, but that's exactly what has happened. McCollum's been aggressive on the offensive end through the first two games, getting an extra boost of energy from an MSG crowd that now despises him.
As fun as it is to see CJ remind everyone who he is, no matter his age, it's also bittersweet to think back to when he was at his peak with the Trail Blazers, and how the organization's trajectory would've changed if he and Damian Lillard had led Portland to a title together.
The closest they ever got was in 2019, when McCollum averaged 26.4 points in the semifinals against the Nuggets, including dropping 37 points in Game 7, to lead the Trail Blazers to the conference finals (you know what happened there).
Seven years later, McCollum is still rising to the occasion when his team needs him most, just in a different setting.
Add us as a preferred source on Google