​An acutely self-aware Kingston Flemings is making his mark in NBA Summer League. The Sporting News first highlighted the Houston freshman turned Hawks lottery pick, who many expected to impact the game from day one, and now he’s proving them right. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. While some rookie point guards create opportunities for teammates, others pressure the rim relentlessly, forcing defenses into constant rotation. Few players blend both styles as effectively as Kingston Flemings, whose blazing speed and sharp live-dribble processing have powered a compelling early chapter in his NBA career.
All young basketball players revise, improve and refine their games as they mature and gain experience, especially those as young as Flemings. The Atlanta Hawks selected the Houston product with the eighth overall pick in a deep 2026 NBA Draft, partly to fortify their future. Yet Flemings appears poised to impact games in ways that many rookies on the floor do not. “The best thing I do is get into the paint and find my teammates,” Flemings told The Sporting News.
Through four Summer League games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Flemings has averaged 10 points, 6.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks. Beyond his scoring (a 42 percent true-shooting pace in the summer), he’s leaving his fingerprints across multiple facets of the game. His blend of paint pressure and live-dribble passing creates a potentially game-breaking primary offensive weapon. Flemings routinely pierced Brooklyn’s defense before dishing to shooters and interior outlets, and his Summer League assist rate (42.2 percent) ranks among the top in the field.
His awareness of opponents’ schemes stands out even in a setting as condensed as Summer League. Brooklyn’s defensive approach shaped how he directed passes, as he explained to The Sporting News: “That was a hedging team [and] a switching team, so I was trying to get to the short roll a lot, get to the skip pass as I do naturally.”
Varied pick-and-roll coverages have challenged Flemings, yet he consistently reads what opponents are trying to give up. Against the pressure of point-of-attack defenders and aggressive ball-screen schemes that often define Summer League play, he slows the pace and threads passes into fleeting windows. On some possessions, his hesitancy closes driving and passing lanes that defenses would otherwise exploit. He’s attempted 31 shots to go with 27 assists so far, a balance that suggests his willingness to score when needed but a priority on creating opportunities for teammates. Timid scoring would undermine even the best passing talents, and for Atlanta’s rookie, embracing his scoring to complement his playmaking is a focal point.
“I get to the paint whenever I want, but a lot of times the second thing I want to do is score,” Flemings said. “The first thing I want to do is pass…When I go score, it creates easy offense for everyone else.” The growth Flemings has shown in this early stage points to a rookie who is learning to balance aggression with playmaking, a combination that could translate into meaningful on-court impact as he continues to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NBA.