Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic has not had the easiest of seasons. But amid the challenges, he has not let his focus waver in finding ways to try to help his team win.
“When I was younger, I was happy, you know, to score and lose, but you do it so many times that that doesn’t drive you,” Bogdanovic told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in November. “You get driven by wins and helping teammates feel good around you and being with you on the floor. So, that all helps, honestly, so I just want to try and help the teammates get out there.”
Sometimes, his teammates can see his impact outside of games and in practice. On Monday, following the Hawks practice, Bogdanovic took his usual post-practice shots alongside rookie Zaccharie Risacher and Garrison Mathews.
After the three finished their shots, Bogdanovic hung back with Risacher, and the two chatted about ways to attack the basket. At one point, Bogdanovic demonstrated some jab-steps, and Risacher followed along and repeated the motions.
“Bogi is a great player, smart veteran,” Hawks guard Dyson Daniels said. “Can shoot the ball. He’s smart on defense. He knows where to be, is in the right spot. So obviously having a guy like Bogi helps.”
This season, Bogdanovic has averaged 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on roughly 35% 3-point shooting in 17 games. Bogdanovic has taken on some of the Hawks’ ballhandling in the minutes where starting point guard Trae Young goes to the bench, and he continues to provide them with optimal spacing because he remains a threat from deep.
But coming off helping Serbia to a bronze medal at the Olympics in the summer, Bogdanovic has dealt with a couple of injuries that have kept him out of multiple games. So, it has been tough for him to find a rhythm.
“I mean, I think he’s been out for a little while,” Hawks center Clint Capela said. “I feel like the lineup has been changing. I mean, the rotation has been changed a lot, with guys hurt, guys coming back, guys playing well, guys getting hurt again. So I understand the feeling that he had feeling this way. But, I also think that he’s just getting back also. So, I think he should also trust the process in that it might take a couple of games for him to really get his rhythm back.”
This season, Bogdanovic has dealt with a right hamstring injury, as well as a left lower leg contusion.
With his return to the rotation, though, Bogdanovic has leaned on his experience playing with professional teams in Europe and with Team Serbia, where they utilized his skills as a passer. Plus the Hawks have utilized more players, including Bogdanovic, forwards De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson, to set screens for Young.
“I’m just trying to use my experience,” Bogdanovic said. “Because, like my coaches in Serbia said, ‘If you don’t use experience, (it’s) same like you don’t have it.’ So, being pretty much in all different situations on the floor, just trying to read the play with whoever I am. I know what my teammates are capable of. So I’m just trying to help them drive or get me open, or get them open, or whatever is the case on the floor.”
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