Jock Landale Almost Walked Away from the NBA. Then the Hawks Brought Him Back.

Jock Landale was at a real low point about a year ago. The backup center, who just re-signed with the Atlanta Hawks, admitted on Instagram that he was seriously considering giving up on the NBA and heading overseas. It wasn’t a dramatic exit or a trade demand. It was fatigue.

“I was tired of not being able to compete and do what I love to do on the main stage,” Landale wrote. He said parenthood changed his perspective on the small moments. And a group of people he didn’t name talked him into sticking with it a little longer.

The Hawks acquired Landale after last season’s trade deadline, and he settled in as a dependable reserve behind Onyeka Okongwu. In limited minutes, he put up 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His size and physicality gave Atlanta a different look off the bench, especially against bigger lineups.

The injury that changed everything

Landale missed the end of the regular season and the Hawks’ first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks after getting hurt in a game against Orlando. His absence became obvious fast. Atlanta got bullied in the paint by Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, and there was no real answer on the roster.

The Hawks could have gone a different direction this offseason. Instead, they brought Landale back. No drama, no drawn-out negotiation. Just a mutual understanding that he fit what they needed.

He’ll have something he didn’t get last time: a full training camp and an actual offseason with the team. That continuity matters for a guy trying to carve out a role in a league where backup bigs get cycled through constantly.

Atlanta’s frontcourt gets deeper

The Hawks didn’t stop with Landale. They added Zuby Ejiofor in the first round of the draft and Henri Veesaar in the second. Both are young, athletic bigs who need development but give Atlanta more options. Landale’s experience — and his willingness to do the dirty work — makes him the steady hand in that group for now.

It’s not a glamorous signing. Nobody’s putting a Hawks backup center on a billboard. But for a team that got pushed around inside when it mattered most, a guy who’ll fight for position and finish around the rim is worth keeping around.

Landale put it simply: “Excited for what’s to come with the [Hawks]. LFG.”