Hawks Rookie Henri Veesaar Tears ACL, Will Miss Entire 2026–27 Season

ATLANTA — The worst news of the Atlanta Hawks’ preseason arrived without a game being played. Rookie center Henri Veesaar tore the ACL in his right knee during a workout on September 15, the team announced, and the 7-foot Estonian is expected to miss the entire 2026–27 season. Surgery is scheduled for October with Dr. Kyle Hammond at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex.

For a 22-year-old who had just signed a four-year contract on July 2 and earned a spot on the 15-man roster, the timing is brutal: days before training camp, with his rookie season — the one every drafted player dreams about — wiped out before it began.

How It Happened

There was no contact, no opponent, no crowd. Just a workout, a wrong plant or a bad landing, and an MRI that delivered the diagnosis every basketball player fears. The Hawks announced the injury on September 21, six days after it happened, confirming the torn right ACL and the season-long timeline.

Veesaar had been competing to be Atlanta’s third center behind Onyeka Okongwu and Jock Landale, with most of his rookie minutes likely ticketed for the G League’s College Park Skyhawks. Now his rookie year will be spent in the training room instead — rehabbing, strengthening, and aiming for a return ahead of the 2027–28 campaign.

The Prospect Atlanta Bet On

The Hawks didn’t draft Veesaar by accident. He was the 52nd overall pick in June’s draft — selected by the Los Angeles Clippers, then traded to Atlanta on draft night for the 57th pick, Narcisse Ngoy, and cash. The Hawks targeted him, and his college résumé explains why.

Veesaar played two seasons at Arizona before transferring to North Carolina for 2025–26, where he broke out: 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game across 31 starts, shooting 60.8 percent from the field and a remarkable 42.6 percent from three-point range for a seven-footer. He was named to the All-ACC second team, finished eighth in the conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding, and was one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation’s top center.

A big man who protects the rim and shoots nearly 43 percent from deep is the modern NBA’s most coveted archetype, and Veesaar’s summer league work — eight appearances, 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, with a 20-point outburst on July 13 — suggested the shooting would translate. He declared for the draft with a year of college eligibility remaining, sliding further than many projections had him, and landed a four-year, $9.3 million deal that now becomes a rehab contract.

A Frontcourt Already Running Thin

The injury stings more because Atlanta’s frontcourt was already depleted. Forward Mouhamed Gueye fractured his left foot and underwent surgery in July, leaving him weeks away from re-evaluation. With Veesaar out, the Hawks are down two young bigs before opening night, carrying 15 guaranteed contracts with no open roster spot to add reinforcements — a squeeze that complicates any trade or signing.

Behind Okongwu, the backup center minutes now fall to Landale, with fellow rookie Zubi Ejiofor also in the mix. It’s a workable rotation, but the developmental pipeline took a double hit: two of the franchise’s young frontcourt investments sidelined at the same time.

From Tallinn to Chapel Hill

Veesaar’s path to the NBA ran through three countries. The Tallinn native came up through Real Madrid’s youth system — one of European basketball’s most demanding developmental pipelines — before crossing the Atlantic for college ball. Two seasons at Arizona showed flashes, but the transfer to North Carolina unlocked everything: the Tar Heels gave him 31 starts and the offensive freedom to show a skill set few seven-footers possess.

The numbers tell the story of a leap. At Arizona in 2024–25, he averaged 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds. One year later at UNC: 17.0 and 8.7, with the three-point percentage (42.6) of a wing and the block rate (1.2 per game) of a rim protector. That two-way combination is why draft analysts had him pegged as a potential late first-rounder — and why his slide to 52nd was one of the draft’s mild surprises. The Hawks, picking up a first-round talent in the second round and flipping the 57th pick plus cash to get him, looked like they’d found value.

Draft night itself was a whirlwind: selected by the Clippers, traded to Atlanta within hours. By July 2 he had a four-year deal. By mid-July he was flashing in summer league — the 20-point game against Boston on July 13 a glimpse of the stretch-five skill set. Eight weeks later, a routine September workout ended the season before it started.

What the Hawks Lose — and Keep

Realistically, Veesaar was ticketed for a developmental year: spot minutes behind Okongwu and Landale, heavy run with the College Park Skyhawks, a season of learning NBA defensive schemes and adding strength. The injury doesn’t change the plan so much as pause it — except that a redshirt year in the G League builds habits, and a redshirt year in the training room builds only patience.

What the Hawks keep is the contract and the rights. The four-year deal signed in July means there is no roster decision to make, no qualifying offer to weigh — just rehab, with the team’s medical staff overseeing every step at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, minutes from the practice facility. For a franchise that has invested heavily in its player-development infrastructure, this is exactly the scenario it was built for.

The Long View

Here’s the case for perspective, and it matters. Veesaar is 22. Modern ACL recovery — especially with a full season to rehab rather than a rushed return — has an excellent track record, and the Hawks’ medical staff at Emory is among the league’s best. Players routinely return from this injury at full strength; the lost season is developmental time, not a derailed career.

There’s also a quiet silver lining in the contract structure: the four-year deal he signed in July means Atlanta retains his rights through the rehab and beyond. The franchise’s investment is protected. The player’s timeline is simply delayed by a year.

Still, none of that softens the human side. A rookie season only happens once. The practices, the first road trip, the first NBA basket — all of it goes on hold while Veesaar learns the loneliest part of professional sports: getting better at basketball without playing basketball. The Hawks will wait. The 2027–28 season is the new target. For now, Atlanta’s most intriguing young big is a spectator, and the season hasn’t even started.