On December 19, Beijing time, the Hawks officially announced that after continuous evaluation, team guard Kobe Bavkin decided to undergo surgery on January 7, 2025 to solve the problem of instability in his right shoulder, which will be reimbursed this season and is expected to fully recover by the 2025-26 season.

The 21-year-old Kobe Baffkin, the No. 15 pick last season, played in 10 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from three-point range.

It was previously reported that Kobe Bryant Bavkin was the Lakers' number one target in the 2023 draft. At that time, the Lakers, who held the No. 17 pick, wanted to select Bafkin the most, but the Hawks selected Bafkin at 15th, and the Lakers finally decided to choose Hood Schifino.

Lakers reporter Anthony Irwin reported on the incident in March. At the time, he wrote: "According to multiple sources, the unanimous selection within the Lakers is Kobe Bavkin. When he was picked by the Hawks with the 15th pick, the Lakers had to struggle. Sources said the scouting department was more inclined to pick Whitmore after Bavkin was drafted, but Pelinka and other senior personnel were concerned about Whitmore's injury history. Pelinka felt like he saw something special after seeing Schifino's stellar performance at the NCAA Tournament and made the final decision to select Hood Schifino.

In the first two seasons of his career, Bafkin was plagued by injuries and played only 27 games in total, averaging 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, shooting 37.4% from the field and 22% from three-point range. Hood Schiffino has played in 23 games so far in his career, averaging 1.7 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game, shooting 23.9% from the field and 13.3% from three-point range.

Many fans lamented that Bavkin was not much better than Schifino, compared to Jaime Hakes Jr. at No. 18, Podemsky at No. 19 and Whitmore at No. 20 all performed better than them in their rookie season. However, by the second season, all three were in a worse position than they were last year, with Jaime Hakes Jr. and Podzemski in significantly lower form, and Whitmore with no ball to play.