Henri Veesaar can put the disappointment of his slide in the NBA Draft behind him because Onsi Saleh made it clear that the Atlanta Hawks are excited to have former Tar Heels big man in the organization.
After a tense two days, the Hawks selected Veesaar with the 52nd pick in the NBA Draft. Veesaar had been projected to go late in the first round or, at worst, within the first few picks of the second round, but as the night went on it was clear that things hadn't gone as planned. What made matters worse was the disclosure from various sources that Veesaar would have had a multi-million dollar NIL deal had he decided play another year for North Carolina.
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But there's no reason for Veesaar to look back now and Saleh said that the Hawks are happy to have a player with his skill set on the roster and are committed to making sure Veesaar has a successful pro career.
"His ability to make reads, passes, offensively he's absolutely elite. The spacing he's going to provide and, defensively, with rim protection and shot blocking," Saleh said during the introductory press conference. "I was shocked that he was there, and we were able to trade up to go get him. We were jumping up and down. We got really lucky there. In the NBA, if you don't have stretch bigs it's going to be hard to figure this stuff out."
Henri Veesaar talks about being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks
With Hubert Davis was on hand to hear Veesaar introduced as one of the newest members of the Hawks, the 22-year-old center talked about the journey he made from Tallinn, Estonia to get to the NBA. Veesaar transferred to North Carolina after spending three years at Arizona and became a second-team All-ACC performer while posting 17 points and 8.7 rebounds a game while shooting over 40 percent on 3-pointers.
Hubert Davis was on hand as the Atlanta Hawks introduced Henri Veesaar and their other draft picks. The Hawks were “shocked” and thrilled to get the Estonian former #UNC center, who explained how the Hawks would be a good fit for him. Story link in replies.
— R.L. Bynum (@RL_Bynum) June 25, 2026
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"Knowing that I come from a small country and being able to see that the hard work is paying off and being able to finally get to the NBA level is a special moment. You feel like the blood, sweat and tears paid off," Veesaar said.
As a second-round pick, Veesaar knows he's not going t be given anything. His first chance to show the Hawks that he's ready to be on the opening-day roster will come in a few weeks when the NBA Summer League begins. Veesaar said that he is eager to begin the process, learn from his new coaches and teammates and show the Hawks that they were right to be excited to have him in the fold.
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"Maybe you have done something your whole life one way and some new coach or new players do it another way," Veesaar added. "You're able to keep what you did before and also add in the new stuff. Just keeping an open mind to it and diving in with two feet."
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