It was another strong, albeit injury-shortened season for Okongwu, who continued to prove his status as one of the league’s premier back up big men.
Even though the Atlanta Hawks knew that Onyeka Okongwu likely wouldn’t be a day one starter when they selected him sixth overall in the 2020 draft mere months after acquiring Clint Capela from the Houston Rockets, I think most people at the time would have been slightly disappointed if you had told them that over the next four seasons, he would go on to average just 20.8 minutes a night*, while predominantly serving as a back up center.
*This figure is slightly skewed by Okongwu’s rookie season in which he averaged just 12 minutes per game, but even though his playing time has increased in each year since, he averaged just 25.5 minutes per game last season
After an impressive freshman year at USC, Okongwu earned rave reviews coming out of college, with Sam Vecenie of The Athletic writing the following about him ahead of the 2020 draft:
It’s hard to find centers who can close games because they can credibly protect the rim, rebound and also play switchable coverages on the perimeter with screens. Okongwu can be that player because he’s so strong and physical and has such quick footspeed. Plus, the thing that can’t be underestimated here is his motor. That skill set is in high demand across the NBA. Throw in that Okongwu has professionalism beyond his years as well as work ethic and toughness, it’s easy to see why teams are interested in using a top-10 pick on him. As long as he continues to be a high-level finisher, that will be a worthwhile pick in this draft. Where the upside for Okongwu will be is if he can take any strides offensively as a playmaker and creator. If he does, he has some All-Star potential. If he doesn’t, he’ll still be a high-level starter who plays in the NBA for a long time. He’s one of the players in this draft that I have the most faith in when it comes to becoming a good player on a high-end playoff contender. Outside of the shooting, he doesn’t really have many weaknesses. To answer the first prompt in the weaknesses section, it is worth taking someone like this in the top 10 given the myriad things he brings to the table even though he’s not a creator.
Yet, due to Capela’s presence on the roster and the overlap in their playstyles, as well as Okongwu’s penchant for fouls early on in his career*, some tough luck with injuries, and the simple fact that at 6-foot-8, 240 pounds — on the smaller side for an NBA center — Okongwu has been used in a lesser role than one might have expected given his draft status — making only 37 starts and topping the 30 minutes-played mark just 28 times so far in his NBA career (262 appearances)**.
*Though Okongwu has improved in this area in each year of his career, his foul rate last season (4.5%) ranked in just the 29th percentile amongst all bigs, per cleaningtheglass
**Okongwu has also played in just 24% of the team’s clutch minutes over the past two seasons despite being active for over 80% of their regular season games
Now, with the 4-year, $62 million dollar contract extension Okongwu signed last summer set to kick in, Capela entering the final year of his deal, and Atlanta winning the 2024 draft lottery (giving them the opportunity to select 7-foot-1 big man Alex Sarr amidst a number of other options, if they so desire), not to mention the heat that the front office is reportedly facing from All-Star point guard, Trae Young, to put a winning team around him “or else”, I would not be surprised if Atlanta’s center rotation looked a little different heading into next season.
Without further ado, let’s dig into Okongwu’s performance from the 2023-24 season.
Onyeka Okongwu
In 55 appearances (eight starts) last season, Okongwu averaged 10.2* points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3* assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 61.1% from the floor, and 33.3%* from three (on 1.3* attempts per-game) in 25.5* minutes a night.
*indicates a career-high
While he primarily played the 5, as he had done throughout his career, he even saw some time* at the 4 during December and January as injuries to Jalen Johnson and De’Andre Hunter, combined with Atlanta’s miserable defense, forced Quin Snyder to get a bit creative with his lineup choices in the middle of the season. That the Hawks did surprisingly well during these minutes** speaks to Okongwu’s versatility, though I would hardly consider myself a proponent of these lineups going forwards due to their lack of spacing.
*9% of his minutes; 279 possessions
**Outscoring their opponent by two points per 100-possessions while posting a 114.1 defensive rating
With Capela dealing with a left adductor strain at the beginning of February, Okongwu started in five consecutive contests, averaging 16 points (shooting 64.7% from the floor), 8.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks (and just 3.6 fouls!) in 33.8 minutes per-game, before suffering a left toe sprain on February 12th that effectively ended his season*.
*While he did make a brief return in mid-March, playing 19 minutes in losses to the Lakers and Suns, it was clear that he wasn’t 100%, and was ruled out for the team’s final 14 games of the season.
The injury was a real shame, as it occurred during what was arguably his finest stretch of the season. Nevertheless, I was encouraged by how Okongwu looked when he was healthy.
Scoring
On the offensive end, Okongwu has always been an efficient scorer, and last season was no different. He was the Hawks most reliable interior finisher, converting 74% of his shots inside of four feet, which ranked in the 72nd percentile amongst all bigs last season per cleaningtheglass and was the highest amongst the team’s centers by a fair margin.
Additionally, he showed off a much improved shooting stroke, setting (by far) a career-high in three-point attempts (69), while knocking down an impressive 43% of his corner threes!
*Okongwu had taken just 16 total three-point attempts in his career prior to the 2023-24 season
Though Okongwu won’t be confused for Ray Allen anytime soon — given the low volume of attempts and that he went just 1-for-18 on above-the-break threes last season — the signs of progress in this area were encouraging to see.
Passing
While Okongwu’s assist numbers (1.3 assists per-game, 7.1% assist percentage) might not blow folks away, he’s always had good vision for a big man, and he impressed me with the quality of his assists last season.
He did a good job spotting and rewarding cutters:
Here, Bogdanovic slips the screen and Okongwu hits him in stride for a rare ‘Bogi’ slam.
This (somewhat spontaneous) give and go with Trae Young against Houston was pretty.
This was a nice inbounds play but also a great feed from Okongwu to set up the score.
Part of the reason behind Okongwu’s impressive scoring efficiency around the basket comes down to the fact that he doesn’t take too many contested shots, and this tendency to pass up “good” shots for open ones really helped the offense last season.
Against Chicago, he probably could’ve taken a contested lay-in when he catches the ball, but he notices that he’s drawn the attention of three Bulls’ defenders, keeps his head up, and spots a cutting Saddiq Bey for an open lay-in.
Against Houston, he draws two on the roll, then finds ‘Bogi’ in the corner for an open triple.
Here, he might’ve taken a floater over Hart, but instead finds Jalen Johnson underneath the basket for an easy slam.
Atlanta’s offense looked much more connected with Okongwu in the game, and his playmaking ability at the 5 was a big part of the reason why.
Offensive On/Off Impact
While Okongwu’s scoring and passing ability were great to see, he posted just a 13.7% usage rate and ranked eighth on the team in shot-attempts per game, and his impact wasn’t always evident in the box score.
Yet, as I touched on in an article on the Hawks’ centers back in January, due to his off-ball movement, and the shooting threat he posed from the corners, he had one of the better offensive on/off impacts on the team (+3.6 points per 100 possessions), with Atlanta posting a 120.1 offensive rating* with him on the floor this season compared to a 116.5 offensive rating** when he was on the bench.
*a figure which would have ranked 3rd amongst all teams in the regular season
**a figure which would have ranked 16th in the regular season
Looking at the team’s shot profile (below), you can see that though part of the reason behind the jump in offensive efficiency is due to the decrease in mid-range attempts and the uptick in three-point attempts during his minutes, however perhaps the biggest factor was the improvement in their ability to finish at the rim — an area where Okongwu had a massive impact (and not just due to his scoring ability!)
With Okongwu on the floor, his skillset allowed the Hawks to position him further away from the basket than their other bigs, which pulled the opposing team’s rim protector away from the basket, giving Atlanta more space to attack in the paint.
Here, you can see how Okongwu’s positioning draws Eubanks away from the rim, opening up a seam in the defense for Murray to exploit*.
*Also shoutout Trent Forrest for the no-look dime
Additionally, he did an excellent job using his physicality to create space for his teammates to finish around the basket.
In the clip above, he muscles Mo Wagner out of the way, clearing the way for a clean look for ‘Bogi’.
Though Okongwu set career-highs in points and assists last season, what he did without the ball in his hands was impressive as well and had an underappreciated impact on Atlanta’s offensive success last season.
Defense
Moving on to the defensive end, while the numbers show that it was a rough season for Okongwu, rewatching his games, I didn’t think he was quite as bad as the stats might look.
Okongwu had one of the worst on/off defensive impacts on the team last season, as Atlanta allowed a miserable 122 points per 100 possessions during his time on the floor. He posted career-lows in steal and block percentage, and opponent’s shot 69.1% at the rim with him in the game, per cleaningtheglass — the worst mark since his rookie year.
That being said, there wasn’t a whole lot that he could do to prevent plays like the ones below (all of which came after a Hawks’ make meaning their defense should be set):
Here, Maxey drives right around Murray. Jalen Johnson, who is one man away, doesn’t rotate himself but indicates that Okongwu should, leaving Okongwu’s man (Paul Reed) open for an easy finish.
In the play above, Murray and Young literally run into each other, Grayson Allen springs free, Johnson is late to rotate, and it’s two points for Phoenix.
In this one, Okongwu does a good job walling off the initial drive from VanVleet but Murray misses Green’s cut, and it’s a wide open slam for Houston.
After playing drop coverage for most of his career, Okongwu was asked to play up to the level of the screen a bit more often last season*, and with little* help behind him, opponents had no problems finishing at the rim after clearing the first line of defense.
*likely contributing to the decline in block percentage last season
*literally.
In the play above, Okongwu and Murray have to do a better job containing Cunningham above the three-point line, but once he splits them, it’s just Trae Young protecting the rim, and Cunningham finishes accordingly.
Against Los Angeles, Okongwu forces the ball out of Austin Reaves’ hands, but Max Christie blows right past Garrison Mathews, Okongwu can’t recover in time, and there’s little Murray can do to prevent the dunk.
While he wasn’t perfect on the defensive end, it was obvious that Okongwu was far from the main culprit in the team’s disastrous defensive performance last season. He didn’t look out of place guarding on the perimeter and still managed to tally some impressive swats.
Okongwu’s defensive impact ranked in the 78th and 76th percentiles during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons respectively, and it’s hard to believe that his talent on this end simply disappeared last season.
Due to injuries, he played 44% of his minutes alongside Jalen Johnson and just 24% of his minutes with De’Andre Hunter last season (Atlanta’s two best athletes on the Wing). If the team can put some more size around him next season, I have little doubt that he’ll look better on this end of the floor.
Rebounding
Last but not least, though Okongwu’s individual rebounding numbers took a slight hit* last season, he still did well in this area, ranking in the 70th percentile amongst all bigs in offensive rebounding percentage (10.3%), and in the 49th percentile in defensive rebounding percentage (17.1%).
*In part due to him being positioned further away from the hoop on both ends of the floor, as I’ve discussed
This was also the first time in his career where the team’s offensive and defensive rebounding percentages both ranked in the upper half of the league* with him in the game, so even though he may not have gotten as many rebounds himself, the Hawks were an above average rebounding team on both ends with Okongwu on the floor last season.
*relative to other 5-man lineups with at least 100 minutes played that season, per cleaningtheglass
Conclusion
While Okongwu played well last season and has improved in each year since entering the league, has he shown the Hawks enough for them to entrust him with the starting role next season? It’s a vital question that the team must answer as they decide the best course of action in the weeks ahead.
With Capela entering the final year of his deal at roughly $22 million next season, would the Hawks be better off signing a low cost back up and using some of those dollars elsewhere?
Based on Okongwu’s play last season, how much better the offense looked with him on the court, the fact that he is on a relatively team-friendly deal through the 2027-28 season and still has plenty of room to develop at just 23 years old, I think they should strongly consider giving him the chance.
Disclaimer: All stats used in this article are from basketballreference.com, cleaningtheglass.com, pbpstats.com, or nba.com/stats