Onyeka Okongwu began this season in essentially the same position as he has for the majority of his career up to this point: a center with potential coming off the bench backing up Clint Capela. Beginning the first year of a very team friendly four-year, $64 million deal, Okongwu could be forgiven for wondering if he was every going to get his chance become the Hawks\u2019 mainstay starter at center. <\/p>\n
During the 2023-24 season, Okongwu began to see more and more opportunities closing games of Clint Capela, but the opportunity to start at center did not come for Okongwu to begin the 2024-25 season. Okongwu was asked on Atlanta Hawks media day what his mentality was between starting and coming off the bench, acknowledging that irrespective of his starting role that he would see playing time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have the same approach,\u201d said Okongwu on media day. \u201cI know regardless I\u2019m going to get minutes on the court, my job is to go out there and produce.\u201d<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take long for Okongwu to set a new career mark (previously 22 points heading into this season), bringing that production by scoring 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting against the Brooklyn Nets on October 23rd \u2014 the Hawks\u2019 opening game of the season. This was even more impressive given that Okongwu had been working his way back from lingering injury and restrictions during the preseason but hit the ground running on what would turn into his most successful season yet.<\/p>\n
Okongwu looked to build upon the potential he began to show in the 2023-24 season where he began to showcase the occasional three-point attempt, and heading into the 2024-25 season this was a greater point of emphasis.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing more confident out there and shooting more,\u201d said Okongwu on media day<\/a> when asked what he had worked on over the 2024 summer. \u201cLast year was about shooting the ball but now I\u2019m comfortable shooting out there it\u2019s just about being more comfortable and shooting better.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet them up, just get my reps in,\u201d elaborated Okongwu. \u201cWorking on my form, working on perfecting my shooting and muscle memory.\u201d<\/p>\n Initially, the returns on Okongwu\u2019s outside shooting weren\u2019t brilliant, averaging just 18.5% on 1.8 attempts per game in the month of November. As the season progressed, so too did Okongwu\u2019s three-point shooting. A reduction in volume \u2014 as well as a reduction in game-time due to a knee injury \u2014 saw Okongwu shoot 42% on an average of one attempt per game before this naturally regressed to a consistent 33% on 1.7 attempts between January and February. <\/p>\n Post All-Star break, however, there was a real uptick in Okongwu\u2019s three-point percentages, 38% from three on 2.7 attempts per game in 26 games after the break. Prior to the break, through 48 games, Okongwu averaged 27% on 1.6 attempts.<\/p>\n Okongwu\u2019s ability to spread the floor not only opens up opportunities for himself but his teammates too, with Trae Young detailing what exactly it opened up for his game and the Hawks\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever you have a big who can space and shoot threes, it always make it easier for a guard, especially for someone like me who likes getting into the paint and get into creases,\u201d said Young when asked about Okongwu\u2019s shooting after a loss against the Spurs<\/a>. \u201cMost of the time I\u2019m trying to draw someone else\u2019s man. If I\u2019m able to get downhill and my man is chasing after me and the big is in front of me, I know my big is there ready to shoot. It\u2019s a pro any time your big can shoot threes.\u201d<\/p>\n The shooting post All-Star break is extremely encouraging from Okongwu, and the hope will be that he can hit the ground running, picking up where he left off not just in attempts per game but percentage, too. <\/p>\n It\u2019s impossible to discuss Okongwu\u2019s season without discussing him finally being inserted into the starting lineup while Clint Capela was healthy, marking a clear change in direction from the Hawks at the starting center spot. Okongwu finally got the nod as the starting center on MLK Day against the New York Knicks, scoring 14 points in a road loss. Ironically, the Hawks would lose the first five games in which Okongwu started, but the Hawks continued to have faith that they made the right decision. <\/p>\n Speaking after the season, Clint Capela was happy for one of his longest-tenured teammates in Okongwu. <\/p>\n \u201cOnyeka is probably of my oldest teammates along with Trae, he\u2019s been here for a long time,\u201d said Capela during the Hawks\u2019 exit interviews. \u201cI\u2019m very happy for him he got the opportunity to show and see how he could help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n From Okongwu\u2019s perspective, he believes he has all the elements required but combining it all together remains the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel overall I\u2019ve always had the tools, but since I became a starter it\u2019s just putting it all together,\u201d said Okongwu during the Hawks\u2019 exit interviews. <\/p>\n Okongwu continued to demonstrate his many abilities, including his improving passing abilities. In a game against the Chicago Bulls just prior to the lineup change \u2014 a game without Trae Young and Jalen Johnson \u2014 Okongwu\u2019s passing was key in facilitating the Hawks in an unlikely victory against the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n Plays like this, finding a cutting Daeqwon Plowden for a dunk:<\/p>\n On the cut, Okongwu finds Dyson Daniels for the assist:<\/p>\n After the game, Snyder praised Okongwu\u2019s ability to find his teammates in a game where the Hawks lacked playmaking.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be remiss if we didn\u2019t talk about the way Onyeka played,\u201d said Snyder<\/a>. \u201cHis ability, I don\u2019t know how many backdoor passes he threw but being able to play through him \u2014 particularly without Trae and Jalen, two of our primary ball handlers \u2014 that was really big for us too.\u201d<\/p>\n Snyder would again reference Okongwu\u2019s improvements in playmaking later in the season after a late March victory against the Golden State Warriors<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got really good instincts,\u201d said Snyder of Okongwu\u2019s playmaking. \u201cGuys trust him, we trust him even more. He\u2019s been really effective rolling in those situations where he\u2019s on the perimeter \u2014 whether he\u2019s spacing the corner or he\u2019s got the ball at the top of the floor and he\u2019s passing and spacing \u2014 those are things that he\u2019s learning to do more and more, and getting more and more comfortable. It\u2019s something he\u2019s worked on, and right now we\u2019re seeing it translate.\u201d<\/p>\n Okongwu would post two career-high 30-point games \u2014 one against the Spurs and one against the Magic \u2014 both of which Okongwu drained, at the time, career-highs in three-pointers made, with Snyder praising his ability inside and outside.<\/p>\n \u201cO is always physical, but his instincts are getting better and better,\u201d said Snyder of Okongwu after a loss against the Spurs.<\/a> \u201cEven inside, he\u2019s got a great feel around the rim even with Wembanyama down there and shot fake, he\u2019s got such a good touch. I was glad with the threes, to see him be that aggressive. It\u2019s one thing to take open ones, it\u2019s another to take them when they\u2019re not as open, and he was really definitive in that.\u201d<\/p>\n Okongwu\u2019s efforts were rewarded in a victory against the Pacers in March, with Okongwu\u2019s efforts on the second chance points and points in the paint instrumental down the stretch in a close game.<\/p>\n