What is the most overused NBA trope for the year 2022? Is it "People don't talk enough about X"? Cliché or not, I beg your indulgence to use it one more time when it fits perfectly.
People are not talking enough about Onyeka Okongwu.
In some ways, it makes sense. For both of his two seasons in the NBA, Okongwu has missed out on some preseason hype because it was known that he would not be healthy enough to start the regular season. Additionally, he is playing behind Clint Capela, and by the time Okongwu returned to action, Capela himself had gotten healthy and swung some attention his way with a series of dominating defensive performances.
But make no mistake: Okongwu has been the real deal, and his play passes both the numbers test and the eye test.
Head coach Nate McMillan made a point early in the season of saying that young players were not going to get playing time solely for the purpose of development. They were going to have to earn their minutes. Okongwu did, and the 21-year-old elevated his play from a high starting point to an even greater level.
"He has earned minutes to play, and yes, he's still developing," McMillan said. "That will be the case for the next couple of years. He's a young buck that has a lot of potential. We're seeing his growth."
For the season, Okongwu has averaged 8.2 points and 5.9 rebounds while playing 20.7 minutes per game. Among players who attempted more than 200 shots this season, Okongwu had the fifth-highest field-goal percentage in the NBA: 69.0 percent. He has incredible touch around the rim -- with either hand.
"I'm trying to dunk everything around the rim," Okongwu said, "but I've been working on my shot since seventh grade, predicated on making sure whenever I go, my right hand is going to go with it. I've been working on my right hand – hook, floater – (since the) seventh grade, just the same routine, same motion. And now it's muscle memory."
Of the ten most-used Hawks as measured by total minutes played, i.e., the ones in the regular playing rotation, Okongwu also led the team in net rating. The Hawks have outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 55 games he played.
The remarkable aspect about Okongwu's play does not lie just in the basic stats. It sits somewhere in the little nuances, the stuff that makes you say that he plays more like a 31-year-old than a 21-year-old.
Similarly, here is a pick and a re-pick against the Pacers where Okongwu again plays well with Trae against a trapping Indiana defense that would like to guard Trae with more than one defender. Okongwu does a couple of things here. First, he comes up for the initial screen in a way that doesn't reveal on which side of the play he will set the screen. By waiting until the last possible moment to pick a side, the back defender, Goga Bitadze, has a hard time choosing where to go. Then Okongwu rolls to the hoop and gets in the way of Keifer Sykes when Trae changes direction for an impromptu second screen. As a result, both defenders are gone and Trae gets an open shot.
Okongwu has been catching assists from high-level passers for quite some time now. He began his prep career at Chino Hills High School before his 15th birthday playing with Lonzo and LaMelo Ball. Together, they strung together a 35-0 season, a state title, and a consensus No. 1 national ranking.
"It has been like that my whole life, really," Okongwu said. "In high school I was playing with Lonzo and Melo, and when I was in AAU, I was playing with the Mobley brothers, Evan Mobley and Isaiah Mobley. I've been playing with high-level talent for my whole life. So with that experience, I just know how to play with really good basketball players. I know how to make them better and they know how to make me better, and that's how we mesh on the court. That's why in AAU with the Mobleys, we were so successful. That's why in high school with Melo, we were so successful. We know how to play competitively and we know how to play the right way."
Meanwhile, it is going to be a big week for Okongwu with the Play-In Tournament and two potential matches against old friends. It will start against Charlotte and LaMelo Ball Wednesday, and if the Hawks advance, Okongwu could be playing against Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers on Friday.
Without a doubt, Okongwu will demonstrate in those games the lifelong basketball acumen he has developed through playing with both as teammates.