Okongwu was finally given the reins as starting center midway through the season and did not look back.
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’ mainstay starter at center.
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.
“I have the same approach,” said Okongwu on media day. “I know regardless I’m going to get minutes on the court, my job is to go out there and produce.”
It didn’t 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 — the Hawks’ 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.
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.
“Being more confident out there and shooting more,” said Okongwu on media day when asked what he had worked on over the 2024 summer. “Last year was about shooting the ball but now I’m comfortable shooting out there it’s just about being more comfortable and shooting better.”
“Get them up, just get my reps in,” elaborated Okongwu. “Working on my form, working on perfecting my shooting and muscle memory.”
Initially, the returns on Okongwu’s outside shooting weren’t brilliant, averaging just 18.5% on 1.8 attempts per game in the month of November. As the season progressed, so too did Okongwu’s three-point shooting. A reduction in volume — as well as a reduction in game-time due to a knee injury — 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.
Post All-Star break, however, there was a real uptick in Okongwu’s 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.
Okongwu’s 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’ offense.
“Whenever 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,” said Young when asked about Okongwu’s shooting after a loss against the Spurs. “Most of the time I’m trying to draw someone else’s man. If I’m 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’s a pro any time your big can shoot threes.”
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.
It’s impossible to discuss Okongwu’s 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.
Speaking after the season, Clint Capela was happy for one of his longest-tenured teammates in Okongwu.
“Onyeka is probably of my oldest teammates along with Trae, he’s been here for a long time,” said Capela during the Hawks’ exit interviews. “I’m very happy for him he got the opportunity to show and see how he could help the team.”
From Okongwu’s perspective, he believes he has all the elements required but combining it all together remains the challenge.
“I feel overall I’ve always had the tools, but since I became a starter it’s just putting it all together,” said Okongwu during the Hawks’ exit interviews.
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 — a game without Trae Young and Jalen Johnson — Okongwu’s passing was key in facilitating the Hawks in an unlikely victory against the Chicago Bulls.
Plays like this, finding a cutting Daeqwon Plowden for a dunk:
On the cut, Okongwu finds Dyson Daniels for the assist:
After the game, Snyder praised Okongwu’s ability to find his teammates in a game where the Hawks lacked playmaking.
“I’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the way Onyeka played,” said Snyder. “His ability, I don’t know how many backdoor passes he threw but being able to play through him — particularly without Trae and Jalen, two of our primary ball handlers — that was really big for us too.”
Snyder would again reference Okongwu’s improvements in playmaking later in the season after a late March victory against the Golden State Warriors.
“He’s got really good instincts,” said Snyder of Okongwu’s playmaking. “Guys trust him, we trust him even more. He’s been really effective rolling in those situations where he’s on the perimeter — whether he’s spacing the corner or he’s got the ball at the top of the floor and he’s passing and spacing — those are things that he’s learning to do more and more, and getting more and more comfortable. It’s something he’s worked on, and right now we’re seeing it translate.”
Okongwu would post two career-high 30-point games — one against the Spurs and one against the Magic — both of which Okongwu drained, at the time, career-highs in three-pointers made, with Snyder praising his ability inside and outside.
“O is always physical, but his instincts are getting better and better,” said Snyder of Okongwu after a loss against the Spurs. “Even inside, he’s got a great feel around the rim even with Wembanyama down there and shot fake, he’s got such a good touch. I was glad with the threes, to see him be that aggressive. It’s one thing to take open ones, it’s another to take them when they’re not as open, and he was really definitive in that.”
Okongwu’s efforts were rewarded in a victory against the Pacers in March, with Okongwu’s efforts on the second chance points and points in the paint instrumental down the stretch in a close game.
“O is super versatile, he does it on both ends of the floor,” said Caris LeVert of Okongwu after the win. “He’s super strong in there, you saw late game he got huge rebounds. He’s got great touch. I was on him before the game that he doesn’t have a left hand, but he’s got both hands around the rim. He’s showing the three-point touch as well and he’s talking more defensively, that’s what we need from him out there on that end of the floor. He’s been great for us.”
Overall, it was a career season for Okongwu, averaging 13.9 points per game on 56.2% shooting from the field on nine attempts, 32% on two attempts from three, 75.9% from the free throw line 2.9 free throw attempts, 8.9 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in just under 28 minutes per game in 74 games played, 40 of them as a starter.
Okongwu additionally tried to embrace a leadership role, now one of the most tenured players on the roster alongside Trae Young and Clint Capela.
“Being a leader,” said Okongwu on what he added this season. “Talking to the young dudes — Zach, Mo, Dyson — just trying to help them out on the court when possible.”
When casting an eye back to media day, Okongwu was asked about his goals for the season. This was his response:
“Overall it’s just to be better than my last (season),” said Okongwu on media day on his goals for the year. “Each season I just want to improve on something: efficiency, shooting, something. I just want to see progress on my game.”
Mission accomplished and then some, I would say. It’s been the breakthrough season Okongwu had been searching for. Perhaps not apparently evident in his season-average production (though a glance at Okongwu’s post All-Star break numbers may hint at what’s to come), but he finally broke into the starting lineup and isn’t looking back.