Jalen Johnson‘s season-ending shoulder injury prevented the Atlanta Hawks from watching him and Onyeka Okongwu start next to each other. Johnson was in All-Star and Most Improved Player conversations until he tore his labrum against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 23. Okongwu took over the starting center role from Clint Capela, who is a free agent this summer, just three days before and played the best basketball of his career, averaging 15 points and 10.1 rebounds. Next season, they have the opportunity to cement themselves as a frontcourt duo in Atlanta for years to come.
Hawks Will See Frontcourt Of The Future Start Next Season
Their Playmaking Boosts an Already Strong Passing Offense
Johnson was a key secondary playmaker alongside Trae Young in his 35 games. He ranked second on the team at five dimes per contest. Even with his absence, Atlanta finished second in the NBA at 29.6 assists per game. Young spearheads the attack, but Dyson Daniels, Okongwu, and Johnson give the Hawks four above-average passers for their respective positions. Many opponents throw two defenders at the Hawks’ star guard in the pick-and-roll to force others to read the situation. While Atlanta struggles with shot creation in these situations, it has the playmakers and off-ball movers to make the right reads to punish an over-aggressive defense.
Okongwu and Johnson are comfortable making decisions with the ball in their hands on the perimeter. They consistently execute smooth dribble handoffs and find cutters like Zaccharie Risacher and Daniels for easy looks at the rim. However, they do not always need a guard to initiate a play up top. Johnson’s ball-handling and passing vision allow the Hawks to run a 4-5 pick-and-roll with him and Okongwu for results like these.
Talked with @KLChouinard on the pod about how we think Okongwu finishes the play late in the 4Q off of DJ’s somewhat late pass
I think this is another example of a play that Okongwu finishes that Clint maybe doesn’t pic.twitter.com/4gMOiLnYEj
— G Willis (@willis_glen) October 26, 2023
Okongwu has great hands to catch passes in traffic and touch around the basket. He converted 56.7% of his shots at the rim, finishing inside the top 10 in the association.
Quickness Comes in Handy on Both Ends in the Hawks’ Frontcourt
The Hawks pushed the tempo this season for two reasons. They have the athleticism to score in transition but lack shot creation to score easily in the halfcourt. Atlanta finished third in pace and ninth in percentage of points scored on fastbreaks. Johnson and Okongwu fit seamlessly into this system. They can outrun most of their frontcourt matchups to find easy buckets or establish deep position quickly before the defense gets set. Johnson asserted himself as a ferocious finisher, racking up many highlight dunks over the past two seasons.
Capela excels as a drop coverage defender but struggles to defend in space and play at the level of the screen. With the scoring talent on the perimeter across today’s NBA, fewer teams are playing drop-heavy defense. Okongwu gives the Hawks more options with his lateral quickness to defend opposing ball screens or even switch onto guards if needed. No matter which frontcourt defender is engaged in the screen, both Johnson and Okongwu can switch, trap, and hedge to keep opposing guards from generating favorable matchups.
The Hawks’ frontcourt injuries have devastated their playoff chances over the last two campaigns. However, the 2025-26 season will be Johnson and Okongwu’s first major chance to guide Atlanta back toward playoff contention.
© Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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