Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu

22-Year-Old CenterC
Atlanta Hawks  NBA  
Atlanta Hawks
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Okongwu ended as the 76th-ranked player in just his second season in the NBA, despite the fact he played only 23.1 minutes per night. In that time, he averaged 9.9 points to go with 7.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.4 blocks, shooting an impressive 64.0 percent from the field. Clint Capela remains in Atlanta and, at this point, is likely to be the starting center once again. While this does put a cap on what Okongwu might be able to do, he has demonstrated the ability to be a must-roster player, even in limited minutes. It's hard to imagine he plays fewer minutes than he did during his sophomore season, placing his projected ADP inside the top 100. Should the Hawks opt to move on from Capela at some point, Okongwu's value could climb into the middle rounds. He scored in double digits during 15 of the final 17 games last season, totaling 30 blocks over that span as well. An improved offensive repertoire could certainly play in his favor, given that Capela is by no means a versatile scorer. Whether it is this coming season or not, Okongwu is definitely a player to hedge your bets on as we move forward. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#149
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $11.92 million contract with the Hawks in November of 2020. Hawks exercised $6.4 million team option for 2022-23 in October of 2021. Hawks exercised $8.11 million team option for 2023-24 in October of 2022.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

Okongwu was born Dec. 11, 2000 in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Nigerian parents Kate and Mike Okongwu. The 6-foot-9 forward attended Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California and started on the varsity basketball team as a freshman. Also as a freshman, he was teammates with the three Ball brothers -- Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo. That season, the team secured a 35-0 record and won the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division State Title. Okongwu shared MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honors with LaMelo Ball. Later, as a junior, Okongwu earned the California Mr. Basketball title after averaging 28 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game. He repeated the next season, becoming just the fifth player ever to do so. In college, Okongwu played one season at USC, earning First-team All-Pac-12 honors before declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft. He wears jersey No. 21 to honor his late brother. It didn't take long for Okongwu to establish himself as one of USC's best players on both ends of the floor, and the consensus top-30 recruit went on to take home 2019-20 first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He began his collegiate career with back-to-back 20-point games against Florida A&M and Portland. Shortly thereafter, he set what would end up has his college career high of 33 points Nov. 19 against Pepperdine. Okongwu ended up with 11 double-doubles in his first and only season with the Trojans, posting a career-best 14 rebounds on two separate occasions. At the end of the year, he led the Pac-12 in virtually every shooting percentage metric: field-goal percentage, effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage, in addition to PER. He was also second in the conference in offensive rebounds and seventh in total rebounds. The Trojans ended the season on a three-game winning streak and were set to compete for a NCAA Tournament bid via the Pac-12 tournament, but both events were ultimately canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Returns to bench
CAtlanta Hawks
April 11, 2023
Okongwu isn't in the starting five for Tuesday's Play-In Game versus Miami.
ANALYSIS
Clint Capela will replace Okongwu in the starting lineup Tuesday after missing the previous game with a calf injury. Okongwu will likely serve as Atlanta's primary backup center, averaging 12.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 20.0 minutes across his last 10 appearances coming off the bench.
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Stat Review
How does Onyeka Okongwu compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
67.8%
 
Effective Field Goal %
64.2%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
2.6%
 
Free Throw Rate
39.4%
 
Offensive Rebound %
12.6%
 
Defensive Rebound %
21.6%
 
Total Rebound %
17.0%
 
Assist %
5.8%
 
Steal %
1.3%
 
Block %
5.0%
 
Turnover %
10.8%
 
Usage %
15.1%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
25.1
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.1
 
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Total
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How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Historical ADP
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Hawks Depth Chart
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Hawks Rotation: Minutes Breakdown
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Average Fantasy Points
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Onyeka Okongwu was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Fouls remain a storyline
CAtlanta Hawks
September 18, 2023
Okongwu limited opponents to 48.7 percent shooting at the rim last season, but Atlanta ranked in the 13th percentile for foul rate when he was on the court, per CleaningTheGlass.
ANALYSIS
Okongwu finished with just under 1,900 minutes played last season, which nearly doubled his playing time from 2021-22. However, the problematic foul rate matched Okongwu's career sample through three seasons thus far. With per-36 minute averages of 15.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, Okongwu is capable of making a huge impact, but it remains to be seen if he can stay out of foul trouble.
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
The to-be third-year center missed the start of last season due to right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Okongwu didn't make his season debut until mid-December and expectedly functioned as the backup center to Clint Capela. However, the USC product also stole some minutes from the veteran. Okongwu ended up seeing 20.7 minutes per game, averaging 8.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 combined blocks-plus-steals. He also shot an impressive 69.0 percent from the field and was fantastic on the offensive glass (4.1 ORB per 36 minutes). It's easy to forget Okongwu was the sixth overall pick in 2020 since he's been coming off the bench and has played only 98 total games, but the upside is there, and the Hawks are starting to feel more confident allotting him time over Capela. Despite playing hardly 20 minutes per night, Okongwu managed to rank 146th in per-game fantasy production, which made him viable as a streaming option in standard leagues given that center is a position of scarcity. Capela still figures to start this season, so Okongwu remains a late-round flier for standard leagues. However, Okongu's early returns have been encouraging and certainly warrant strong interest for fantasy managers in dyntasy/keeper leagues.
Okongwu, the sixth overall pick in 2020, was a backup to Clint Capela as a rookie. He saw 12.0 minutes per game and averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 64.4 percent from the field. He showed good upside as a defender, posting 2.0 blocks and 1.4 steals per 36 minutes. Okongwu won't be available to start the 2021-22 season. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is expected to be out until late January. In the meantime, Gorgui Dieng and John Collins should see extra center minutes. Once Okongwu returns, he's still stuck behind Capela, so he has little upside this season. There's still reason to hang onto Okongwu in dynasty leagues, but it won't pay off until he's in a better situation.
The big man had a strong freshman season at USC, where he appeared in 28 contests and averaged 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.7 blocks. With both Clint Capela and John Collins currently in place, the Hawks will likely bring Okongwu off the bench this season. Fantasy-wise, he projects to provide strong field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks numbers down the road. For this season, however, Okongwu will likely only be worth a flier in deeper leagues.
More Fantasy News
Nears double-double in start
CAtlanta Hawks
April 9, 2023
Okongwu closed with 10 points (4-7 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 1-2 FT), nine rebounds, two assists and one steal in 26 minutes during Sunday's 120-114 loss to the Celtics.
ANALYSIS
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Starting season finale
CAtlanta Hawks
April 9, 2023
Okongwu will start Sunday's game at Boston, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
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Flashes upside again in loss
CAtlanta Hawks
April 8, 2023
Okongwu contributed 10 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3Pt), eight rebounds and two blocks across 20 minutes during Friday's 136-131 overtime loss to the 76ers.
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Big night off bench
CAtlanta Hawks
March 29, 2023
Okongwu registered 21 points (5-5 FG, 11-12 FT), nine rebounds and three blocks over 20 minutes off the bench during Tuesday's 120-118 win over the Cavaliers.
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Thrives off bench in loss
CAtlanta Hawks
March 23, 2023
Okongwu racked up 14 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 2-3 FT), seven rebounds, one assist and three blocks across 19 minutes during Wednesday's 125-124 loss to the Timberwolves.
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