Onyeka Okongwu isn’t shy about asking questions.
The Hawks rookie is extremely observant, per teammate and veteran guard Lou Williams, who always does his best to give good answers and guidance.
“He’s really focused on becoming a really good pro, so I think that’s one of the most important things that a young pro can do, is always keep his eyes open and just try to pay attention and learn as much as he can,” said Williams, playing in his 16th NBA season. “He’s always picking my brain about pick-and-rolls and different things, just going out on the floor. He’s helping himself by trying to be a great pro, asking questions.”
Having Williams around since the Hawks acquired him from the Clippers at the trade deadline, and other veterans on the second unit to guide him, has helped Okongwu take a step forward in the second half of this season. Okongwu continues to flash potential — as the game slows for him, his improvement has been noticeable over the past month or so.
“They’re very helpful,” Okongwu said. “They’ve been in the league for a while. I’m always out there with guys like Lou, (Danilo Gallinari), I’m always out there with them on that second unit, Solomon Hill, too. They just always help me out. They always tell me where to go, keep telling me to hoop instead of think, and that’s really been beneficial for me these past couple weeks, the last month. And it’ll be very beneficial heading into the playoffs.”
Of all the seasons to be a rookie in the NBA, this has to be one of the toughest, so that advice from more seasoned teammates certainly comes in handy. Because of the coronavirus, the league’s calendar was upended, compressed into a tight schedule that severely limits practice time, which is especially tough on guys who are still adjusting to the league. Okongwu also entered with an injury that limited him in the preseason and beginning of the season, as he dealt with a stress fracture in the sesamoid bone of his left foot.
In the first half of the season, under Lloyd Pierce, Okongwu played in 14 games. Under interim coach Nate McMillan, who took over March 1, he has played in 35. Playing more consistently has helped him settle into more of a rhythm as the Hawks’ backup center, behind starter Clint Capela.
His stats don’t jump off the page (4.2 points, 0.6 blocks, three rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game), but the Hawks don’t need him to put up eye-popping numbers — they need him to take time to develop his game, while helping out the second unit. Whether he plays much in the postseason, as rotations tighten, Okongwu has taken a step forward, even if he still has rookie moments here and there.
“It’s all experience,” Okongwu said. “The more reps I get, the more I learn, the better I get. As of right now, I’m just trying to go out there, do what I do, have fun, learn how to stay out of foul trouble. Trying to stay away from picking up ticky-tack fouls, but it’s all a learning experience.”
With his athletic ability, coming out of USC, Okongwu drew comparisons with Miami’s Bam Adebayo. As Okongwu continues in the league, he wants to develop his ball-handling and passing, as Adebayo did.
“I feel like when me and him came out of college, we were the same type of player,” Okongwu said of Adebayo, who played one season for Kentucky. “He developed over the course of these past couple years, me and him started off the same, and then he was able to develop his game these past couple years, how he handles the ball, facilitates. I feel like if I keep working, I can be a top player like him. We have the same build, same athleticism, overall I feel like we’re the same build. So I think over the course of my career, I can have a game like that.”
On Wednesday, Okongwu had 11 points in the Hawks’ 120-116 win vs. Washington, helping the team clinch a Top 6 playoff spot. Toward the end of the third quarter, he had four consecutive points to narrow the deficit to nine, before an eventual fourth-quarter comeback.
In the 135-103 win vs. the Suns (then the top team in the West) on May 5, Okongwu was part of why the bench dominated, turning the game into a complete blowout in the fourth quarter. He finished with a season-high 14 points, to go with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
On defense, he had a scrappy performance in the Hawks’ win vs. Miami on April 23, limiting Adebayo and the Heat to 14 points in the fourth quarter (Okongwu actually started that game and played 28 minutes, with Capela out because of injury).
Overall, he’s showing more good activity on the court, even if it hasn’t translated to the box score yet. While watching film a few weeks ago, power forward John Collins noticed Okongwu throw a cross-court pass out of a short roll. It was an indication that Okongwu’s game is developing.
“You’re just starting to see his game mature, a couple nuances. … That’s really big for O, who, as I say, is really a year removed from high school,” Collins said. “And to come in and be a real player in this league and have to contribute minutes, he’s doing the small things that end up eventually making something big happen. So, we’re all proud of O.”
With more reps, Okongwu has been able to get a feel for what the Hawks want from him, McMillan thinks.
“I think he’s going to be a really good player, solid player, in this league, for a long time,” McMillan said. “He has the skill, he wants to learn, he asks a ton of questions, and that’s what you want from a young rookie, is that he watches film, so he wants to learn. He absorbs what you tell him and he’s a physical player. He doesn’t shy away from contact in the paint.
“He went up against an All-Star (April 23) in Bam, and Bam is very physical in that paint. So he’s done a good job, and as he continues to get minutes and get out there and play, and play in important situations like what we’re facing right now, he’ll get better. He’ll get better with time. But the potential that he has is, I think, unlimited.”
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