He’s not a big social-media guy.
Still, some of the criticism found its way to Hawks rookie Onyeka Okongwu — it came harsh and swift, as online judgment so often does.
“On Twitter, Instagram, people were tagging me saying, ‘O’s a bust, Okongwu’s a bust, right?’ Okongwu said. “And I’m just looking at my phone like, ‘Damn, already?’”
How that tune has changed in about five months.
“I told myself people are going to end up going back one day and deleting all those tweets,” the Hawks’ No. 6 overall draft pick in 2020 said with a smile, one day after battling well and bringing the energy in the Hawks’ Game 4 win against the Milwaukee, which evened the Eastern Conference Finals at 2-2. “... I don’t really feed into it because the Hawks know what I bring to the table, I know what I bring to the table,” Okongwu said. “People are always going to talk. And hopefully, I can silence the haters one day.”
At 20 years old, Okongwu already has set that path in motion, his game blossoming on this scrappy postseason run.
He has played key minutes for the Hawks behind center Clint Capela, throwing down dunks, showing his defensive abilities on Giannis Antetokounmpo, adjusting on the angle of screens, the timing of rolling to the basket and making different reads if teams front the post.
There’s still more potential to unpack, but Okongwu has shown he has the tools to be successful in the NBA, and what’s more, that he won’t back down from big moments.
“I think his basketball IQ is very high and that has shown, really, throughout this season,” interim Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “... He has a calmness about him. He goes out there, and he’s not afraid. He’s a confident player. He asks a lot of questions about what is needed, what should I do. He’s constantly asking questions to our coaches about things that he needs to do and how to do them. He has shown that growth. He does play as a very mature rookie coming into this league.”
For the most part, it takes years, not weeks or months, for players to truly hit their stride. There’s a steep learning curve as rookies move from college to the NBA, with its different speed, spacing and overall caliber. In Okongwu’s case, he entered with added adversity of COVID-19 taking away summer league and a nagging left foot injury limiting him for the first chunk of the season.
So, he had a little catching up to do.
He missed the first 10 games, then played spotty minutes for months, struggling to find a rhythm when on the floor. He looked dazed. Okongwu describes himself as steady and nonchalant and doesn’t like to get too high or too low. But some “too lows” came along, with many eager to label him a bust after his early struggles.
“When I felt like I wasn’t doing well on the court because I’m just not used to that,” Okongwu said of when those feelings crept in. “Basically, looking lost on the court sometimes. It was a tough way to start the year. … But I’m here for a reason. They drafted me for a reason. So I just keep telling myself just to ‘Stay solid, stay solid.’ During that stretch in April, I think that’s when I started to feel really comfortable out there.”
That coincided with the arrival of veteran guard Lou Williams, who has helped Okongwu’s game take flight. Okongwu points to the double overtime win in San Antonio on April 1 as the first moment he genuinely felt he had adjusted.
John Collins had just sprained his ankle and was out, and Okongwu knew he would need to step up. Williams had given him some encouragement the day before. Okongwu finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a block, and things have trended upward since then.
Over time, he earned the trust of his teammates, coming in on off days and staying late at practice. At this point, team chemistry is a strength.
“They saw how bad I wanted this,” Okongwu said. “I just kept telling them, ‘I just want to play.’ And I just did what I had to do to play. For me it had to be repetition, get reps in the game to learn on the fly basically, and so it just took a while. But, slowly but surely.”
Williams has helped Okongwu believe in himself, know his spots and try not to be robotic; that last one was Okongwu’s pitfall, when he was struggling early in the season. Overthinking things and worrying about making each correct move instead of trusting his instincts and playing more freely.
That free-flowing aspect and his aggression on defense have led him to success in the playoffs, particularly in the second round against Philly and now against Milwaukee. He had seven points, three rebounds and a standout block on Antetokounmpo in Game 4. Okongwu has taken pride in defense since he was young, taking to heart advice that childhood coach Ron Austin gave him: You can have a bad day on offense, but not defense. Defense is all effort.
And the Hawks are taking notice of that effort.
“We just tell him he’s got to have effort, he’s got to come in the game and be the guy outworking people,” wing Kevin Huerter said. “He’s been great. He’s been great the last two series. He had some key plays on Giannis. Just guarding him, making it tough, blocking shots, being bouncy. He’s playing with confidence. That’s what we’ve needed him to do, for sure.”
Okongwu’s main goal in the NBA is to win a championship, and the Hawks are two wins away from that opportunity.
But he’s got another: “At the end of the day, when I look back, hopefully after a long playing career, I just want to make sure I have no regrets. Hopefully down the road, when I look the back, I won’t tell myself I wish I did that, wish I did that. I just wish I can play for the long time in the NBA with no regrets.”
No regrets so far for Okongwu, despite those early bumps in the road.
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