De’Andre Hunter likes to joke with Onyeka Okongwu that he actually looks 6-foot-5 instead of his listed height of 6-foot-8. Of course, Hunter is being facetious, but the height disparity between Okongwu and opposing centers is no joke, especially when the opponent is two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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Okongwu doesn’t have the prototypical height of NBA centers, but he has the strength needed to stay in front of guys who are several inches taller, as Antetokounmpo is with his 6-11 height and 7-3 wingspan. Antetokounmpo’s wingspan and strength have helped him develop into one of the greatest players of all time, and few players in the league can contain him from getting to whatever spot on the floor he wants to get to. Okongwu, a second-year player, has shown he’s one of the select few who can go toe-to-toe with Antetokounmpo.
The Hawks snapped their 10-game home losing streak Monday night against the Bucks with a 121-114 win, and Okongwu’s defensive performance on Antetokounmpo was a large reason Atlanta won a much-needed game and avoided tying a franchise-record 11 consecutive home losses.
“Defense is all about effort and the want to guard,” Okongwu said. “That’s how I’ve always been growing up. I’ve just wanted to guard. I feel like it’s a pride thing. I’m always going to take the challenge. I feel like no matter who I guard in this league, I’m always going to do my thing.”
Okongwu has played fewer than a full season’s worth of games in his two seasons but has already shown an ability to guard anyone in front of him. That includes stepping out on the perimeter and sliding his feet against quicker guards. He showed in last season’s playoff run how he could guard Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Antetokounmpo.
What Okongwu showed in the playoffs — and what he has shown this season since returning from labrum surgery and COVID-19 — is that he has the tools necessary to become the team’s center of the future. His size isn’t a deterrent. It’s a strength.
“He’s a lot like me in a lot of ways,” Trae Young said. “We’re small, but we’re smart. He’s small for his position as a big and undersized, but he’s very smart. He’s just a very smart player, and he’s only going to get better on his game as years go on. For right now as a base, he’s a very cerebral player.”
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All night long, no matter what Antetokounmpo threw at Okongwu, the Hawks center responded with his best counter. On the play below, Antetokounmpo spins baseline, Okongwu recovers and blocks the ball, then draws the jump ball by holding the ball with one hand. The strength one must possess to make this play is considerable, and that it was done by a 21-year-old against one of the strongest players in the league should make people’s jaws drop.
ONYEKA. OKONGWU. pic.twitter.com/YCeFHVeP4V
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 18, 2022
“He’s a lot stronger than he looks, and he’s really athletic,” Hunter said. “It’s tough guarding Giannis. He’s going to score. Being able to block his shot a few times and being able to strip the ball, that’s possessions that we get back. He did a hell of a job.”
And it’s not even just the wow plays that made Okongwu’s night against the Bucks special and should make every Hawks fan excited about the kind of player he can become. It’s everything in between that he did for the Hawks to have a chance to beat the reigning NBA champions.
Antetokounmpo is his best when he’s driving full force to the rim because, again, he’s virtually unstoppable when he’s getting downhill. When Okongwu was in the game, Antentokounmpo couldn’t get to the rim.
On this play late in the game, Antetokounmpo wants to back Okongwu all the way to the basket for an easy look, but because of the Hawks center’s lower-body strength, the Bucks star has to settle for a tough turnaround jumper. If he hits this shot, the Hawks are willing to live with it because these are the kinds of attempts you want any opponent to take when you’re on defense:
Because Okongwu wasn’t going to be backed down, Antetokounmpo was forced to figure out other ways to get to his spots. Here, in isolation, Antetokounmpo tries getting to the rim, but Okongwu pokes the ball free and is promptly fouled as he goes for the loose ball.
“As much as bigs like to get mismatches on small guys in the post, they don’t like small guys at their feet and down at their legs,” Young said. “O is a smaller big, but he’s very smart and stays low to the ground. Even him getting that rip and timing it on Giannis is because he’s so smart and low to the ground. You know he doesn’t play above the rim and doesn’t block a lot of shots necessarily — he did get one last game that was big — he’s such a smart player and him being lower to the ground than most bigs, it’s not fun playing him as a big.”
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It’s not just on defense where Okongwu is showing his value. It’s in his ability to finish at the rim where he’s a clear positive. He’s shooting 78 percent from the floor and has made 85 percent of his attempts as the roll man in pick-and-roll actions. Young noted how their timing in the pick-and-roll isn’t as crisp as it will be one day because they haven’t played many minutes together, as Okongwu is usually working with the second unit. But his touch when he gets inside the restricted area is velvety soft. The difference in how he’s able to finish at the rim when compared with Clint Capela this season is obvious.
Capela has missed the past five games with an ankle sprain. That has given Okongwu the opportunity for a larger role, and he’s taken advantage of it. Sure, Okongwu still has a propensity to get into foul trouble early because of how aggressive he is, but it’s obvious that he needs to continue having an important role even when Capela comes back.
“I’m always going to play physical,” Okongwu said. “I’m always going to do what I do. I’m going to be aggressive, physical, foul if I need to. I don’t back down from anyone. That’s how it’s always been and how it always will be. That’s the player I am.”
This is the kind of win that could be the accelerant the Hawks need to turn their season around. They were down 10 with just under seven minutes to play and showed the resiliency to beat a team that entered Monday’s game 23-0 when it takes a lead into the fourth quarter.
The bigger picture is more important than a single regular-season win, though, and in this one, Okongwu showed he has the makings to be special and become a long-term fixture in Atlanta.
(Photo of Onyeka Okongwu, right, tying up Giannis Antetokounmpo for a jump ball: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
