Hawks’ Onyeka Okongwu is showing toughness, tenacity to develop into a two-way star
New York TimesDe’Andre Hunter likes to joke with Onyeka Okongwu that he actually looks 6-foot-5 instead of his listed height of 6-foot-8. For right now as a base, he’s a very cerebral player.” All night long, no matter what Antetokounmpo threw at Okongwu, the Hawks center responded with his best counter. 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.” It’s not just on defense where Okongwu is showing his value. 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.