The Atlanta Hawks exercised Onyeka Okongwu’s $8,109,063 team option for the 2023-24 season. This is part of the center’s four-year, .
4 million rookie-scale deal he signed in 2020.
The Hawks’ deadline to pick up their 2023-24 team option was Oct. 31. Okongwu was selected sixth overall by the team in the 2020 NBA Draft.
According to some NBA betting sites, the Hawks have the 17th best odds to win a championship in 2023. However, some sportsbooks are anticipating another playoff appearance.
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The Atlanta Hawks are picking up the fourth-year option of F/C Onyeka Okongwu, sources tell ESPN. He was the sixth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 11, 2022
During his 2020-21 rookie season, in 50 appearances, the center averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Not to mention that he shot 64.4% from the field.
In July 2021, the USC product underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The Hawks ruled him out for the next six months.
Last season, Okongwu posted 8.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 48 games played. He also shot 69% from the ground.
Hawks pick Onyeka Okongwu’s 2023-24 team option
Compared to his teammates on the Hawks, the 21-year-old finished 11th overall in PPG last season, third in rebounding and tied for first with Clint Capela in blocks.
On December 17, 2021, the center made his season debut.
In the Hawks’ 133-115 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Okongwu finished his performance with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 14 minutes of action.
Additionally, in the Hawks’ 121–104 victory over the Sacramento Kings on January 26, 2021, the second-year backup scored a career-high 18 points in 20 minutes played.
He shot 6 of 9 (66.7%) from the field.
During the 2021-22 season, in a game played with the College Park Skyhawks, the affiliate of the NBA G League team, Okongwu closed his outing with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes of action.
When healthy with the Hawks, the center is an excellent rim protector and rebounder.
Looking at his NCAA stats, in 28 starts with USC in the 2019-20 season, the freshman averaged 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2. 7 plugs. Also, he shot 61.6% from the ground.
The Californian finished 12th in points (454) in the Pac-12, seventh in total rebounds (242), second in blocks (76) and first in true shooting percentage (64.5%). He was later selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
While at Chino Hills High School, he was a teammate of the Lonzo brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball. In 2019, the 6’9″ center was ranked 19th on the RSCI Top 100 list.
Onyeka Okongwu is looking forward to playing his first full season in the NBA.
He wants to stay healthy. In the 2021-22 season, the Hawks went 43-39 (.524) and ninth in the Eastern Conference. They lost in five games against the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
