Surprise in between at Madison Square Garden since it's Onyeka Okongwu who was in the Hawks' major five, for the first time this season, Clint Capela being until now the starting pivot of the club.
Was it a purely tactical choice by Quin Snyder, to better cover Karl-Anthony Towns who spends a lot of time out wide? We won't know (right away) because the Atlanta head coach's post-match conference only lasted two minutes, and no questions were asked about this five major change. .
It is perhaps simply the passing of the baton between the 30-year-old Swiss pivot and his 24-year-old teammate, on whom his coach has been relying more and more recently.
Indeed, he was the one who finished the last four matchesproving extremely valuable, in particular his ability to recover additional possessions on the rebound, notably against Phoenix and Boston.
Even though he was part of Atlanta's “super bench” (with De'Andre Hunter or even Bogdan Bogdanovic), perhaps it is time for Atlanta to fully trust Onyeka Okongwu, extended a year and a half ago by the club and therefore under contract until 2028 with the Hawks. Perhaps this also means that Clint Capela, in the last year of his contract, is more transferable than ever to Georgia…
| Onyeka Okongwu | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | ATL | 50 | 12 | 64.4 | 0.0 | 63.2 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 |
| 2021-22 | ATL | 48 | 21 | 69.0 | 0.0 | 72.7 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 8.2 |
| 2022-23 | ATL | 80 | 23 | 63.8 | 30.8 | 78.1 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 9.9 |
| 2023-24 | ATL | 55 | 26 | 61.1 | 33.3 | 79.3 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 10.2 |
| 2024-25 | ATL | 34 | 24 | 54.8 | 25.9 | 75.6 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 7.6 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 11.5 |
| Total | 267 | 21 | 62.3 | 29.5 | 75.4 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 8.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
