The Atlanta Hawks made a firm and long-awaited commitment to Onyeka Okongwu at the 2026 NBA trade deadline. By sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta seemed to endorse Okongwu as its starting center of the future.
As the 2026 NBA Playoffs near and the Hawks hope to end their postseason drought, however, they desperately need Okongwu to fix his streaky tendencies and become the player he's capable of.
Okongwu has turned in a memorable 2025-26 season. He's recording career-best averages in points, assists, steals, and three-point field goals made per game, and has made more starts than he had between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns combined.
Okongwu has also become a more assertive player on the offensive end of the floor, taking a more hands-on approach to both the scoring and playmaking elements of the system.
For as encouraging as that's been, Okongwu continues to run into the same wall that he encountered during his first five seasons. Every time it seems as though he's fully embracing an assertive mentality, he reverts to passive tendencies that disrupt his progress.
If the Hawks are going to realize their full potential with Okongwu in the starting lineup, then they'll need him to figure out what the ideal middle ground actually is.
Onyeka Okongwu must find middle ground between assertive, passive
Okongwu's past 21 games have epitomized the dilemma at hand. He produced a 12-game stretch during that time, for instance, in which he averaged 15.4 points, 1.5 blocks, and 2.5 three-point field goals made on .515/.492/.700 shooting.
In the nine games since, however, he's averaged 10.1 points, 1.0 block, and 1.0 three-point field goal made on .440/.257/.667 shooting.
In addition to being less efficient, he's been far less assertive in finding his shots. He's gone from averaging 10.8 field goal attempts per game during the aforementioned 12-game stretch to just 8.3 over the past nine.
A case could be made that he's adapting to inefficiency by finding other ways to contribute, but there's been a sense of trepidation in multiple phases of the game.
Moving forward, the Hawks need Okongwu to be able to impose himself on games more consistently. He's a critical piece of the puzzle, but instead of taking the proverbial backseat, Atlanta needs him to consistently star in his role.
Okongwu is the perfect on-paper fit alongside All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, but they need him to find a healthier baseline level of performance if the duo is going to flourish.