Mouhamed Gueye ranks as the 16th best defender in the NBA by D-DPM, the league’s most trusted advanced analytic.
If you watch the Atlanta Hawks, you immediately recognize Gueye’s impact when on the floor. Gueye is perhaps the most mobile player player of his size in the league, standing 6’11 with a 7’3 wingspan. His twitchy burst and incredible motor make him a true force to be reckoned with when meeting drivers in help defense or when guarding a star power forward.
But even Hawks fans would be surprised to see Gueye ranked so highly. After all, he’s played 46% of his minutes at center, but he really is a power forward.
When Atlanta acquired Kristaps Porzingis, everyone knew that The Unicorn would miss time. What was unexpected, however, was just how little he would play – less than 20% of available minutes as of January 31st and a sharp decline from seasons past. With Onyeka Okongwu as the team’s only center, Gueye was thrust into the backup five role.
Gueye flashed his All-Defense potential despite being out of his wheelhouse
I personally didn’t enjoy watching Gueye play center. He was certainly the best option Quin Snyder had at his disposal, and he did a fine job in this role. But centers and power forwards play an inherently different role on the defensive end – playing the five muted Gueye’s strengths and exposed his weaknesses. He would be bullied by beefier centers, and his replacement on the perimeter (Asa Newell, primarily) was nowhere near the one-on-one defender Gueye is.
The Hawks finally addressed this issue after signing Christian Koloko, who has thrived in his center role. Now the Hawks have three NBA-caliber centers, which theoretically allows Gueye to slide back to the four. (Of course, in typical Hawks fashion, the Okongwu-Koloko duo came to an abrupt pause when OO suffered a horrifying “dental fracture.” This is a short-term injury; Okongwu could be back as early as Tuesday.)
Gueye is one of the best bigs in the league at being in the right spots and using his quick hands. His 2.4% steal rate puts him in the top 6% of PFs, and opponents shoot 4.2% worse with Gueye defending. His impact at the rim is particularly inspiring, holding opponents to a whopping 8.4% worse than average at the rack.
Gueye will slide back to the four after Okongwu heals, where his impact will only continue to shine.