Onyeka Okongwu brutally roasts the Hawks’ newest rivals

The Atlanta Hawks added fuel to their rivalry with the Orlando Magic after Onyeka Okongwu left a few comments on their Tuesday night matchup. During the game, Desmond Bane committed a hard foul on a driving Okongwu that sent the Hawks’ center crashing to the ground. He floated the ball up to Bane’s eye level through the foul, when Bane inexplicably slammed the ball off Okongwu’s head as he pulled his best impression of a volleyball spike.

Bane was ejected for this play after receiving a flagrant foul and a technical foul for the spike. When asked about the incident in practice later in the week, Okongwu first admitted he didn’t know Bane intentionally spiked the ball and was confused as to why he was ejected. 

Okongwu then steered the conversation to Orlando’s early-season struggles, saying, “I can already tell that he's frustrated over there. He's not having the best year. You know, I'd be frustrated too if I was in the position that he was in over there. That he is watching, respectfully, Paolo [Banchero] and Franz [Wagner] take all the shots. It's nothing personal.”

Okongwu's jabs at the Magic confirm their rivalry is real

This is perhaps the most devastating roast Okongwu could have delivered without getting himself into trouble with the league or team. Instead of being upset about the disrespectful nature of the foul or crying that Bane is a dirty player, Okongwu flipped the script by insinuating Bane was merely lashing out, like a kid who bullies his peers to deflect his own pain onto others. He also added fuel to the ongoing dialogue around the Magic’s offensive struggles by subtly suggesting their two stars are ball hogs. 

Okongwu wasn’t done yet, however. He explained that he truly values Mouhamed Gueye coming to his defense, "That's my guy, honestly. We don't really like the Magic. They don't really like us, honestly. He has been beefing with them since last year when they hurt our players. I love Mo for that." 

Okongwu again slipped a nugget of gold in his comment, admitting that a rivalry has officially formed between the two teams. The game Okongwu is referencing was a February 10th matchup in Orlando, where Larry Nance Jr. suffered a right knee fracture and Vit Krejci suffered a lumbar fracture in a six-point victory. Injuries are a part of life in the NBA, but rarely have we ever seen two players break bones in the same game. Gueye and Okongwu are justified in their contempt towards their division rivals.

Okongwu had similar thoughts last season, remarking that “I don’t like [the Magic], they probably don’t like us.” Only this time, Okongwu removed the “probably” from his analysis – he knows they don’t like the Hawks.

Okongwu is loved within the organization, and moments like this show why. The two teams have a four-month break ahead to allow tensions to cool before finishing their four-game series with a pair of matchups on March 16th and April 1st. You won’t want to miss these games.