Onyeka Okongwu

Okongwu ended as the 76th-ranked player in just his second season in the NBA, despite the fact he played only 23.1 minutes per night. In that time, he averaged 9.9 points to go with 7.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.4 blocks, shooting an impressive 64.0 percent from the field. Clint Capela remains in Atlanta and, at this point, is likely to be the starting center once again. While this does put a cap on what Okongwu might be able to do, he has demonstrated the ability to be a must-roster player, even in limited minutes. It's hard to imagine he plays fewer minutes than he did during his sophomore season, placing his projected ADP inside the top 100. Should the Hawks opt to move on from Capela at some point, Okongwu's value could climb into the middle rounds. He scored in double digits during 15 of the final 17 games last season, totaling 30 blocks over that span as well. An improved offensive repertoire could certainly play in his favor, given that Capela is by no means a versatile scorer. Whether it is this coming season or not, Okongwu is definitely a player to hedge your bets on as we move forward.

The to-be third-year center missed the start of last season due to right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Okongwu didn't make his season debut until mid-December and expectedly functioned as the backup center to Clint Capela. However, the USC product also stole some minutes from the veteran. Okongwu ended up seeing 20.7 minutes per game, averaging 8.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 combined blocks-plus-steals. He also shot an impressive 69.0 percent from the field and was fantastic on the offensive glass (4.1 ORB per 36 minutes). It's easy to forget Okongwu was the sixth overall pick in 2020 since he's been coming off the bench and has played only 98 total games, but the upside is there, and the Hawks are starting to feel more confident allotting him time over Capela. Despite playing hardly 20 minutes per night, Okongwu managed to rank 146th in per-game fantasy production, which made him viable as a streaming option in standard leagues given that center is a position of scarcity. Capela still figures to start this season, so Okongwu remains a late-round flier for standard leagues. However, Okongu's early returns have been encouraging and certainly warrant strong interest for fantasy managers in dyntasy/keeper leagues.

Okongwu, the sixth overall pick in 2020, was a backup to Clint Capela as a rookie. He saw 12.0 minutes per game and averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 64.4 percent from the field. He showed good upside as a defender, posting 2.0 blocks and 1.4 steals per 36 minutes. Okongwu won't be available to start the 2021-22 season. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is expected to be out until late January. In the meantime, Gorgui Dieng and John Collins should see extra center minutes. Once Okongwu returns, he's still stuck behind Capela, so he has little upside this season. There's still reason to hang onto Okongwu in dynasty leagues, but it won't pay off until he's in a better situation.

The big man had a strong freshman season at USC, where he appeared in 28 contests and averaged 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.7 blocks. With both Clint Capela and John Collins currently in place, the Hawks will likely bring Okongwu off the bench this season. Fantasy-wise, he projects to provide strong field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks numbers down the road. For this season, however, Okongwu will likely only be worth a flier in deeper leagues.