Onyeka Okongwu (born December 11, 2000) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

. Okongwu was a four-year starter at

Chino Hills High School Chino Hills High School, abbreviated CHHS, is located in Chino Hills, California, United States and is a public comprehensive high school serving a student body from three cities in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was establ ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, playing alongside Lonzo and

LaMelo Ball LaMelo LaFrance Ball (born August 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. ...

. As a freshman, he helped his team win the state championship and achieve national success, while being named MaxPreps co-National Freshman of the Year. In his junior and senior seasons, Okongwu led Chino Hills to two more state titles, earning back-to-back California Mr. Basketball honors. He was considered a five-star

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and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

. In his only college season, Okongwu played for USC and was named to the first team All-Pac-12.

High school career

Okongwu attended

Chino Hills, California Chino Hills (''Chino'', Spanish for "Curly") is a city located in the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, California, United States. The city borders Los Angeles County on its northwest side, Orange County to its south and southwest ...

and started on the varsity basketball team since his freshman season. In his first year, he was teammates with brothers Lonzo, LiAngelo, and

, who helped elevate the team into the national spotlight. His team ranked number one in the country with a 35–0 record and captured the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

(CIF) Open Division state title. Okongwu shared MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honors with his teammate, LaMelo Ball, after averaging 7.9 points, 7.2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 3.1 blocks per game. As a sophomore, Okongwu helped Chino Hills reach the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

Open Division semifinals and the CIF State Southern Regional semifinals. In his junior season, he led his team to CIF Southern Section Division I and CIF Division I championships. He averaged 28 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks per game, earning California Mr. Basketball and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' All-USA California first team honors. As a senior, Okongwu led Chino Hills to a runner-up finish at the CIF Southern Section Division I tournament and its second consecutive CIF Division I state title. After averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, and four assists per game, he repeated as California Mr. Basketball, becoming the fifth player to ever do so, and received ''USA Today'' All-USA California first team distinction.

Recruiting

Okongwu finished his freshman season with offers to play college basketball for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and USC. On May 14, 2018, he committed to USC over UCLA and

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He was drawn to the program because of its proximity and coaching staff. Okongwu left high school as a five-star

and

and as a four-star

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a larg ...

College career

Okongwu immediately established himself as USC's best player. In his collegiate debut on November 5, 2019, he recorded 20 points, 13 rebounds and a school-record eight blocks to lead the Trojans to a 77–48 victory over

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

. He became the first USC player to post a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in his debut since

Taj Gibson Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gibson played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by th ...

in 2006. On November 19, he scored a career-high 33 points, including 17 free throws, in a 91–84 win over

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

. The performance helped him claim Pac-12 Conference player and freshman of the week honors on November 25. On December 1, Okongwu recorded 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds and three blocks in a 77–62 victory over Harvard at the

Orlando Invitational The ESPN Events Invitational (previously the Orlando Invitational, Orlando Classic, Old Spice Classic, and Advocare Invitational) is an annual college basketball tournament played over Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. The inaug ...

. He scored 28 points, 24 of which came in the second half, and grabbed 12 rebounds in a December 15 win over Long Beach State. One day later, Okongwu was named Pac-12 freshman of the week for his second time. Okongwu continued his consistency into the Pac-12 season. On January 2, 2020, he had another strong performance, with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds in a 65–56 win over

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. On January 24, he tallied 23 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in a 79–70 double-overtime loss to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. At the conclusion of the regular season, Okongwu was named to the first team All-Pac-12 and the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. He led USC with 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA tournament were canceled due to concerns over the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On March 25, 2020, Okongwu announced that he would enter the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

and forgo his final three years of college basketball eligibility. Analysts regarded him as one of the best prospects in the draft.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2020–present)

Okongwu was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the

. On November 24, 2020, the

announced that they had signed Okongwu. On July 21, 2021, the

announced that Okongwu had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and Okongwu would be expected to be sidelined for about six months. On January 13, 2023, Okongwu put up a career-high 20 rebounds alongside 18 points in a 113–111 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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, 48 , , 6 , , 20.7 , , .690 , , — , , .727 , , 5.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 98 , , 10 , , 16.3 , , .672 , , .000 , , .695 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .6 , , .9 , , 6.3

Playoffs

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College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", USC , 28 , , 28 , , 30.6 , , .616 , , .250 , , .720 , , 8.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 2.7 , , 16.2

Personal life

Onyeka Okongwu was born to Nigerian immigrants in Los Angeles. Okongwu's older brother, Nnamdi, had also played basketball for

. In 2014, Nnamdi suffered a

brain injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...

in a skateboarding accident and died after spending three days on life support. Okongwu had worn the number 21 jersey in honor of his brother, who had worn the same number while playing basketball. Since being drafted to the NBA by the Hawks, he switched to wearing number 17 as his old number is retired for

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

, representing the age of his brother when he passed. He also has a younger brother, Chukwuemeka, and a younger sister, Chinemya. Okongwu is the son of Nigerian parents, Kate and Mike Okongwu. His mother, who is a registered nurse, moved to the United States from Nigeria in 1999. Okongwu's father passed away in 2021.

References

External links

USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okongwu, Onyeka 2000 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Los Angeles Centers (basketball) Chino Hills High School alumni People from Chino Hills, California Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California USC Trojans men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople