OKC Thunder draft prospect profile: Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

As noted above, Okongwu is that rare talent who enters draft night possessing strong skills on both sides of the hardwood. At 6’9″ he’s better suited to the power forward role but in the new small-ball era, he can easily play center particularly with his rim protection prowess.

Is adept offensively displaying a versatile mix of moves. His skill set in the paint includes the ability to score with either hand and he can utilize power or skill to get his points. It’s unusual for a young big man to have so many options in his repertoire already. His spin move isn’t as overt as Pascal Siakam but somewhat similar, he can loft in floaters and then give you power moves. It’s an impressive arsenal especially considering he won’t be 20 until next month.

What might be the most impressive aspect of Okongwu is how he can defend the pick and roll (PnR) already. The NBA is littered with big men (we see you Enes Kanter) who never quite figured out how to defend the PnR and got played off the court in the playoffs because of that fact. Perhaps a better example would be Michael Porter Jr. who was a sniper offensively and then got roasted on defense especially in the Lakers series and particularly in pick and roll.

So the fact Okongwu is already capable of defending the PnR it means he’ll only improve with experience.

Weaknesses:

Although Okongwu doesn’t shoot with range his 72 percent free-throw efficiency speaks to his form being solid. And, while this era typically requires a 3-point shot he could still excel without a perimeter shot – see DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gobert, and Bam Adebayo.

To that end, that trio each offers extreme skillsets that keep them on the court. DeRozan is the king of the mid-range, Gobert is a defensive master and Adebayo is the ideal all-around two-way big man. Every team will want to add an Adebayo-type to their roster which makes Okongwu even more compelling.

The question is how much of the USC freshman’s success is tied to his sheer size advantage over his collegiate peers and can he carry over those attributes into the NBA where he’ll face opponents of equal talent and size. He’ll need to work on shoring up his range and efficiency from different areas of the court and put in the time to improve his ball-handling and passing (the one area of Adebayo’s game in my opinion that makes him elite).

How Okongwu fares in his rookie season and then develops through the initial years will determine his ceiling. Getting selected by a team with a strong player development staff could dictate how quickly (or if) the youngster ascends to reach his potential ceiling.