On Friday, sixth overall pick Onyeka Okongwu made his long-awaited NBA debut with the Atlanta Hawks after missing the first 11 games of the season with a left foot injury.
Okongwu, who was on a restriction limit of 15 minutes, produced four points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in just over 14 minutes of work during the 116-92 loss on the road to the Utah Jazz. He finished 2-of-6 from the field and scored his first basket on a turnaround hook shot in the fourth quarter.
He followed that shot up with a putback dunk for his first slam in the NBA.
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=rQCG1rlJ9v-1111551-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on
Okongwu was upgraded on the injury report to probable to play and was on track to play Wednesday versus the Phoenix Suns. However, the game was postponed after the Suns did not have the league-required eight players available to play due to contact tracing on the team.
The organization will certainly be cautious with Okongwu on the court following his injury, as evidenced by his minutes limit. He did not play in the preseason so Friday night marked his first-ever game with the Hawks and it will likely take some time to knock off the rust.
Despite losing to the Jazz, the team can certainly be happy that their prized rookie addition finally made his debut.
[lawrence-related id=25483,24515,24074]
[listicle id=25816]