RADIO
Onyeka Okongwu is worth considering as a fantasy basketball waiver wire pickup heading into Week 13 of the 2022-23 NBA season.
BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues
ROSTERED IN: 19% of leagues
ANALYSIS: If only for next week, Onyeka Okongwu should be prioritized in nearly all leagues. I'm knocking him down to just 12-teamers for the simple fact that Atlanta's starting C Clint Capela is expected back midweek, cutting down OO's upside a bit.
Okongwu has started six consecutive games for the Hawks through Friday and three more prior to that starting to count on Dec. 12. All in all, Okongwu has started nine of the last 12 games he's played getting back to that date. His playing time has skyrocketed through this late period in which he's started six straight, going from 24 MPG in the first three weeks of December (including three starts, mind you) to a gaudy 34 MPG in the last six games.
On a per-minute basis, Okongwu has managed to keep his head above water, averaging 0.91 FP/min (league average at 0.90) through this streak of starts while putting up a fantastic 1.03 FP/min from the start of December to Christmas.
From Dec. 21 on, Okongwu (18) has blocked the sixth-most shots in the NBA, and only Rudy Gobert has put together more total blocks and rebounds from that day through Saturday's slate. Okongwu had 18+75 to Gobert's 15+90, the only two players with 15+ and 75+ in that span.
Okongwu doesn't know how to stretch the floor, but that's not really that bad considering he's putting up 9.0 FGA in the last eight games, hitting them at a 62.5% clip from the floor. The rebounding is hella strong (7+ boards in each of his last 14 games played; an average of 9+ RPG) and the points have hit double-digit figures in seven of his last nine games (13 PPG in that span).
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