Onyeka Okongwu has reached a point in Atlanta where the path forward is finally clear.
Entering his seventh season with the Hawks, he’s the longest-tenured player on the roster, and for the first time there’s no real debate about his place in the rotation. He’s the center.
He’s the guy at the five. Nobody is standing in front of him and eating into his minutes heading into the upcoming season.
That reality has pushed a bigger question to the front of the table: should Atlanta lock him in now?
The Hawks do not have to hand Okongwu an extension this offseason, but the logic is hard to ignore if they believe he’s their starting center for the next several seasons. Waiting could only make the price climb.
There is a deadline in play, too. Atlanta has until Oct. 19 to work out an extension worth $76.6 million over three additional seasons. That would put him at roughly $25 million per year, which is in the neighborhood of what Dyson Daniels got just ahead of the 2025-26 season.
If nothing gets done before that deadline, Okongwu still remains a major part of what the Hawks expect to be a climb this season. He is already locked in for the next two years.
But the longer view gets more complicated. Without an extension, he’d be headed toward unrestricted free agency in 2028.
And that’s where the money question gets louder. Okongwu already has one of the league’s more cost-efficient contracts, but there’s no doubt he’ll be looking for a bigger number on his next deal. He could feel he’s worth more than $25 million annually, and if that’s the case, there’s at least a chance it makes sense for him to wait.
Atlanta, though, clearly values what he brings. The fit matters, and so does the possibility that he might not get the same offensive priority elsewhere.
Based on what he produced last season, the argument for paying him now is pretty straightforward. He’s already shown enough to justify a raise, and if the Hawks want to keep him in the fold, this is the moment to be aggressive.
With the league-wide cap continuing to rise, he could eventually be looking for something closer to $30 million per year. That only makes the decision more urgent for Atlanta.
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