Onyeka Okongwu, Hawks Agree to 4-Year, $62M Contract Extension Before 2023-24 Season

The Atlanta Hawks came to an agreement with talented, young center Onyeka Okongwu on a four-year, $62 million contract extension Monday, just one day ahead of Tuesday's NBA season opener, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

ESPN's Bobby Marks provided a breakdown of the newest contract:

Okongwu, 22, was Atlanta's No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft following a standout freshman season at USC. The Hawks managed to lock him down to an extension just before Monday's 6 p.m. ET deadline.

He is the 14th player from his draft class to agree to an extension.

This contract is pretty good value for Okongwu, who has primarily served as Clint Capela's backup in Atlanta since he entered the league, but has steadily been cutting out a larger role for himself.

Last season he got a career-high 18 starts and had some solid production, averaging 9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks—all of which are career-best marks—in 80 games of action.

Okongwu appears to be excited by the possibility of having a larger role this year and show off everything he's been working on.

"Overall I've just been trying to get better and add little things over the years," Okongwu told ClutchPoints' David Yapkowitz earlier in the offseason. "I think media, fans, the team, from that standpoint and perspective I think they can all tell I've been getting better. This year I'm excited to add more to my game like handling and shooting more."

The fourth-year big man has been really impressive throughout the Hawks' four preseason games, scoring in double-figures in each outing and displaying an improved three-point shooting stroke.

He made at least 50 percent of his three-point attempts in two of those games.

The Hawks also had the opportunity to reach an extension with Saddiq Bey, but Wojnarowski reported the two sides failed to come to an agreement before the deadline.