Atlanta Hawks center Oneka Okongwu - the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft - underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and he will miss nearly six months, the team announced.
As the season progressed for the Hawks, Okongwu's role increased, but a protracted injury that began in May necessitated the procedure. Dr. Neil Letrecht, a well-known surgeon from Kerlan-Jobe, performed the procedure on Okongwu in Los Angeles.
Okongwu, 20, is expected to make a full recovery.
Training camps begin in late September, and the 82-game regular season for 2021–22 begins in mid-October.
Okongwu played 50 regular-season games for the Hawks and averaged 9.2 minutes in 18 playoff games in the Hawks' Eastern Conference Finals. As the season progressed, Okongwu showed significant promise of earning more minutes than starter Clint Capella.
The Hawks drafted Okongwu from the University of Southern California, where he was a first-team All-Pac 12 performer in one of his seasons of college basketball.