Hot This Month

Onyeka Okongwu (Atlanta Hawks, USC)

Last month, we covered former USC center Evan Mobley in this section, and now we’re looking at his predecessor on the Trojans, Onyeka Okongwu.

Okongwu caught a lot of attention as a high school prospect, as he played alongside the three Ball brothers on those legendary Chino Hills teams.

His transition to the collegiate level was seamless, as he averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds a night as a freshman and was drafted sixth overall by the Hawks in 2020.

Despite putting up great numbers per 36 minutes, Okongwu was never given the chance to be the Hawks’ full-time starting center and was always the backup to Clint Capela.

But the Hawks finally pulled the trigger in January, benching Capela to make Okongwu the starting center.

Okongwu’s first few games as a starter this season weren’t pretty, as he went on an eight-game losing streak. But since then, he has found his footing, and the team is alive and well in the Play-In race.

Okongwu has averaged 15.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 58.6% from the field and 45.5% from three in his last 14 games as the team went 8-6.

With reports that the recently injured Capela is looking to leave the team in free agency, Okongwu can become a cornerstone for the Hawks for many years to come.

Peyton Watson (Denver Nuggets, UCLA)

The Nuggets won eight games in a row before the All-Star break, but injuries have been a thorn in their side since coming out of the break. They have gone 11-9 in their last 20 games, and multiple key players have been in and out of the lineup.

Apart from Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr., every Nuggets player has missed at least one game in this span. Naturally, these injuries have allowed some younger players to step up and contribute.

Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of these injuries has been Peyton Watson. The 30th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft is finally starting to look like a contributor on a championship-caliber roster.

The UCLA product has put up 12.9 points and 2.4 blocks a night while shooting 56.3% from the floor and 43.8% from deep.

Despite being 6’8, Watson’s ability to block shots has been a tremendous asset for an otherwise weak Nuggets defense, and he can be the team’s X factor in the postseason.

Rookie Report

Jaylen Wells (Memphis Grizzlies, Washington State)

The month of March wasn’t very kind to Jaylen Wells and the Memphis Grizzlies. Wells was a dark-horse Rookie of the Year candidate heading into March, and he started the month off hot by scoring 18 points on 50% shooting against the Spurs.

Wells had a bad shooting night against the Hawks in the next game, and that’s when the downward spiral began. The Grizzlies dropped both games but still had a good shot at the second seed.

But the rest of the month was a nightmare. They went 6-6, and Wells had terrible numbers.

He averaged 6.6 PPG with a true shooting percentage of 40.6, the second-lowest mark in the entire league among players with 85+ shots in that span (only behind fellow SuperWest rookie Cody Williams).

The Grizzlies then suddenly decided to fire their head coach, Taylor Jenkins, after a loss to the Thunder.

This decision has baffled many fans and analysts, but it also isn’t good news for Wells, who has to prove himself to a new coach if he wants to keep his starting spot.

Keion Brooks Jr. (New Orleans Pelicans, Washington)

It’s officially tanking season for some NBA teams, including the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pels had high hopes entering this year, but their season was derailed from the start due to injuries, and they soon gave up on the season, trading away Brandon Ingram.

Now, most of their stars are hurt, which has opened up opportunities for some lesser-known players to prove themselves. Keion Brooks Jr. was a former five-star prospect but couldn’t become the go-to guy at Kentucky.

He transferred to Washington to become the team’s star player but went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft despite a great final year as a Husky.

Brooks Jr. played a couple of games for the Pelicans while spending time with their G-League affiliate before recently getting his big break. He started his first-ever NBA game on March 24, scoring 10 points in a win against Philadelphia.

He followed that up by scoring 11 points in his next outing, and he’s looking to have more games with 10+ points to cement his place in the NBA.

The Road to Redemption

Derrick Jones Jr. (Los Angeles Clippers, UNLV)

Every NBA player dreams of winning a championship as a key contributor, and Derrick Jones Jr. came extremely close to turning that dream into a reality last season.

The former Slam Dunk champion was a non-factor in his first Finals appearance in 2020, scoring just 22 points throughout the playoffs.

But in 2024, Jones Jr. averaged 10.4 points a night on 40.4% shooting from three in the Mavs’ last 16 games before the Finals and was a big reason why they got there. Unfortunately, he underperformed in the biggest stage, shooting just 25.0% from deep.

Now, Jones Jr. is looking to make his third Finals appearance alongside fellow ex-SuperWest players Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Norman Powell.

Jones Jr.’s effective field goal percentage of 68.3 in his last 11 games is the seventh-highest mark in the league among players with 70+ shots in that span, and the Clippers have gone 9-2, jumping from the ninth seed to the sixth.

Making it out of the West won’t be easy, but Jones Jr. and the Clippers are ready for the challenge.

Top Veterans

Russell Westbrook (Denver Nuggets, UCLA)

Injuries haven’t been kind to the Nuggets, but Russell Westbrook is an “Iron Man” player. Despite being 36, he has only missed seven games this year and is still giving us some vintage performances.

In his last 11 games, the former league MVP has put up 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.7 steals.

His most impressive performance had to be his March 17 outing against Golden State, where he overcame a poor shooting night to record a triple-double and lead the Jokic and Murray-less Nuggets past the Warriors and his longtime rival, Stephen Curry.

Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks, Stanford)

Russell Westbrook isn’t the only ex-SuperWest player from the 2008 NBA Draft still producing at a high level. Despite having no speed left in the tank, Lopez is still a dead-eye shooter and can protect the rim.

Lopez has put up 16.8 points and 1.4 blocks per game in his last 10 outings while also leading the league among players with 100+ shots in effective field goal percentage (73.0) in that span.

The Bucks don’t have high hopes for the rest of the season after Damian Lillard was sidelined indefinitely due to a blood clot in his calf and will need all the help they can get if they want to make a playoff run.