Peachtree Hoops: 2023-24 Atlanta Hawks Hawks player review: Mouhamed Gueye

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Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images

Gueye’s tantalizing blend of size and skill make him an exciting player to watch develop over the next few seasons.

Despite being bitten by the injury bug for the majority of his rookie year, it’s hard not to get excited about the flashes of potential that Hawks rookie, Mouhamed Gueye, showed in the limited amount of time he was on the floor during the 2023-24 season.

The 39th overall pick in last year’s draft, Atlanta acquired Gueye in a draft-night deal with the Celtics, they and inked him to a 4-year/$7.6 million contract* shortly after the trade was finalized.

*non-guaranteed in year-3 and includes a team option in year-4

Gueye played just four minutes through the first seven games of the regular season before being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back on November 11th, sidelining him for the next four months. On February 28th, he made his return to action in the G League, making four appearances with the College Park Skyhawks (16.5 minutes per game) before suffering a UCL sprain on March 11th, forcing him to miss time once again — though he still managed to make an impression during his brief stint in the G League.

A Mo Gueye minute pic.twitter.com/GICI1mjtle

— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) March 6, 2024

On April 6th, with five games left in the regular season, Gueye received his first NBA minutes since October, checking in for the final few minutes of a loss against Denver and subsequently played 17, 21 and 27 minutes over the Hawks’ final three games of the season* — highlighted by a 19-point, 9-rebound, 3-block, 2-steal performance in the season finale against Indiana.

*Gueye also made a brief, albeit unremarkable appearance in Atlanta’s Play-In loss against Chicago

Gueye finished the year with modest totals of 24 points (5-for-14 on 2’s, 3-for-8 on 3’s), 22 rebounds, five steals and four blocks, however given his tantalizing blend of size, speed and skill, and the fact that last year was just his fifth (!!) playing organized basketball*, he is going to be a fascinating player to watch develop over the next few seasons.

*This is a great interview from prospectiveinsight.com where Gueye discusses his background and how he began playing basketball.

Athletic Gifts

At 6-foot-10, 210 pounds with an enormous 7’3” wingspan and extremely quick feet, Gueye is (quite literally) a hard player to miss when he is out on the court, and it’s unsurprising that his physical profile is one that has grown in popularity amongst NBA scouts over the past few years.

Per Bball-Index, just 10 of the players drafted between 2013* and 2018 were 6-foot-10 or taller and weighed 220 pounds or less, with four of them being taken in the first round**. Since 2019 however, 19 of the players that have been drafted met these criteria, with 11 of them going in the first round, including seven lottery selections.

*as far back as their database goes

**Lucas Noguera (2013), Chris McCullogh (2015), Jonathan Isaac (2017), and Michael Porter Jr. (2018)

With the league-average offensive rating rising in each of the past six seasons, and the average three-point attempt rate increasing from 29.6 attempts per 100 possessions to 35.4 over this span, NBA offenses are exploiting space more effectively than ever before, resulting in teams looking for quicker, more versatile frontcourt players with the right blend of size, speed, and footwork to guard a variety of different players and reduce the amount of space that offenses have which with to work.

This is a bucket of player that Gueye most certainly fits into*, and one that Atlanta’s roster is in dire need of after fielding just five players 6-foot-9 or taller last season (including Gueye) and ranking 26th in defensive rating, per cleaningtheglass.

*Gueye revealed in a pre-draft interview that he grew up playing soccer, which undoubtedly aided in developing his impressive footspeed and agility for a player his size

Sky-High Defensive Potential

As you might have guessed, Gueye’s athletic gifts already make him a problem (in a good way!) on the defensive end of the court.

In the game against Charlotte on April 10th — his first professional game with extended minutes — it didn’t take long for him to show the type of defensive impact he is able to have, using his length to contest a drive by Bridges in the first quarter, then coming up with a spectacular chasedown block on Tre Mann a little later on.

Atlanta ranked 25th in points allowed in the paint per game, and 28th in fastbreak points allowed per game last season, so plays like the ones above were a sight for sore eyes to say the least.

In the following game against Minnesota, Gueye continued to make his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor.

Typically, Atlanta’s center getting beat on the perimeter meant that opponents would get a free lane to the basket, however with Gueye on the floor and in position to contest the shot, this play results in a Minnesota turnover.

In spite of the, ah, interesting close-out technique* in the clip above, I was extremely impressed by this play as Gueye is in position to deter a potential lay-up attempt from Conley, then hurtles to the corner to close out on the shooter — an extremely valuable thing to be able to do on the defensive end of the floor, and one that Gueye’s athletic gifts lend themselves to perfectly. They say the ball moves faster than the man, but I don’t know if that necessarily applies to a defender like Gueye in the halfcourt, given his length and lightning quick reflexes.

*which I’m sure will be refined next season

Against Indiana, in their final game of the regular season, Gueye logged some minutes at the 5 and showed off his ability to guard on the perimeter, picking up two blocks against the Pacers’ guards when tested in isolation.

While all the clips above are extremely promising, Gueye wasn’t perfect on the defensive side of the ball. He averaged 6.4 fouls per 36 minutes and needs to communicate better, as there were times when he would end up guarding the same player as somebody else. However these are areas that he should be able to clean up as he gets more playing time under his belt*.

*Again, this was just his fifth year playing organized hoops!

Offense Is a Work in Progress

Needless to say, Gueye’s activity and athletic gifts alone make for an extremely intriguing defensive player, however for him to make good on his sky-high potential and become a more prominent part of the team’s future plans, his development on the offensive end is just as important.

Gueye is an extremely raw offensive player, whose jumpshot and handle are very much still coming along. Due to his skinny frame, the team primarily used him on the wing rather than at the 5 last season, however at the moment, his offensive skillset is probably better suited to him playing at the 5 than on the wing, raising a question about his ideal offensive role going forwards.

When playing at the 4 last season, his biggest plus at the NBA level was his ability to keep plays alive on the glass, as 10 of his 22 rebounds came on the offensive end of the court. However, outside of his activity on the boards, it was hard for him to really have an impact while sharing the court with a non-shooting big man like Clint Capela or Bruno Fernando as their skillsets largely overlapped with his.

Gueye shot just 27.7% from three in college and went a combined 4-for-17 from deep across his minutes in the G League and NBA last season. Given his inconsistent outside stroke and limited off-the-dribble game, there wasn’t a whole lot else that he could do as the 4 outside of providing value as a cutter and offensive rebounder.

With the Hawks’ opting to rest Clint Capela in the regular-season finale, Gueye saw some minutes at the 5 alongside four perimeter shooters and looked far more comfortable on the offensive end, finishing with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor — with all six of his made baskets coming directly out of the pick-and-roll/pop.

It looks like the ones above hardly ever came his way when he played the 4 last season, as one of Clint Capela or Bruno Fernando would either be the ones used in the pick-and-roll or positioned in and around the paint.

Still, while Gueye was more impactful on offense when playing at the 5 rather than at the 4, I don’t think we’ve seen enough to make any sweeping proclamations about his ideal position going forward. Given the miniscule sample size that we have to evaluate him in and his relative newness to the game, it’s just too early to say.

Even though he struggled to make an impact at the 4 last season, he might have looked better if he was paired with Onyeka Okongwu*, as both players are capable of spacing the floor on offense, potentially freeing up Gueye and others for easier close range looks.

*who missed the end of the season with a toe sprain.

While he looked great in the one game he played at the 5 last season, I’m still not sold on his finishing ability, as he went 4-for-11 inside five-feet last season and shot just 56% on non-dunk rim attempts in college, not to mention the obvious defensive question marks surrounding his slender frame.

Regardless of the position he plays, the one thing that’s clear about Gueye’s offensive game is that he has to become more efficient as a scorer. An improved three-point shot will be at the top of the wish list, but he needs to get better at finishing through contact as well - given his less-than-ideal rim finishing numbers. Additionally, if he can improve his handle, he could become a real nightmare to guard on the perimeter — too big for wings to guard and too quick for a traditional big to stay in front.

Conclusion

While there are few certainties at this point in Gueye’s development, his enormous two-way potential is there for all to see.

Hawks’ fans can look forward to watching him in action during Summer League, and I can’t wait to see how he looks after his head-turning performance at Summer League last season.

For what it’s worth, Gueye can’t wait to get out on the court either. When asked whether or not he would be participating in Summer League during his exit interview, he responded with a smile:

“Yeah, for sure. For sure I want to. I ain’t play the whole year, so I can’t wait to play.”

Disclaimer: All stats and video used in this article are from either nba.com/stats, pbpstats.com, realgm.com, cleaningtheglass.com, or Bball-index.com

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