It’s been a few weeks since the Phoenix Suns were eliminated from playoff contention by the Minnesota Timberwolves. While the main focus for the Suns was stars Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, it’s hard to ignore the contributions that the role players presented throughout the campaign.
One of the players who was forgotten by many was Josh Okogie. The defensive perimeter player was tasked to guard some of the league’s best offensive players in the season. He excelled in that regard but was ineffective in some aspects of the game.
Okogie had a decent start to the 2023-24 NBA season but his inconsistent minutes hurt his chances of being a major contributor for the team. So, how did he perform this season?
I’ve already done a review of how Drew Eubanks performed this season. Much like Okogie, he had a promising start to the season but wasn’t able to find consistency.
The Suns struggled to find the fifth man to start with the Big 3, especially during the earlier parts of the season. Booker and Beal were constantly injured, which prompted former head coach Frank Vogel to do a few experiments. Vogel started Okogie during the first five games, but that wasn’t the last time the 6-foot-4 forward would get a start.
During that time, Okogie averaged 25.9 minutes and nine points. Even when Booker was healthy, the two-way forward had a consistent role with the team and contributed on both ends of the floor. In the first 15 games of the Nigerian player, the coaching staff had him play a decent amount of minutes solely because of his defensive skills.
Offensively, he struggled to be a threat, as he only knocked down 30 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Although that’s always been his problem on the offensive side, it didn’t hinder the Suns from actively incorporating him into the system.
His minutes began to decline right after the new year. In the first ten games of 2024, Okogie only averaged 14.6 minutes. Not only did he get fewer chances on the court with his minutes, his numbers had an obvious drop-off. He averaged 3.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in that span. The former Georgia Tech player’s efficiency started to worsen as he only made 20 percent of his three-pointers.
After the year transitioned, he was only able to score double digits three times. During those games, he scored 11 points and played at least 18 minutes of action.
