Josh Okogie

Josh Okogie
Okogie with the Phoenix Suns in 2022
No. 2 – Phoenix Suns
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 26)
Lagos, Nigeria
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight213 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High schoolShiloh (Snellville, Georgia)
CollegeGeorgia Tech (2016–2018)
NBA draft2018: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2022Minnesota Timberwolves
2022–presentPhoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-ACC (2018)
  • ACC All-Freshman Team (2017)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Joshua Aloiye Okogie (/əˈkoʊɡi/ ə-KOH-ghee;[1] born 1 September 1998) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at Georgia Tech, and was selected 20th overall in the 2018 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also represents the Nigeria national team.

Early life

Okogie immigrated with his family to the United States when he was three years old. The family settled in Snellville, Georgia, where Okogie started playing basketball for Shiloh High School.[2]

College career

Waist high view of man with short black hair wearing a white Georgia Tech uniform, standing in front of the crowd, slightly obscured by another player at left
Okogie in 2016

As a 6'4" shooting guard, he was not ranked by ESPN in the recruiting class of 2016.[3] He signed with Georgia Tech and as a freshman, Okogie averaged 16.1 points 5.4 rebounds per game and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.[4] He was a third team 2017–18 All-ACC selection as a sophomore.[5] As a sophomore, Okogie led Georgia Tech in scoring with 18.2 points per game. After the season he declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, thus leaving open the possibility of returning to school.[6] However, he confirmed his intentions on entering the NBA Draft on May 21.[7]

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2018–2022)

Okogie with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018

On June 21, 2018, the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Okogie with the 20th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft.[8] On July 2, 2018, he signed with the Timberwolves.[9] He participated in the 2018 NBA Summer League. After Jimmy Butler was traded from Minnesota in early November, Okogie entered the starting lineup, averaging nearly 22 minutes a game on the season. After the season, he participated in the 2019 NBA Summer League. On January 29, 2019, he was named a member of the World Team for the 2019 Rising Stars Challenge.[10]

Phoenix Suns (2022–present)

On July 2, 2022, Okogie signed with the Phoenix Suns.[11] On December 7, Okogie scored a career-high 28 points in a 125–98 loss to the Boston Celtics.[12]

On July 13, 2024, Okogie re-signed with the Suns.[13]

National team career

Okogie plays for the Nigerian national basketball team and participated in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[14]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Minnesota 74 52 23.7 .386 .279 .728 2.9 1.2 1.2 .4 7.7
2019–20 Minnesota 62 28 25.0 .427 .266 .796 4.3 1.6 1.1 .4 8.6
2020–21 Minnesota 59 37 20.3 .402 .269 .769 2.6 1.1 .9 .5 5.4
2021–22 Minnesota 49 6 10.5 .404 .298 .686 1.4 .5 .5 .2 2.7
2022–23 Phoenix 72 26 18.8 .391 .335 .724 3.5 1.5 .8 .5 7.3
2023–24 Phoenix 60 11 16.0 .417 .309 .745 2.6 1.1 .8 .4 4.6
Career 376 160 19.5 .402 .293 .748 3.0 1.2 .9 .4 6.3

Play-in

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 Minnesota 1 0 .1 — — — .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 .1 — — — .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 Minnesota 1 0 2.2 — — — .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
2023 Phoenix 10 5 17.5 .378 .143 .846 2.1 1.3 .6 .2 4.1
2024 Phoenix 4 0 7.3 .556 .333 .500 1.0 .5 .5 .0 3.5
Career 15 5 13.8 .413 .176 .737 1.7 1.0 .5 .1 3.7

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Georgia Tech 37 37 30.8 .453 .384 .747 5.4 1.6 1.3 .7 16.1
2017–18 Georgia Tech 24 24 36.4 .416 .380 .821 6.3 2.5 1.8 1.0 18.2
Career 61 61 33.0 .437 .382 .777 5.8 2.0 1.5 .8 16.9

References

  1. ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide". NBA.com (Press release). 24 October 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Brooklyn Nets Draft Prospect: Josh Okogie". NBA.com.
  3. ^ "Josh Okogie, Shiloh , Shooting Guard". 247Sports. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Basketball: Pastner, Lammers, and Okogie Earn All-ACC Honors". From The Rumble Seat. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. ^ "ACC Announces All-Conference Team, Postseason Awards". TheACC.com. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Georgia Tech' G Josh Okogie to enter NBA draft". ESPN. Associated Press. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ Bradley, Mark (21 May 2018). "Josh Okogie is leaving Tech, which is bad news for Josh Pastner". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. ^ Sugiura, Ken (21 June 2018). "Timberwolves draft Josh Okogie at No. 20". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Timberwolves Sign Josh Okogie". NBA.com. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Doncic, Simmons headline Mtn Dew Ice Rising Stars rosters". NBA.com. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Suns Sign Josh Okogie". NBA.com. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Suns' Josh Okogie: Erupts for career-high 28". CBSSports.com. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  13. ^ Kirschenbaum, Alex (13 July 2024). "Suns Re-Sign Josh Okogie To Two-Year Contract". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  14. ^ Rafferty, Scott (31 August 2019). "FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: Scores and highlights from Day 1". NBA.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
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