Minnesota Timberwolves: Josh Okogie rookie recap
By James Grieco
The Good
In short, defense and energy.
Josh Okogie has more bounce than a trampoline, and it’s constantly (thankfully) on full display. For people who only consume Timberwolves material when it accentuates the franchise’s dysfunction, here is the rare Minnesotan bright spot you may have seen:
That outlandish block on James Harden‘s signature step-back 3 is currently the crown jewel of Okogie’s career, but what an accomplishment it is. The Feb. 13 win against the Houston Rockets is probably the best all-around game Okogie has played this season factoring in the difficulty of guarding Harden, who is a lock for First Team All-NBA and far and away the league’s leading scorer.
The Beard went for 42 points that night, but don’t let that deceive you — Okogie smothered him the entire game. Harden shot just 15-of-34 from the floor and 8-of-22 from 3, numbers that were among the worst he posted during his historic scoring stretch to start the 2019 calendar year. Offensively, Okogie posted 16 points and four assists, unaffected by the amount of effort he put into his defense.
Most of the season has not featured eye-popping plays like that from Okogie, but has rather displayed a guy trying really, really hard at all times, with showings of his crazy athleticism and subtle but promising basketball plays sprinkled in here and there.
His stats certainly don’t paint his season in a “good” light; in 23.8 minutes per game, he has only averaged 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists (although his 1.7 steals per 36 minutes number is promising and realistic), but his role has been about more than just putting up numbers.
With a largely veteran roster and Andrew Wiggins refusing to utilize his tremendous physical gifts, it has fallen on Okogie to provide excitement for Timberwolves fans. He’s been torturing rims like this all season:
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1089005728646529026
https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1067975048382701569
Okogie’s defense has left a more lasting impression than even his emphatic dunks. He can get around screens and defend 1-on-1, and has even admirably adjusted to NBA pick-and-rolls too. When defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers, Okogie limits offenses to just 0.80 points per possession — already in the league’s 73rd percentile.
On offense, Okogie hasn’t gotten much time to work his game out, posting just a 15.7 percent usage rate, but he has nevertheless shown he can do a bit of everything. He usually makes the right pass, he can leverage his athleticism into some drive-and-kicks and he knows both when and how to cut (it’s unfortunate the Timberwolves have again been a bottom-of-the-barrel team from 3, because the lack of spacing does limit Okogie’s cutting opportunities).
His shooting is obviously a work-in-progress, but for someone with his work ethic, basketball IQ, athleticism and energy, he should be making winning plays for years to come.