Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 players for the team’s long-term core

2. Josh Okogie

The Timberwolves picked up Josh Okogie with the 20th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and it seems that he’s out-performed all expectations, especially for a player picked up outside the lottery with relatively little hype.

Okogie’s offensive game needs work, but that’s not a huge problem for a rookie. Averaging 7.7 points and 1.2 assists per game isn’t awful for a rotation player, but his 38.6 field goal percentage will need to be improved if he’s going to get a bigger role with the team.

Offense can be learned fairly easily though, but where Okogie shines, is defense. He’s one of those players where people rave about the “outside the stats” stuff he does. Mainly, his body positioning on defense is top-notch. Okogie was eighth in the NBA in charges drawn per 48 minutes with 0.4, and he also finds himself in the top 30 in the league in both defensive loose ball recovery percentage (67.7 percent) and contested shots per 48 minutes. (11.8)

If Okogie keeps developing in his defensive game, there’s almost certainly a All-Defensive Team selection or two in his future, and if he improves in his offensive game, he could be a powerful weapon for Minnesota.