New season, new contract, new coach… but many of the same questions remain for Josh Okogie.

Is this finally the year where he can be just passable enough on offense for the Phoenix Suns to take full advantage of his stellar defense?

Over the next nine days, we'll be going through our Suns season preview series for all 17 players on the roster, one at a time. This includes both a written post for the avid readers (hello!) and a video breakdown for the visual learners.

On Day 8, we look at how Josh Okogie can help the Suns by providing stifling offensive defense, wreaking havoc with highlight steals and blocks, and crashing the offensive glass… and how he can more realistically mitigate his deficiencies as a worse 3 -Point shooter and below average finisher at the rim.

Suns 2024-25 Season Preview by Josh Okogie

Make no mistake, Josh Okogie is still an excellent defender. The eye test confirms his continuous activity in this area as well as his ability to keep up with top ball-handlers in the backcourt.

The defensive stats aren't perfect, but Okogie has been at the top of every notable defensive category in the BBall Index database over the last two years, and for good reason. From on-ball perimeter defense and ball screen navigation to off-ball chaser and block rate in contests, Okogie has ranked near the top of the league in every single defensive category over the past two seasons:

As if that wasn't enough, Okogie also ranked in the 91st percentile in deflections per 75 possessions, in the 88th percentile in passing lane defense, and in the 93rd percentile in pickpocketing rating. But don't just trust a nerd's word and his analysis!

If you watch the film, Okogie is a master of chaos, surprising ballplayers with weak double teams and showing good timing and instincts in identifying passing lanes.

In addition to his tenacious point defense, Okogie is also an impressive shot blocker for a 6-foot-2 guard. Even when it feels like he's blocked off the dribble, he's never really out of the game and throws himself into the hunt for recovery blocks.

Okogie makes good use of his 7-foot wingspan and jumping ability, hitting dunkers at the apex and fending off jump shooters on isos. His block on Jalen Green's jumper and subsequent dunk the other way may go down as one of the most underrated plays in Suns history, but even the less flashy plays show how often he blocks jump shooters:

Role players always have to prove themselves under a new head coach, and while Frank Vogel was a defensive-minded coach, Okogie's role became less important over the course of last season. Part of that was health-related as he missed a few weeks in December and March with a hip injury, but he will have to prove himself again under a new coach.

Luckily, Mike Budenholzer values ​​defense and Okogie's defense at the point of attack will always keep him in the game for at least a few minutes.

“Obviously, man, whenever your coach wants your ability normally, it gives you a little bit more confidence to go out there and do that every night,” Okogie told PHNX Sports over the summer. “And of course the Phoenix Suns in particular, as a front office guy, give me the confidence to go out there and just do what I do night in and night out.”

According to a source, the Suns have beaten out several other suitors in free agency for Josh Okogie's services. The structure of his new contract obviously makes him a potential trade candidate, but Phoenix still values ​​what he brings and his room for growth even at age 26.

“When the season ends, you kind of do a debriefing and try to clear your head and step away from the season for a while,” Okogie explained. “Then free agency opens up and you just weigh your options. But I love Phoenix, the community, the fans, the people, the organization – from top to bottom, from Mat (Ishbia) to the security guards who control the practice facility and the Footprint Center. I love everything about this area.

“So I wanted to see if there was a way to make it work, and apparently the feelings were mutual on both sides.”

How Josh Okogie can mitigate his offensive weaknesses

But for Josh Okogie, entering his third year with the Suns and seventh year in the NBA, the question remains the same: Is The the season where his offense can be just enough to keep him on the floor?

In the playoffs, it's hard to imagine Okogie cracking Budenholzer's eight- or nine-man rotation, unless there's an injury or the Suns Really I need a stop with a lockdown defender in the backcourt. But for that to happen, he'll need to be closer to league average as a 3-point shooter, which has been his biggest area of ​​improvement in some time.

Okogie is a career 29.3 percent 3-point shooter, and he never shot better than 33.5 percent from deep in his first season in Phoenix. But instead of continuing this step in the right direction, it fell back to 30.9 percent last year. His attempts looked much more confident, but there were still times when he hesitated and didn't shoot at all.

That won't work in a revamped offense that wants to make more 3s and has hit 85 triples in two preseason games. Last year, Okogie shot just 30 percent on corner 3s and 30.2 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s. The worst part is that he struggled to convert despite ranking in the 96th percentile in 3-point shooting quality and in the 99th percentile in 3-point openness rating.

As you may notice from these clips from the last two years, even in the playoffs, opponents were more than happy to leave him wide open. He has to block shots like that if he wants to stay on the floor.

Oddly enough, Okogie was actually passable when he hit his 3s earlier in the shot clock. But when it came to long-distance attempts within the final seven seconds, his percentage dropped, according to NBA.com. “Seven Seconds Or Less” worked for Steve Nash’s Suns, but not so much for the Shot Clock and Josh Okogie 3s:

• Josh Okogie 3-pointers with 7 seconds or less on the shot clock: 5 for 28 (17.9%)
• Josh Okogie 3-point shooter with 8 seconds or more on the shot clock: 24 for 65 (36.9%)

So far in the preseason, Okogie has shown the same willingness to shoot that we've seen from the entire Suns roster under Coach Bud. In Phoenix's first game, Okogie led the team with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in 16 minutes off the bench, but more importantly, he shot 6 of 9 overall and shot 2 of 3 from deep. Even in pre-season, it was another example of the impact he can make when he is simply respectable on offense.

The following game was the other end of the spectrum. Okogie finished the game with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes, shooting 2 of 7 overall and 0 of 2 from deep. Phoenix was ahead most of the night, so that may have contributed a little to his performance, but Okogie has to make it pay for the defense to leave him open if he wants to stay on the floor.

The reason for this is that he isn't the best finisher either. His drive and cutting are welcome additions to a team that needs to apply more pressure at the basket this year, but when he gets into the lane the result is usually either an overly ambitious layup attempt or a slow-motion Euro-step finish often in a forced, falling back shot through contact.

Okogie can finish at full power at the rim, but he shot just 54.5 percent at the basket, where 90 of his 206 shots came from last year. According to Cleaning The Glass, he was in the 20th percentile of guards in finishing at the rim, and while there's something to be said for making contact, it often resulted in missed shots like these:

So what can Okogie realistically contribute on offense? I hope he gets closer to league average, especially as a 3-point shooter. Perhaps developing a floater would help if he gets into the lane, but it's hard to imagine that development coming in the middle of the season.

Most likely, Budenholzer will have to find ways to use Okogie as a screener, short-roll playmaker, and consistent cutter. The Suns want to play randomly and hope they have enough shooters on the court to add weight and spacing to Okogie's attacks. Consider that this is a guy who was in the 98th percentile in cuts per shot last year, but only in the 52nd percentile in cuts per 75 possessions.

It will be helpful to increase that frequency, and it will also be helpful to give Okogie free rein to destroy the offensive glass, as he is a dedicated and persistent presence on the offensive boards. You can just see his activity and how he gauges the shot before shooting towards the ball with great timing.

Okogie ranked in the 98th percentile in both offensive rebounding ability and offensive rebounding talent last year, and he ranked second in the entire league among qualified players 6-foot-10 and under the offensive rebounds per 75 possessions. Even if he doesn't get the putback, it would feel unfair to give this potent Suns offense second chances.

Will that be enough to secure a consistent role for Josh Okogie, especially in the playoffs when distance from the Big 3 will be crucial? It's hard to believe that will happen until we actually see it, but Okogie is still a useful role player who can step in and get stops. This could be something the Suns backcourt needs more of behind Tyus Jones, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen.

In any case, Okogie is completely confident in his new head coach and what this team could become.

“It gives you confidence going into the season knowing the coach has a plan and something that if you follow it could lead to something like he had, a championship,” Okogie said . “This makes it easier for him to follow instructions and makes it easier for him to lead.”

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