THE FLATS – Tributes continue to pour in for the hustle and performance of Josh Okogie for the Suns in the NBA Playoffs … Phoenix advanced to the second round by eliminating the Clippers in five games … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
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UNDER THE RADAR: JOSH OKOGIE’S HUSTLE IS NON-STOP
When Josh Okogie was in 8th grade, his gym teacher at Shiloh Middle School attended one of his basketball games. After watching him blitz around the court full of energy, he dubbed Josh a new nickname: “Nonstop.”
“He was like, ‘Man, you’re just nonstop. That’s your new nickname,’” Okogie said in a phone interview last week.
That nickname inspired Josh’s Instagram handle (@Callme_nonstop), but it is who he is now — and who he’s always been.
Whether he’s playing in a gym with wooden bleachers as an 8th grader in Snellville, Ga., or guarding the NBA’s best in the 2023 playoffs, he’s always going full bore.
Okogie was born in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the largest cities in Africa. When he was three years old, his family won a visa lottery, which gave them the opportunity to emigrate to the United States. The rest of Okogie’s extended family — his aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas — still live in Nigeria.
Family roots are important to Okogie and he’s been back to Nigeria twice (in 2011 and 2019). One of the most proud moments in his life was representing his country and family at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he played for the Nigerian men’s national basketball team.
“I do the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
Josh Okogie has been huge for Phoenix! The Suns can advance with a Game 5 win tonight at 10pm/et on TNT.
📰 https://t.co/dKQH60IRT2 pic.twitter.com/1rm14PXIK6
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2023
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SUNS HAVE A SECRET WEAPON AND HIS NAME IS JOSH OKOGIE
Every player in the NBA wants to start, but sometimes a player’s full potential is utilized by bringing them into the game from the bench. For Josh Okogie of the Phoenix Suns, he has lived both worlds this season and Okogie has thrived in his new role with the Suns.
Spending the first four years of his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Okogie decided to sign a one-year, minimum-like deal with the Suns this past offseason.
“Obviously there weren’t a lot of moves being made in free agency last year though because of Kevin Durant request a trade from Brooklyn and stuff like that, so when Phoenix told me they wanted me to join the organization and obviously I had seen how great their culture was, that was a no-brainer decision for me,” Josh Okogie told Fastbreak on FanNation recently in an exclusive interview. “To be able to join that group of Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Monty Williams and what he has built with this organization, I knew this was the right move for me.”
Early on in the season Okogie sat near the end of the Suns’ bench, out of their nightly rotation and really only seeing minutes late in the fourth quarter when the game had already been decided. Then, as the 24-year-old guard became more comfortable with his role and new team, he began seeing his minutes increase.
“I kind of knew where he was trying to go.”
Josh Okogie on his steal on Norman Powell that led to Kevin Durant transition bucket to put #Suns up four with 58.8 seconds left. #Clippers #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5lXvmaNk8b
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 26, 2023
