Josh Okogie Needs to Stay In the Rockets Rotation Going Forward

The Houston Rockets were very active this offseason. They made the biggest move this past summer when they traded for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant in exchange for Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green. The Rockets felt they needed a go-to scorer, especially in the playoffs, and they are hoping Durant is the player who can push them over the top.

The Rockets didn't stop there. They also signed Dorian Finney-Smith as soon as free agency began, replacing Brooks. They wanted to add more depth at the center position, so they brought back former Rockets Clint Capela to take over the third center spot and sometimes fill in for Steven Adams. The Rockets wanted to add as much veteran leadership and depth as they could as they geared up for a run at a title.

The Rockets werent finish there, however, to the surprise of many people around the league. The Rockets wanted to add more wing depth, so they signed veteran swing man Josh Okogie at the end of free agency to a one-year veteran minimum contract. Okogie going into his eighth season, had played for three previous teams before heading to the Rockets and brought another defensive minded player to the team.

Okogie was seen as a player who would more than likely be the eight or ninth man off the bench at the time of his signing. That all changed when the Rockets' on and off-court leader, Fred VanVleet, suffered a potential season-ending injury right before the start of training camp. That meant the Rockets would have to make even more changes to their starting lineup because they had to not only replace Brooks and Green but also now VanVleet.

One of the position filled in the starting lineup went to, of course, Durant and Jabari Smith, who went to the bench last season after he returned from an injury in January of 2025, moved back into the starting lineup. That left one spot open, and many thought it would be Finney-Smith, but the forward was still not ready for game action after offseason ankle surgery.

Some thought it could be second-year guard Reed Sheppard, but the Rockets pivoted and went with Okogie to play the shooting guard position. There were some questions around the move as Okogie wasnt known as a 3-point shooter, but early on, Okogie showed he could be more than just a defensive player.

Okogie started the season like several Rockets on fire from 3-point range as he shot the best percentage of his career in the first two months. Even after a slight drop off, Okogie was still hovering around 39 percent for the season, but with the season debut of Finney-Smith in December, Okogie would start to see his minutes dwindle.

The Rockets wanted to get Finney-Smith up to speed on their gameplan and get him back into game shape. That and the emergence of Sheppard have seen Okogie go from starting close to the 30 games this season to sometimes receiving a DNP. However, as we have seen recently, that is not the right move for the Rockets if they want to finish this season strong.

Josh Okogie Needs to Stay In the Rotation

Leading up to Febuary Okogie was still averaging a little over 20 minutes a game, but as Finney-Smith's minutes increased, Okogie's minutes went down. In Febuary Okogie is down to 16 minutes a game and has not left the bench in three of those games. Okogie has played less than thirteen minutes in eight of those games.

Unfortunately for the Rockets and Finney-Smith, he hasn’t had the best start to the season. Finney-Smith has struggled to get his shot going since making his debut on Christmas Day. Smith is only shooting 25 percent from downtown on the season, which is a career low and even with the increased minutes he hasnt been able to make a positive impact for most of the season.

On the flip side, Okogie has continued to provide shooting and quality defense in his limited oppurtunities especially the Rockets' last two wins. Okogie, for the first time since last month, has played 20-plus minutes in back-to-back games and had a combined +45 in those two games.

Even when Okogie isn’t making shots, he still has a positive impact on the game because of everything else he does on the court. Okogie has been a better player than Finney-Smith all season, and the Rockets may have to come to the conclusion that Okogie is the better option and needs to be a bigger part of the rotation going forward if the Rockets want to make any noise in the upcoming playoffs.