Josh Okogie has finally found the perfect role with the Rockets

As the Houston Rockets have soared to the top of the NBA leaderboards offensively, it has been as a result of a number of players acclimating excellently to new roles in the absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet.

However, perhaps the most surpising development has been the starting-caliber 3-and-D play of role player Josh Okogie, who has taken over the role of starting shooting guard for the Rockets and has revived his career in doing so.

According to Sam Vecenie, on the latest episode of The Game Theory Podcast, Okogie has been one of the most pleasantly surprising storylines in the league so far this season:

"This guy is on a minimum right now; it felt like he might not be in the league this year. He has immediately stepped in and been awesome for Houston. The defensive effort, the intensity, the aggression, but also he has not been a zero on offense."

Sam Vecenie

Therefore, while Okogie has gifted Houston the extra boost they need to become one of the best offensive teams in the league, it appears as though his new team has provided him with the perfect role to resurrect his career in the NBA.

Josh Okogie's 3-and-D skillset has come to fruition so far this season

Although Okogie came into the NBA in 2018-19 as a part-time starter with the Minnesota Timberwolves, his defensively-inclined skill-set has largely left him in a minimized role at each stop he has made since that time.

Last season, across 40 games between the Phoenix Suns and the Charlotte Hornets, Okogie averaged just 15.6 minutes per game, posting 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists while knocking down ust 34.8% of his shots from beyond the arc. As valuable as this archetype can be in a role player setting, no one would have argued that Okogie was an impact player last year.

Even as he joined the Rockets this season, almost no one expected him to take on the role he has, and he was largely slated for a end-of-the-rotation slot on an exceedingly deep team.

Yet, as Houston has decided to move away from starting their double-big lineup, Okogie has proven to be the perfect piece in the backcourt for the team. Not only is he playing excellent point-of-attack defense, guarding opposing teams' best players in spurts throughout each game, but he is also knocking down an absurdly high percentage of his 3-point shots, many of which are being taken with little to no pressure following offensive rebounds by his teammates.

Through his first nine games, Okogie is averaging 8.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists while knocking down 50% of his shots from beyond the arc.

At the end of the day, Okogie is never going to be a game-changing player production wise, and that's okay. Nevertheless, it seems as though he has found his perfect role with the Rockets, and this serendipitous situation may be surprisingly ideal for both parties.